A brick parish church from 1930-1931 designed by Dominikus Böhm, an example of modernism and brick Expressionism.
St Joseph's Church in Zabrze, built in 1930-1931 to a design by Dominikus Böhm of Cologne, is regarded as one of the more interesting examples of modernism in Upper Silesia. The brick church on Roosevelta Street has a plan in the shape of an arc and is entered in the heritage register.
The parish of St Joseph was separated in 1931 from the territory of the parish of St Andrew the Apostle. The builder was the parish priest of St Andrew's, Fr Jan Zwior, and the church was consecrated on 4 September 1932 by Cardinal Adolf Bertram.
The style of the church is modernism and brick Expressionism. The wall is unplastered and made of bricks in various shades, coming from different brickworks. The arc-shaped plan refers to Roman buildings and early Christian churches.
The front is formed by a triple row of arcades, repeated in the tower, the ambulatory and the windows, which brings to mind Roman aqueducts. The design has elaborate symbolism: light as an emanation of God, sacred numbers (7, 12, 33 and 40), the square as a “paradisus”, the elongated nave as the road of life and the baptismal font at the base of the tower.
Böhm also designed the interiors, furniture, stained-glass windows and altar tables. The large windows on the west side are filled with stained glass showing the sacraments, while the east windows give little light. The stained-glass window “The Blessed Sacrament” was designed in 1942, and the window of the Holy Family in the chancel was installed in 1957. The church also has a cycle of paintings by Anton Figl of Munich.
The main organ was built by the Rieger company in 1940 (opus 2926, 29 stops, three manuals and pedal). Four bells hang in the tower, including the bell of St Joseph from 1931.
It is about 600 m from here to the Municipal Botanical Garden and about a kilometre to the House of Music and Dance. Further on, 1.6 km from the church, awaits the Guido Coal Mine.
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