History

The oldest mention in the sources referring to the village of Ditrichsbach comes from 1292 and concern an estate belonging at that time to the hospital in Żagań. The first document confirming the existence of a church is certificate issued in 1326 by Henryk of Żagań, concerning the sale of Dzietrzychowice estate along with the endowment of the local church to the von Kelbichen family. In a letter from 1376, a local parish priest is mentioned, and further letters, from 1399 and 1403, refer to parish priest Bernhardt. Between 1520 and 1668, the church belonged to Protestants. Later, until 1670, Jesuits held Catholic services in it, and after them - Augustinians from Żagań. After secularisation of the order in 1810, the church remained in Catholic hands. The building was erected in the fourth quarter of the 13th century. The first conversion, consisting in adding a tower and a sacristy, was carried out in the late 15th century. In the late 16th century, interiors were provided with vaults. Probably in the 17th century, a chapel was added to the sacristy, and a porch to the chancel. Approx. in 1690, Augustinians founded sumptuous interior fittings. The church was renovated a couple of times - extensive works were carried out in the 18th century and in 1894, 1961, and 1974.

Description

The building located in the central part of Dzietrzychowice, on a small hill by the route from Żagań to Brzeźnica. It is surrounded by a stone wall with a gate on the south. In front of the gate, there is a medieval stone penitential cross.

The church is Gothic in style and oriented. The single-nave body and a slightly narrower chancel with a straight-line ending section, adjoining the body from the east, were built from erratic boulders. The original walls have been preserved in their full height along the whole circumference. On the northern side of the chancel, there are sacristy and chapel, and on the southern side - the porch. The nave, chancel, and annexes are covered with gable roofs clad in beaver tail tiles. The tower, situated on the western side of the body, was built on a floor plan which approximates the shape of a square. In the lower section, it is cuboid in shape, and the upper storey is formed as a prism covered with an eight-pitched, stepped tented roof. Corners of the tower are reinforced with buttresses.

Plastered façades are articulated with asymmetrically arranged window and door openings. The windows vary in size and feature segmental and round arches. The main entrance is located on the axis of the southern wall of the nave, and is framed with a pointed-arch stepped portal. Stone epitaph plaques, coming from the 16th and the 17th century, are embedded in the façades.

Inside, there is a surviving late-medieval door to the sacristy. On the northern side of the chancel, there is a Baroque epitaph of one of the members of the von Promnitz family. Historical fittings, coming from the 17th century, include: altarpiece, music gallery, confessional, pulpit from 1691 with figures dated to approx. 1500, and paintings from the 17th-18th century: “Descent of the Holy Spirit”, “Jesus Christ with Disciples”, “Crucifixions”, “The Beheading of St John the Baptist”, “St Hedwig”, “St John the Evangelist”, “St Augustine” and “St Anthony of Padua”. The bell in the tower comes from 1448.

The Mannerist tomb chapel features a barrel vault with painted decorations with foliate motifs. In the crypt, remnants of members of the von Promnitz family are buried. One can find there a surviving triple epitaph from 1622, with whole figures of Catarina, Hans, and Helena von Promnitz.

The building is available all year round and may be visited upon prior appointment.

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. 124-125.
• Kowalski S., Zabytki architektury województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2010, s. 94-95.
• Zabytki sztuki w Polsce. Śląsk, Warszawa 2006, s. 251.
• Karta ewidencyjna, Kościół pw. św. Jana Chrzciciela, oprac. E. Garbacz, Zielona Góra 1997, Archiwum Wojewódzkiego Urzędu Ochrony Zabytków w Zielonej Górze