Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kończyce Małe

The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kończyce Małe is a historic parish church and, since 1999, a Marian shrine. It holds a late Gothic painting of the Virgin Mary with a dandelion seed head in her hand, which was once a pilgrimage destination for people from all over Cieszyn Silesia.

A church from 1713

The single-nave church was built in 1713 on the site of an earlier wooden church. A wooden tower stood beside it and was replaced with a brick one in 1818. The building is made of brick and is in the heritage register, with the first entry dating from 1960.

In front of the chancel there is a Renaissance epitaph of the knight Zygmunt Wyszkota from 1568. Wyszkota was connected with the court of the dukes of Racibórz, and in 1510 he witnessed the granting of a privilege to the town of Żory.

The Madonna with a dandelion

The most valuable item is the painting of Our Lady of Kończyce from the early 16th century, painted on a lime wood board measuring 175 by 145.5 cm. Mary holds the Child, and in her other hand she holds a dandelion seed head, which is regarded as probably the only such depiction in the world. The author of the painting is unknown, and the first mention of it in Kończyce dates from 1679.

Until the 19th century the painting was a pilgrimage destination for people from all over Cieszyn Silesia and from Prussia, and the custom still continued in the 1950s. In 1945 the church was damaged and looted during the fighting, but the painting remained untouched. In 2017 it went to conservators from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków. Since 1980 a weekly novena to Our Lady of Kończyce has been held in the church, and a prayer vigil takes place on the second Friday of every month.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Staropolska 7, Kończyce Małe (Zebrzydowice municipality).
• This is an active parish church. Check service times and whether visits are possible with the parish.
• About 300 m away stands the castle in Kończyce Małe, and less than two kilometres from here lies the palace park in Kończyce Wielkie.