Its form is typical of the southern part of Greater Poland. It represents wooden architecture characteristic of the Silesian school of the 17th and 18th centuries.

History

A local parish was established by the wooden Church of St Adalbert in 1400.

The next church was built in Baranów in the years 1505-1631.

The present church was built in 1732; it replaced a previous church, which had been built following a huge fire in Baranów in 1631. The new building was founded by Zofia Stoińska.

The church was renovated in the years 1748 and 1770.

In 1823, the two-tower façade of the church burnt down.

A Romanesque Revival bell tower was erected by the church in 1863.

In 1869, the Chapel of St Adalbert was built onto the south wall of the nave using wood coming from a church that had been dismantled in Słupia nearby Kępno.

In the years 1915-1917, the church underwent full-scale renovations; the walls were covered with paintings.

In 1905-1907, a brick rectory was built.

After 2000, the church walls and roof were renovated.

Description

At first, written records mentioned Baranów as a village — the property of a Cisterian convent in Ołobok (until 1326). In 1426, it was granted municipal rights as a private town. After the town of Kępno (approx. 2 km to the north-west of Baranów) was granted municipal rights after 1660, Baranów was slowly falling into decline, until it lost its municipal rights in 1907. The present church is situated north-east of the market square, which is a remnant of the previous municipal layout (the urban layout is listed in the register of monuments under No. 667/A, entry dated 15.04.1993), at the intersection of Kościelna and Młyńska Streets. Most likely, the previous church was also located at that site.

The Baranów parish was established by the wooden Church of St Adalbert in 1400, before the village was granted municipal rights. The church, built in 1505, burned down in a huge fire of the village in 1631. Another church, completed in 1635, lasted less than 100 years. The current wooden church was erected in the years 1732-1734. The church steeple was constructed in 1844 and the Chapel of St Adalbert was built in 1869. The church is surrounded by a former graveyard whose outline approximates a rectangle. A path runs around the church. The area of the former graveyard is overgrown with grass, with a number of deciduous trees. In the western part of the cemetery, there is a Romanesque Revival, two-storeyed bell tower erected before 1863. By its south wall, there are graves of the Wężyk family — the owners of the Baranów and Mroczeń estates. In the south-western part, there are graves of local parish-priests. In the eastern part, there is a statue of Christ on a plinth and a grotto of Mary the Mother of God.

The building has a wooden log structure; its exterior walls are covered with weatherboards. It is oriented towards the east and has one nave (with no aisles). The chancel terminates in a polygon; it is adjoined by a sacristy on the north side. The chancel is lower than the nave. A newer annexe adjoins the Chapel of St Adalbert and the nave. There is a porch by the west façade. The chancel and the nave have separate gable roofs covered with wood-shingles. The steeple, having a shape characteristic of the Baroque period, was constructed in 1844. The chancel and the nave are covered with a common false barrel vault, with the upper logs of the chancel side walls running along the entire length of the nave, supported by a profiled beam and profiled posts. The chapel features a corbel (false) dome. The chapel opens to the nave with an arcade decorated with fragments of sculptures coming from 17th- and 18th-century altars. At the apex of the arcade, there is a sculpture of Christ of Sorrows. The music gallery is supported by four profiled posts. On the rood beam, there is a Baroque crucifix and Baroque sculptures of Mary the Mother of God and St John. The walls are covered with paintings made in c. 1915. The church fittings are mainly Baroque and classical in character.

The church can be viewed from the outside. Visiting the building inside is possible by prior arrangement. More information about the parish and the Holy Mass schedule can be found on the website of the parish and the Kalisz diocese: www.diecezja.kalisz.pl

compiled by Teresa Palacz, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Poznan, 05-02-2015.

Bibliography

• Maluśkiewicz P., Drewniane kościoły w Wielkopolsce, Poznań 2004.
• Anders P., Województwo kaliskie, szkic monograficzny, Poznań 1983.
• Rocznik Diecezji Kaliskiej - 2002, Kalisz 2002.
• Łęcki Wł., Wielkopolska - słownik krajoznawczy, Poznań 2002.
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, Ruszczyńska T., Sławska A. (red.), t. 5, z. 7 pow. kępiński, s. 6-7, Warszawa 1958.
• Janiszewski Józef ks., Powiat kępiński z mapą powiatu na podstawie różnych źródeł, Kępno 1928.
• Ruszczyk Grażyna, Architektura drewniana w Polsce, Warszawa 2009, s. 500.