Church of St Simon and St Jude Thaddeus in Łodygowice

The Church of the Holy Apostles Simon and Jude Thaddeus in Łodygowice is one of the wooden churches of the Beskids, built in 1634-1636. It lies on the Wooden Architecture Trail of the Silesian Voivodeship, on the Beskid loop, and is entered in the heritage register.

History

The church was built on the site of a 13th-century chapel dedicated to St Stanislaus the Bishop. In 1644 a free-standing belfry was added, in 1687 the chancel was enlarged, and between 1748 and 1799 the nave was widened and side chapels were added: of Our Lady of the Rosary and of St Francis of Assisi. The tower was rebuilt in 1797, given a bell chamber and an onion dome. The present polychrome was made in 1929 by the painter Giebułtowski.

The building

The church is of larch log construction, with a single nave and a shingle-covered roof. All around runs an enclosed sobota, a wooden arcade encircling the church. The Garden of Gethsemane chapel with a figure of the Man of Sorrows adjoins the chancel on the east.

Interior

There are eight altars inside. The high altar is Rococo, the altar of the Infant Jesus and the Sacred Heart of Jesus dates from 1914 and has Neo-Gothic forms, and the others, among them those of Our Lady of Częstochowa, Our Lady of the Rosary, St Joseph and St Anthony, are Baroque. The church has also preserved its pulpit, and the organ has twelve stops.

Nearby

Right next door, about 400 metres away, stands the manor house in Łodygowice. It is a few kilometres from here to Żywiec, and on the way lies Lake Żywiec.

Practical information

• Address: Plac Wolności 3, Łodygowice.
• This is a working parish church; the interior should be visited with services in mind.
• Information on visiting is given by the parish on the website parafialodygowice.pl.