It represents an example of the Baroque wooden architecture erected in the second half of the 18th century.

History of the site

The village of Barcice was mentioned for the first time in 1185, when the Voivode of Mazovia, Żyro, donated it to the nuns of the Norbertine Order of Płock (it remained with them until the partitioning of Poland). The parish was founded in 1379 by the Bishop of Płock, Dobiesław. It was then that the first wooden church was built. A new sanctuary, probably the second or the third one in that place, was erected in 1616. It survived until the mid-18th century (most probably until 1740). The church we can see today was erected in 1758; it was founded by Mateusz Kamiński (Kamieński), a parish priest of the nunnery of the Norbertines of Płock. The present appearance of the sanctuary was affected by full-scale renovations carried out in the years 1867-1868 and 1883-1889. Apart from the replacement of the base with a new one, decorative formwork of the building was completed and most probably three small square towers appeared on the finial of the façade at that time.

In 1948 the seat of the parish was transferred to Somianka and the wooden building in Barcice became a filial church. Its latest major refurbishment was performed by a team of monument protection officers from Toruń, under the supervision of Joanna Ziemlewicz, in the years 1998-2001, at the efforts of Rev. Wacław Grzybowski.

Site description

A church complex is located in the central part of the village, on the southern side of a road leading to Somianka, surrounded by a church graveyard (with no surviving tombstones) and a wall made of fieldstones. The wall features a forged metal gate. At the south-west, next to the entrance gate, there is a wooden bell tower.

The church is oriented towards the east and was made of pinewood. Its structure is of a post-and-plank type, reinforced with vertical supports, covered with board-and-batten cladding.

The main body is set on a rectangular floor plan; the chancel, narrower on the eastern side, terminates in a semi-hexagon. A sacristy was added to the north of the chancel. A treasury adjoins to the nave at the south, a main porch at the west and a side porch at the north. A common gable roof stretches over the main nave and the chancel, while pent roofs rise above the side naves and further over the sacristy and the storage room. Ale roofs are clad in wood shingles. There are three small quadrilateral steeples over the front façade: one over the triangular gable of the façade and two on its sides. The church interior features three naves divided by pairs of fluted columns, covered with a wooden barrel vault with a basket arch shared by the main nave and the chancel. The ceilings above the side naves are flat.

The interior walls are crowned with a polychromed frieze containing plant motifs. The church has Baroque interior fixtures and fittings. Particular attention should be paid to: the main altar made in the years 1795-1797, featuring an image of the Blessed Virgin Mary; two side altarpieces made around 1640 and a pipe organ casing of 1858, a pulpit of 1795, confessionals and benches.

A wooden bell tower was erected in 1768, while in 1891 it underwent major renovation. It has a post-and-beam structure, reinforced with transoms and raking shores, covered with vertical board-and-batten siding from the outside. Corners are decoratively covered with boards in the form of rustication. Built on a square plan, it has two storeys, the upper of which is narrower. A dividing skirt roof is placed between them. It has a tented roof, clad in sheet metal and surmounted with an iron crucifix.

Visitor access. The building is accessible to visitors during services and following previous arrangements with the parish priest.

Author of the note: Jerzy Szałygin, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Regional Branch in Warsaw, 06-04-2018

Bibliography

• Baroque filial church of Saint Stanislaus (1758): http://www.polskaniezwykla.pl/web/place/9007,barcice-barokowy-drewniany-kosciol-filialny-sw--stanislawa-(1758)-.html (19.05.2023)
• Record sheets of monuments of architecture: Kościół filialny p.w. Św. Stanisława, prepared by Elżbieta Stawska 1985, Bell tower, 1959.
• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, vol. X, Dawne woj. warszawskie, issue 28, Powiat wyszkowski, Warsaw 1974, p. 2.
• Church of St Stanislaus: http://skarbiecmazowiecki.pl/obiekty/kosciol-pw-sw-stanislawa-wyszkowski-somianka-barcice-35-64,1.html (19.05.2023)
• Barcice-church of Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów: http://www.drewnianemazowsze.pl/barcice-kosciol/ (19.05.2023)
• Mazowieckie kościoły drewniane, Jezierska B., Nadolny R. (eds.), Warsaw 2009, p. 9.
• Wiśniewski J., Szałygin J., Materiały do katalogu drewnianego budownictwa sakralnego na Mazowszu, Mazowsze no. 3/94, p. 9-10.