Church of St Michael the Archangel in Rudziniec

The Church of St Michael the Archangel in Rudziniec is a wooden church from 1657, entered in the heritage register. Its whole interior is covered with Baroque polychrome decoration from the same year.

History of the wooden church

The first mentions of a church in Rudziniec date from 1447. The present building was erected in 1657, as confirmed by the date placed under the chancel window. The founder was Wacław Pełka, and the carpenter who built it signed himself as Ioan Joannes Machocsky. In the mid-17th century the church returned to the Catholic faith and became a branch of the parish in Rudno, and since 1945 it has been a parish church.

Later changes were small. In 1853 a bell tower was added, in 1872 a brick foundation was made, and in 1936 a western porch. Thanks to this, the log structure of the nave and chancel has survived in its 17th-century form.

Structure and interior

The church is wooden, of log construction, on a brick foundation. The nave is covered with gabled shingle roofs, and the chancel is narrower than the nave and closed in a rectangle.

The greatest value of the interior is the figural and ornamental painted decoration from 1657, which covers the whole interior. In it you will find Passion scenes, the Last Judgement, a Nativity scene and portraits of the apostles. The polychromes were conserved in 1961 and in 1999-2004. In the church stand three Baroque altars from the 18th century with paintings of the Assumption, St Michael the Archangel, Our Lady of Częstochowa and a Pietà, and in the porch a stone holy-water stoup from the 17th or 18th century.

Nearby

Right next door, about 300 metres from the church, lies a palace park. A few kilometres away, in Pławniowice, stands the palace and park complex, and in Łącza the Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Lipowa 39, Rudziniec (Gliwice County).
• An active parish church. Check with the parish before your visit for service times and whether the interior can be visited, because outside Mass the wooden interior can be seen only by arrangement.
• The building is entered in the heritage register (entry numbers from 1950 and 1960).