Church of the Holy Trinity in Palowice

The wooden Church of the Holy Trinity stands in Palowice, but it was built in Leszczyny, from where it was moved to its present site in 1981. It belongs to the Wooden Architecture Trail of the Silesian Voivodeship, in the Rybnik loop.

Construction in Leszczyny

Construction of the church began in 1594 and was completed in 1606 with the raising of the tower by the carpenter Jan Ożga. The founder was probably the owner of the village from the Welczek family. In 1617 a new bell and a silver-gilt chalice were bought. The church was the second in the parish of Leszczyny, and originally bore the dedication to St Bartholomew. A visitation of 1679 describes it as the church of the Holy Trinity with three carved altars, a painted pulpit and walls with paintings showing the miracles and passion of Jesus and the Last Judgement.

Log construction and a post-built tower

The church consists of a chancel, a main nave and an impressive bell tower with a porch, which is the main entrance. The walls are of log construction made of hewn beams. The chancel and nave are covered by a steep gabled shingle roof, and a small bell turret rises above the nave. The front bell tower has a post construction with strongly sloping walls and a broad tent roof, and is covered with shingles.

The church was surrounded by eaves roofs. They sheltered worshippers coming from far away and the lower parts of the walls from damp, and also tied the masses of the church together.

The cemetery, the lime tree and the former site in Leszczyny

A cemetery existed around the church in Leszczyny from the beginning. Until 1953 a natural monument grew there, the Holy Trinity lime tree with three trunks, a trunk circumference of 7 m and a height of about 22 m. The church appeared on a banknote designed by the Bank of Poland in exile, antedated to 1939. In 2006 the site of the former church in Leszczyny was arranged as a memorial place: the foundations were uncovered, beams recreating the plan of the church were laid out, and a new Holy Trinity lime tree was planted.

In Palowice there is also the manor house in Palowice.

Practical information

• Address: Woszczycka 17A, Palowice.
• The church is entered in the heritage register and active as a parish church; the rules for entering are given by the parish.
• A little further on, in Bełk, stands the Church of St Mary Magdalene in Bełk.