Church of St Barbara in Bytom

The Church of St Barbara in Bytom is a Neo-Romanesque church built in 1928-1930 on Stefana Czarnieckiego Street. It belongs to the Roman Catholic parish of St Barbara.

Built on drained ground

The plans for the building were carried out by the parish priest of the parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Father Józef Niestrój. The church stands on marshy ground which had been drained earlier. The construction manager was the Bytom architect Teodor Ehl, and the design was prepared by Arthur Kickton. It was consecrated on 10 May 1931 by Cardinal Adolf Bertram, the donor of the high altar. The presbytery was added in 1937, and the facade was renovated in the early 1990s.

Altars, organ and bells

The high altar was carved in wood by the sculptor Schreiner of Munich, and the side ones by Anton Fogel. The church has a 65-stop organ with four manuals, built by the workshop of Carl Berschdorf of Nysa, the largest in the Diocese of Gliwice and one of the largest in Upper Silesia. The bells, called the ornament of Bytom for their sound, were requisitioned by the Nazi authorities and only the smallest of the five survived.

Practical information

• Address: ulica Stefana Czarnieckiego, Bytom.
• The church is an active parish church; service times are given on the parish website.
• Nearby you will find the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom, about 800 m away.