Church of St George in Rydułtowy

The Church of St George is a Neo-Gothic parish church in Rydułtowy, in the Pszów deanery of the Archdiocese of Katowice. It was blessed on 8 December 1896, and in the churchyard stands a penitential cross with a rare, double form of arms.

Four churches in Rydułtowy

The initiator of the building of the first church in Rydułtowy is thought to have been Zachariasz Cebulka, a witness to the purchase of the village headman's office in 1501. In 1628 a small church was built, a date supported by the penitential cross by the church and a painting of St George with the date 1628 carved on it. The third church, timber and made of larch, was blessed on 29 September 1703 and served the inhabitants until 1897. In 1778-1886 the Catholics of Rydułtowy belonged to the parish in Pszów.

The present church of 1896

Construction of the present church began in 1895, when Father Paweł Bernert was parish priest. The builder was Ludwig Schneider of Racibórz. It is a brick building in the Neo-Gothic style, supported on eight pillars, regarded as one of the largest buildings of its time. The tower was completed on 1 June 1896, and in October two bells were hung in it: one from the old church, the other cast by C. Loesch in Opole. The clock on the tower was donated by miners of the “Charlotte” mine.

The interior after the Council reform

Before the reform of the Second Vatican Council the church had five altars. After the changes the interior decoration was designed by Józef Kołodziejczyk. In 1980 paintings of Our Lady of Perpetual Help and St Barbara, painted by Prof. Maciej Bieniasz of the Academy of Fine Arts in Katowice, were hung in the side aisles. In the chancel stands a figure of St George, and since 1993 also a bas-relief polychromed in copper. The decoration of the chancel was designed and made by Krystian Burda.

The penitential cross

In the churchyard stands a sandstone penitential cross with two pairs of arms. It is regarded as the only one of its kind in Poland. It originally stood in the old cemetery on the western side of the church. It is supposed to be older than 1628 and to have been reused then as the foundation stone of the second church. The meaning of the double form of the arms is not known. The cross was included in the catalogue of art monuments in Poland in 1964.

Practical information

• Town: Rydułtowy, Wodzisław County. Check the church's exact address on the website of the parish or the municipality.
• The church is a working place of worship. Arrange Mass times and visits to the interior with the parish.

Nearby, in Pszów, is the Pszów Calvary.