St Stanislaus's Church in Bielsko-Biała

St Stanislaus's Church in Stare Bielsko is the oldest sacred building in Bielsko-Biała. It has the character of a village church: single-nave, oriented, built of quarry stone and brick, with a high broken roof and a tower 25 m high. It stands surrounded by an old cemetery with a stone wall from the 15th century.

History of the church

The brick church in the Gothic style was built around 1380, and its founder was Przemysł I Noszak, Duke of Cieszyn. The date was established on stylistic grounds, because no written sources survive. A stone with the date 1135 is set into the wall, and the existence of an earlier, wooden church is considered probable. Around 1447 the parish of St Nicholas was established in the town and St Stanislaus's became a branch church. After Lutheranism was adopted in the Duchy of Cieszyn, in 1560, it was taken over by Protestants, and Catholics returned here in 1654. The general renovation in 1830-1833 was led by Father Mateusz Opolski; the tower was raised and a chapel of the dead was added. The parish of St Stanislaus was re-established in 1953.

Chancel and polychromes

The most valuable part is the eastern one. The chancel, closed on five sides, has a ribbed cross vault with keystones, one of which shows the Piast eagle. The walls are covered with four layers of painting: a Gothic one from the end of the 14th century (angels with the instruments of the Passion, holy bishops and martyrs, scenes of the Arrest, the Carrying of the Cross and the Resurrection), Renaissance grotesque decoration from the mid-16th century, Baroque Passion scenes after 1660, and Rococo depictions of the Crucifixion and Resurrection from the second half of the 18th century.

Furnishings

The high altar is a Late Gothic triptych from the early 16th century, painted in oil on lime wood by the Kraków Master of the Mary Family. It tells the legend of St Stanislaus: the wings show, among other things, the purchase of the village, the raising of Piotrowin from the dead, the royal trial and the murder of the bishop. In the chancel there are also a Gothic sacrament house from around 1380, a Gothic door to the sacristy, choir stalls of 1563, a stone font of 1660 and the epitaph of the knight Jan Kecherle of Pierściec with a Czech inscription. The bell in the tower was cast in 1555. In the nave a Rococo choir loft of 1773 and a painted ceiling with the Assumption stand out.

Nearby

It is about two kilometres from here to the centre of Bielsko-Biała. On a tour of the town the church can be combined with St Nicholas Cathedral and, secondly, with the Sułkowski Dukes' Castle.

Practical information

• Address in the registers: ul. Jana Sobieskiego 176A, Bielsko-Biała (Stare Bielsko).
• This is a working parish church, so the interior should be viewed with respect for services.
• The rules for visiting and current opening hours are worth checking with the parish before a visit.