St Lawrence's Church in Bielowicko

St Lawrence's Church in Bielowicko, in the Jasienica municipality, is a historic wooden parish church in Cieszyn Silesia, belonging to the Wooden Architecture Route of the Silesian Voivodeship. Dendrochronological research in 2009 showed that it was built in 1541, much earlier than thought, when it was linked to the year 1701.

History

A parish existed already in the 16th century, and during the Reformation the church was Lutheran. After it returned to the Catholics in 1652 the village did not regain a separate parish: the church was a branch of the parish in Skoczów, and from 1785 in Grodziec. Since 1756, after the fire of Skoczów, the town's residents have made a pilgrimage here for the indulgence feast in honour of St Lawrence, a patron protecting against fires. In 1950 extensive conservation work was carried out, and in 1980 a Catholic parish was established here again.

Architecture

The church is oriented, of log construction on a stone base, clad in shingles. It has a rectangular nave, a narrower chancel closed on three sides, a sacristy on the north and a square porch on the south. The tower is a square post construction, topped with a small dome with openwork drip edges; the whole is surrounded by board-clad soboty (wooden galleries). The portals are chamfered, and the doors have 18th-century fittings.

Interior

The most valuable item is the altar triptych with a Sacra Conversazione scene, with Mary, St Peter and St Lawrence, and on the wings St Catherine and St Barbara; it may date from 1541. The Baroque pulpit from 1701 has images of the four Evangelists and a canopy with angels. There are also late Baroque paintings from the 18th century, among them Our Lady of the Rosary, fourteen Stations of the Cross in a folk style and three chandeliers from the mid-18th century.

Nearby

A few kilometres away, in Grodziec, stands Grodziec Castle, and in Górki Wielkie the Zofia Kossak-Szatkowska Museum.

Practical information

• Address: Bielowicko 84.
• This is an active church, surrounded by a parish cemetery; check with the parish whether the interior can be visited.