A wooden church from the late 18th century, one of the largest in Cieszyn Silesia, with a Rococo font from 1737.
The Church of St Michael the Archangel in Kończyce Wielkie is one of the largest wooden churches in Cieszyn Silesia. It lies on the Wooden Architecture Trail of the Silesian Voivodeship, in the Pszczyna loop, and has been entered in the heritage register since the 1950s.
The parish is mentioned in the Peter's pence register of 1335. The previous, smaller church, also wooden and under the same dedication, is described in visitation records from 1679 and 1688. In 1751 the parish priest Szymon Świeży commissioned Jerzy Dziendziel of Zabłocie to build a new tower. The present church was begun in 1774, built around the old one, which was demolished only after the roof was finished. The carpentry was done by Paweł Krzyżyk of Bobrek, and the whole was completed in 1777. In 1884 the church was thoroughly renovated, the adjoining soboty (open wooden galleries) were taken down and new polychromes were painted.
The oldest part is the tall post-frame tower, covered with shingles and topped with a slender Baroque cap with a false lantern. Its walls are clearly inclined, which helps absorb the swaying of the bells. The nave and chancel are of log construction and share a common shingle roof, and on both sides of the chancel stand annexes with galleries.
The interior is covered with a flat ceiling, and the furnishings are modest, Baroque and Rococo. The high altar depicts the patron saint, St Michael the Archangel, and beside it stand two side altars from the 19th century. The Rococo font from 1737, the work of Mathias Weissmann of Frýdek, shows the baptism of Christ in the Jordan. The church has bells from 1489, 1555 and 1623, and the sanctus bell dates from 1752.
Not far away stands the palace in Kończyce Wielkie, and a little further the castle in Kończyce Małe.
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