It was renovated multiple times and was subject to extension works in 1901. It has a brick bell tower-gate from the years 1936-1938, located in the church graveyard surrounded by a stone wall erected in the years 1920-1924.

History

The parish in Kiczki was established in 1458 by Bishop of Poznań, Andrzej Opaliński of Bnin. The first church, erected in the period preceding the establishment of the parish, was destroyed in 1626 by fire. Afterwards, the entire village with a new church was built in a new place. Another destruction by fire took place in 1751. The new, third church, also made of wood, was erected by the Sisters of Mercy coming from the Holy Spirit hospital in Warsaw (next to the St Martin church). It was renovated in the years 1824 and 1860. In 1901 the temple underwent major renovation and extension: the nave was extended towards the west by 12 yards, new foundations were laid and a sacristy and an overhanging gallery were added to the south of the church. A brick bell tower was erected as well, which at the same time functions as an entrance gate to the church graveyard, in the central part of which the church is located. Subsequent renovation works took place in: 1975 - replacement of a roof cover of wood shingles with galvanised sheet metal, and after 2003 - among others, painting of the interior, replacement of the main entrance door, replacement of weatherboards, etc.

Description

The church complex is located on a small hill, within the church graveyard (without surviving tombstones), surrounded by a stone wall and a brick bell tower-gate at the front.

The temple was erected as a log structure reinforced by vertical supports. The exterior of the walls are covered with vertical board-and-batten cladding. The roof has a rafter-and-queen post structure clad in sheet metal. The body of the church is oriented towards the east. Its single nave was erected on a rectangular floor plan, with a narrower chancel terminating in a straight wall, with two sacristies on the south and north. A porch is separated from the main body on the west side. The interior is covered with a false vaulted ceiling with a segmental arch. The overhanging musical gallery is supported by two posts and features a pipe organ casing from the mid- 19th century. The building has a gable roof with two trusses (separate above the nave and the chancel). The chancel’s roof is three-sided, while the sacristies are covered with shed roofs. There is an octagonal steeple over the front façade, crowned with a sheet metal conical roof with a lantern. A gable roof resting on two pillars is found over the door at the front.

Sumptuous fixtures and fittings of the interior date back to the 18th and 19th century and include Baroque paintings: St Cecilia from the 17th century; the Holy Family (on the main altar) and St Christopher from the 18th century. Side altars date back to 1901 and resemble the main altar in terms of style. The south one features a painting of St Nicolas, while the north one a painting of the Holy Mother with Child, replaced in 1902 with the grotto of the Holy Mother of Lourdes. There is an interesting six-voice pipe organ casing on the choir gallery from around 1820.

A two-storey, three-axial bell tower is covered with a hip roof clad in sheet metal and crowned with three pinnacles surmounted with crucifixes. They are preceded by wide stone stairs on the east side.

The building is accessible to visitors during masses and following previous arrangements with the parish priest in Kiczki.

Author of the note Jerzy Szałygin, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Regional Branch in Warsaw 12-12-2017

Bibliography

• Wooden parish church of St Anna: http://www.polskaniezwykla.pl/web/place/31798,kiczki-pierwsze-drewniany-kosciol-parafialny-pw--sw--anny.html
• Record sheets of monuments of architecture: Kościół parafialny p.w. Św. Anny, Zespół kościoła parafialnego p.w. Św. Anny, prepared by Iza Dąbrowska, Siedlce 1997.
• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, Pow. Mińsk Mazowiecki, Warsaw 1968, pp. 10-11.
• Kiczki I – Church of St Anna: http://www.drewnianemazowsze.pl/kiczki-i-kosciol/Kościoły
• Mazowieckie kościoły drewniane, Jezierska B., Nadolny R. (eds.), Warsaw 2009, p. 46.
• Parafia Św. Anny Kiczki. Historia naszej parafii: http://parafiakiczki.pl/
• Wiśniewski J., Szałygin J., Materiały do katalogu drewnianego budownictwa sakralnego na Mazowszu, Mazowsze no. 3/94, p. 38.