Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Świętochłowice

The Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Świętochłowice is a brick church from the end of the 19th century, built as a votive offering of gratitude for the rescue of miners. It stands in the town centre on Katowicka Street.

Where the votive offering came from

The church building committee was formed in February 1883. In 1884 forty-three miners were trapped in a mine; the last survivors were brought to the surface on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul. This was taken as a sign of providence, and the planned church as an offering of gratitude. The money came, among other sources, from the curia in Wrocław, from Cardinal Georg Kopp and from the offerings of the faithful.

Construction

The design was drawn up by the building councillor Paul Jackisch of Bytom. The foundation stone was laid in October 1889, construction lasted two years, and the church was consecrated on 29 September 1891. Cardinal Georg Kopp consecrated it again on 26 October 1896. According to a legend, building materials prepared several dozen metres away moved overnight to the present site, which was read as a sign.

Architecture and interior

The compact form consists of a tower in front of the gable of the body, the plain volumes of the body and transept, and the chancel. The exterior decoration is modest: a brick eaves frieze, stone details in the tops of the buttresses and window surrounds, and arcade corbels with little angel heads. In the oak high altar stand the patrons of the church, with St Adalbert and St Stanislaus at the sides.

Practical information

• The church stands in the centre of Świętochłowice, and the parish is based at ul. bpa Teodora Kubiny 10. Check the times of services on the parish website.
• Close by is the Museum of the Silesian Uprisings in Świętochłowice.