History

Borowie belonged to the Warszewicki family in the 16th century. The parish in Borowie was most probably founded around 1545, owing to efforts of Jan Warszewicki. The current church was erected in 1831 in place of a former, wooden one from 1555. Ludwika Moszczyńska, nee Załuska, the Castellan of Lublin, was a founder of the new church. The temple was erected to praise the Holy Trinity and was dedicated to the Decapitation of St John the Baptist and St Benedict. The brick church was consecrated in 1845. In 1888 the initially semi-circular windows were expanded, while in 1907 an upward extension in the form of a faux Baroque gable of the front façade with a turret on the steeple was added. In the years 1985-1991 a new church was built in the town. Therefore, from 1991 onwards the historic church was out of use and was falling into ruin. In 2011 the authorities of the Borowie commune undertook efforts to restore the old appearance of the temple. Thus, pursuant to the lending agreement with the Siedlce Curia, the authorities became the managers of the building until 2021. In the years 2011-2013 the church was renovated and made available to visitors. The works consisted in replacing the roof cover, façades and windows. The building was thermally insulated and the interior, apart from obtaining a new floor, regained its former glory. Inside, the gas heating was installed as well.

Description

The Holy Trinity Church is located in the centre of the town, in the eastern part of the old market square. It is situated close to the Garwolin-Siedlce route, on its southern side. The church building is surrounded by a church cemetery, overgrown with deciduous trees, enclosed by a wall and a belfry-gate on the western side.

The current church building was erected in 1831 in the Classicist style, with a faux Baroque upward extension of the front façade added in 1907.

The temple is oriented towards the east, set on a rectangular floor plan, with an aisleless layout; it has three naves and a chancel demarcated in the interior. A sacristy and a porch are found on both sides of the presbytery. A small porch and two small rooms communicated with naves are found in the western span. The southern nave includes stairs leading to the gallery, whereas the northern nave includes a small storage facility. The building has no tower; it has a compact body without a presbytery and porches demarcated outside. The feature is covered with a gable roof with a single eaves.

It is built of brick, plastered and rests on brick foundations. The roof structure is made of beam-and-rafter trusswork reinforced by collar beams and a queen post. The ceiling over the entire building is made of wood and has pugging in the attic. The roof is covered with galvanised sheet.

The building’s facades include horizontal rustication and a surround in the wall at a half of the windows’ height. The front façade has one axis and is crowned with a triangular gable, adorned with a Baroque crucifix from the second half of the 17th century against a newer painting. A secondary, voluted, faux Baroque crest with a brick turret serving as a base for a steeple over the gable. The main entrance, located along the axis of the façade, is crowned with a triangular gable. Above the wall surround, there is a semi-circularly terminated window opening that illuminates the gallery. Three-axis side façades; the southern one additionally has two side entrances (one to the nave, the other to the porch). Window openings in these façades terminate semi-circularly, while entrance openings terminate rectangularly. The eastern façade includes a chancel with two rectangular window openings and one smaller opening over the wall surround, illuminating the church’s interior.

The interior is partitioned into three naves by four pairs of Tuscan columns without bases. The entrance opening and the rood arch flank the Tuscan engaged columns. Carriers support a faux barrel vault. A wooden choir gallery opens with a flat archway over the entrance to the porch in the western bay. Two boxes opening towards side naves by semi-circular windows with traceries are located on the choir gallery sides. The building has a stone floor. Planked door (the main one - two-wing, the side one - one-wing); planks arranged in a square and spiked with studs. The door wing to the nave in the south façade includes old hardware and a Classicist lock with a lyre motif from the first half of the 19th century.

The church fittings include: the main altar, organ, baptismal font (18th century), pulpit (17th and 18th century), side altars, holy water font (first half of the 19th century), candlestick (early 19th century), procession crucifix (first half of the 19th century), painting of the Holy Mother with a Child and St John the Baptist (18th century), two coffin portraits from the second half of the 17th century.

The monument is available to visitors, information available in the Commune Office in Borowie.

Compiled by Katarzyna Kosior, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Warsaw, 02-07-2014.

Bibliography

• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, Tom X, województwo warszawskie, zeszyt 2, powiat garwoliński, Warszawa 1967 r.