Church of St Bartholomew the Apostle in Pogrzebień

The Church of St Bartholomew the Apostle in Pogrzebień is a parish church in Racibórz County. The present building has its roots in a brick church from 1851-1852, which was thoroughly rebuilt in 1954-1960. In 2014 it won the poll for the Most Beautiful Church of the Racibórz Land.

Successive churches in Pogrzebień

A parish probably existed here as early as the 14th century, and the first church was wooden. A new one, built in the 17th century, burned down in 1834. In 1851 a brick one was put up, to a design by Linke of Racibórz, and it was consecrated on 13 November 1852. Its walls and ceiling cracked quickly, because it stood on unstable ground (quicksand). The rebuilding to a design by Zygmunt Konarzewski began in 1954 and was finished in 1960. The church was blessed in 1959 and consecrated in 1973.

Furnishings and the Salesians

Its furnishings include a wooden altar with a painting of St Bartholomew, a stone baptismal font from 1852, an 18th-century painting of the Mother of God with Child and a Baroque altar cross. To the right of the main entrance is the tomb of the first Salesian Sisters' inspector in Poland, the Servant of God Laura Meozzi, whose beatification process is under way. Since 1946 pastoral care has been run here by the Salesians, and next to the church stand the buildings of the former Salesian minor seminary, which operated until 1939.

Practical information

• The church is a working parish church; service times are given by the parish.
• About 900 m from the church stands the lookout tower in Pogrzebień.
• It is about 4 km from here to the Moravian Gate Arboretum.