A foundation inscription imprinted in one of the beams marks the history of the village and its inhabitants. A copy of the gate can be seen at the entrance to the Opole Silesia Museum in Opole-Bierkowice.

History

The fence surrounding the wooden church was erected in 1751 or 1754. An inscription on one of the beams reads, “Dal budować Johan Pietrusky Scholtz Johan Koisz s Wołczyna Anno 1751 (4?) Michał Bieniak z Nagodowic” [Built thanks to Johan Pietrusky Scholtz Johan Koisz from Wołczyn Anno 1751 (4?) Michał Bieniak of Nagodowice]. Probably, the founders of the project were the persons named Pietrusky and Koisz and Michał Bieniak (Bieńka?) was the contractor. The shape and design of the gates allude to the traditional rural architecture - similar gates would often lead to a pen or farmstead.

Description

The fence is located at the Evangelical church, by the main road through the village, in its south part. A cemetery with lavish old trees adjoins at the church and extends further to the south-east. One of the fence gates leads to the church building, the other to the neighbouring area.

The 18th-century cemetery fence is made of wide planks installed in log infills, joined by a ground beam resting on the foundation and covered with a shingled gable roof. On the west side, there is a gate supported by four braced pillars, with the passage terminated with a semicircular arch, also covered with a gable roof with eaves in the lower section of planked gables. The other, double-panel gate is located on the east side. The wider of the gates was used for funeral processions. The gate is supported by eight pillars which, at the broader panel, feature double bracing. It is covered with a double-pitched roof, with prominent eaves at the gables. The gates have double-leaf, boarded doors and a single-leaf door of the same design.

The monument is available to visitors.

Compiled by Ewa Kalbarczyk-Klak, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Opole, 27-10-2014 r.

Bibliography

• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, t. VII, Województwo opolskie, z. 4: Powiat kluczborski, red. T. Chrzanowski i M. Kornecki, s. 8
• Śląsk. Zabytki Sztuki w Polsce, oprac. zbiorowe, Warszawa 2006, s. 167.
• Matuszczyk J., Architektura drewnianych kościołów ewangelickich w powiecie kluczborskim, Rocznik Muzeum Górnośląskiego w Bytomiu, Sztuka, z. 4, Bytom 1968, s. 19-20.