St James's Church in Szczyrk

St James's Church in Szczyrk is a wooden church from 1797-1800, covered with shingles, and since 2011 a diocesan shrine. It stands on the Wooden Architecture Route of the Silesian Voivodeship in the Beskid loop. The interior is filled with late Baroque historic items from the former monastery in Nowy Sącz.

History

Szczyrk long belonged to the parish in Łodygowice. When at the end of the 18th century the number of inhabitants approached two thousand, the residents began efforts to obtain their own parish, and the decree establishing it was issued in Vienna in April 1787. The church was built in 1797-1800, and the first parish priest was Fr Wojciech Radoński. Around the church was a cemetery, where burials took place until 1848. By a decree of the bishop of 12 April 2011 the church was established as the diocesan Shrine of St James.

Construction

The building has a log construction, a rectangular nave and a narrower chancel covered with gable roofs clad with shingles. At the front stands a square tower of post construction, with an overhanging gallery and a slender pavilion roof with broken slopes. The walls of the nave, the chancel and the sloping walls of the tower are also clad with shingles. On the eastern side stands a Rococo cross from 1797.

Interior

The interior is furnished in the late Baroque style, and the furnishings are mainly items from the Premonstratensian monastery in Nowy Sącz. On the high altar stands a figure of St James the Apostle, with figures of St Peter and St Stanislaus Kostka beside it. The side altar with a painting of St John Nepomuk, the second patron of the parish, dates from the first half of the 17th century. On the left side of the chancel is a late Baroque pulpit with a canopy and a relief of St Ambrose, and 14 Baroque paintings of the Stations of the Cross hang in the church. The stone baptismal font dates from 1800, and a bell from 1691 hangs in the tower.

Nearby

Nearby is the SKALITE ski jump complex. It is about four kilometres from here to the Beskid peak Skrzyczne.

Practical information

• Location: Szczyrk, Bielsko County; the address is sometimes given as ul. Beskidzka 107 or ul. Kolorowa 1.
• It is an active parish church, so the interior is visited with services taken into account.