History

The church in Chotków was erected in the 4th quarter of the 13th century. The cemetery surrounding it was probably initially circumscribed by a wooden fence. In the 15th century, the fence was replaced with stone walls. Within the walls, on the southern side of the church, a gate tower with a bell was built in the 16th century. The structure was thoroughly renovated two times: the first renovation, in the early 20th century, consisted in replacing wood shingles with ceramic tiles. The second one, carried out in 70. the façades were plastered.

Description

The bell tower - gate contains the entrance to the cemetery surrounding the church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The church complex is located on a small hill in the northern part of the village, by the road leading to Zielona Góra.

The bell tower is made of brick and stone. Its floor plan resembles the shape of a square. It has three storeys and the shape of a massive cuboid. The body is topped with a hip roof clad in tiles arranged in a “lace” pattern. On the ground floor level, there is a wide passageway with a groin vault. Gate openings are closed with a round arch. Over them, there are two windows, arranged vertically on the axis, featuring segmental arches in their top sections. The windows are separated with a slightly bigger blind window with a similar profile. The western façade is blind; there is a door in the eastern one. Both walls are adjoined with fencing walls circumscribing the church yard.

The building is accessible all year round.

compiled by Anna Jackiewicz, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Zielona Góra, 20-11-2014.

Bibliography

• Garbacz K., Przewodnik po zabytkach województwa lubuskiego, t. 2: Powiaty: żarski - żagański - nowosolski - wschowski, Zielona Góra 2012, s. 196.
• Karta ewidencyjna, Brama kościelna, oprac. J. Muszyński, Zielona Góra 1999, Archiwum Wojewódzkiego Urzędu Ochrony Zabytków w Zielonej Górze