Church of the Holy Cross in Pietrowice Wielkie

The Church of the Holy Cross in Pietrowice Wielkie is a wooden branch church of the parish of Sts Vitus, Modestus and Crescentia. It was built in 1667 by the parish priest Martin Mosler, initially the size of a chapel, near a small spring. According to tradition, shepherds found a picture of the Crucified Saviour there, and word of the miraculous properties of the water led people to begin making pilgrimages here. The church is entered in the heritage register.

Timber construction

The building is of log construction and covered with shingles. It was erected in the shape of a compressed octagon. The nave, on an almost square plan, has a flat ceiling, and the chancel is closed on two sides. Around the church runs a sobota (a covered gallery) supported on posts. The octagonal turret for the bell dates from 1822 and has a bulbous helmet roof with a lantern. Other characteristic elements are an external pulpit with a canopy, a porch with sliding doors and a square sacristy on the south.

Interior

The interior has Baroque features. The main altar is decorated with a painting of the Crucified Christ, and the side altars are dedicated to St Anne and Our Lady of the Rosary. The monstrance was donated in 1690 by the farmer Kaffka, who took part in the building. On the rood beam and above it are inscriptions in Moravian, Latin and German, commemorating the granting of a plenary indulgence to the church in 1743 on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Nearby

In the municipality it is also worth seeing the Church of Sts Vitus, Modestus and Crescentia, the parish church for this church.

Practical information

• Address: ulica Bończyka, Pietrowice Wielkie.
• This is an active branch church, and the interior is made available by the parish, so ask the parish about the possibility of entering.