Historia

The first written references to the village date back to 1272. During the 13th century, the village remained in the hands of the Cerekwicki family (part of the house of Zaremba), while in 1349 it was the property of the Gniezno archbishopric. One of the residences of the archbishops of Gniezno was also located in the village. The first church to be erected here is believed to have come into being in the mid-12th century. Until the 14th century, the church in Cerekwica had the status of a parish church, its influence extending over the neighbouring villages. In 1372, the church was incorporated into a new parish in Kamień Krajeński; in 1615, the existing parish church became the filial church of the Kamień Krajeński parish. In 1653, a timber-framed church is known to have stood in the village; after being taken over by the Catholics, the building became known as the church of St George. The present church was erected in 1833, replacing an older structure which had stood on the same site. In 1853, the walls and the perimeter wall surrounding the church were subjected to renovation works, with further works being performed towards the end of the 19th century and in the early 20th century. In 1929, a document was produced which mentions the renovation of the tower, its roof ridge being an extension of the roof above the nave.

The church was restored on a number of occasions, including in 1853, 1896, 1906, 1926 and towards the end of the 1950s and 1970s. Further works were also carried out in the 1990s.

Description

The church of St Adalbert was erected on the site of an earlier structure in 1833. The building is situated in the middle of the village, surrounded by a cemetery and a stand of old trees. It is a timber-framed structure with brick infills covered with plaster, oriented towards the east. The single-nave church features a chancel with a semi-hexagonal end section and is covered with a gable roof. The western porch with main entrance is narrower than the nave. Its upper section is a wooden structure clad with weatherboards, its roof ridge being an extension of the one above the nave, surmounted by a small, quadrangular steeple. The façades of the church are punctuated with rectangular windows. The interior is a single, open space, with the altarpiece being situated in the chancel; behind the chancel lies a separate sacristy, while a wooden gallery with a small pipe organ casing occupies the western section of the nave. The flat ceiling is coved at the edges.

The most valuable interior fixtures and fittings include the main altarpiece from the second half of the 18th century, designed in the Late Baroque style, two Classicist side altarpieces added after 1833, a Baroque tabernacle (18th century) and a Rococo pulpit from the late 18th century.

The church is surrounded by a cemetery dating back to 1833, with the headstones scattered amidst a stand of old trees. On the northern side of the church there is a small, 19th-century belfry with a gable roof, its bell dating back to 1653. The north-western, western, south-western and northern sides of the hill occupied by the church and the graveyard are reinforced by a stone perimeter wall and a brick wicket gate, dating back to the 19th century.

The monument is open to visitors. Viewing of the church is only possible by prior telephone appointment.

compiled by Mirella Korzus, Historical Monument and National Heritage Documentation and Popularisation Department of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Cultural Centre in Bydgoszcz, 08-12-2014 - 19-12-2014.

Bibliography

• Record sheet, Kościół filialny pw. Św. Wojciecha, Cerekwica Duża, prepared by Jankowski A., 1996, Archive of the Regional Office for the Protection of Historical Monuments in Bydgoszcz; Archive of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Warsaw.
• Zabytki architektury województwa bydgoskiego, collective work, Bydgoszcz 1974,
• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, vol. 11, issue 13, pp. 1-2. Warsaw 1974
• Parucka K., Raczyńska-Mąkowska, Katalog zabytków województwa Bydgoskiego. Bydgoszcz 1997,
• Zabytki architektury i budownictwa w Polsce. Województwo bydgoskie 5, part 2, p. 151, Warsaw 1997.