As the oldest examples of the wooden architecture, they are some of the most valuable items in the cultural heritage of the region, inseparable from the rural landscape. The church in Borki is also part of the vast monastery complex of the Franciscans.

History

The church was erected in 1697, the tower added in 1789. The builder was Szymon Stadko. The temple served as a filial church for the Parish of Corpus Christi in Olesno, about 10 km away. Since 1905, the Franciscans have provided pastoral care to the villagers. W 1907 they built a new-Gothic monastery and a neo-Gothic church in the years 1910-1911. The Parish of St Francis was established in 1942. Today, the wooden temple is used as a church cemetery.

Description

The church stands in the central part of the village, between Ojca Alarda Street and the monastery complex. It is east-oriented, with its ridge parallel to the road, surrounded by a cemetery. The floor plan of the church is made up of a rectangular nave, a slightly narrower chancel with a three-sided termination and a square tower to the north. The nave and tower are embraced with roofed walkways. The church is covered with gable roofs, the north roof plane over the chancel also covers the sacristy. Over the nave, there is a slender ave-bell turret, domed with a cupola clad in sheet metal. The tower has straight walls and is covered with a tented roof, topped with a lantern with a bulbous, sheet-clad cupola with a ball and cross on top. The walkways are covered with lean-to roofs, all shingled.

The church is a log (the body) and post-and-beam (tower) structure rested on stone foundations. The tower and walkways are covered with weatherboard, the other façades with shingles. Only a few windows allow light to the interior: three terminated with a full arch in the south façade and one in the tower and sacristy. The upper floor of the tower has bell windows shielded by wooden shutters. The interior is covered with a flat boarded ceiling with a profiled crossbeam. A straight gallery touch the west and partly north walls, supported by five pillars. The main altar is fairly modest, so are the carvings on the rood beam. The organ casing dates from the 1st half of the 18th century. Other equipment: pulpit, side altar, aspersorium, etc. go back to the late 18th or early 19th century.

The site is available from outside; access to the interior during services or after an arrangement with the Franciscan friars.

Compiled by Ewa Kalbarczyk-Klak, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Opole, 23-07-2014.

Bibliography

• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, t. 7, z. 10, s. 3.
• Emmerling D., Wierzgoń A., Opolskie kościoły drewniane, Opole 2006, s. 19.