St Catherine of Alexandria's Church in Karchowice

St Catherine of Alexandria's Church in Karchowice is a late Gothic stone building whose roof frame is made of timber felled in 1420-1426. It stands on the Drama river and is entered in the heritage register.

History

For a long time it was dated to around 1500, but dendrochronological research in 2008 showed that the roof timber was felled in 1420-1426. The parish existed as an independent one from around 1300. In 1447 the Bishop of Wrocław incorporated it into the parish of Ziemięcice, and until 1942 the church was a branch church. In the 16th and 17th centuries some of the inhabitants converted to Lutheranism, and Catholicism was restored in 1655. In the first half of the 19th century the wooden tower was replaced with a brick one, and in 1902 the church was renovated and a chapel was added.

Interior and surroundings

It is an orientated single-nave church with one tower on the west side, and the interior is covered with flat ceilings. The furnishings are late Baroque: the high altar of 1700 with a painting of St Catherine, the altar of the Holy Family, the altar of St Barbara from 1732, a wooden pulpit from the first half of the 19th century and an 18th-century Way of the Cross. The churchyard is surrounded by a 16th-century stone wall, and above the Drama stands a brick chapel of St John of Nepomuk from the mid-19th century.

Nearby

A short distance away lies the Church of the Holy Trinity in Wieszowo, and further on the Railway Open-Air Museum in Pyskowice.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Bytomska, Karchowice.
• It is a working parish church. Information about visiting the interior is provided by the parish (the website of the Gliwice diocesan curia).