History of the structure

Kobyla Góra had municipal rights from the first quarter of the 15th century. It lost them in 1793 as a result of being incorporated into the Kingdom of Prussia following the Second Partition of Poland.

The construction of the Evangelical church in Kobyla Góra began in connection with the planned increased influx and settlement of German people of Evangelical faith in the area of Wielkopolska as a part of the Germanization campaign. The fight against the Polish Roman Catholic Church under the direction of the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, as part of the so-called Kulturkampf, was also significant.

In the mid-19th century, there were only 9 Evangelical families living in Kobyla Góra. In the 1880s, 76 Protestants were registered in the city, while at the beginning of the 20th century - already 190 inhabitants. Until the church was built, they used the chapel in the local Evangelical school.

The Evangelical church in Kobyla Góra was consecrated on 29 April 1894 by general superintendent Hefiekiel. The ceremony was honoured by the presence of Wilhelm II’s daughter, who donated a Bible with a dedication to the Evangelical community to commemorate the event. On 1 April 1895, the Evangelical parish was established in Kobyla Góra. In 1896 the first pastor of the parish was Rudolf Niebisch, after one year’s ordination, the former associate of the pastor of Ostrzeszów. The church was finally completed in 1897. The cost of its construction including the tower was 50 thousand marks. At the end of the 19th century the parish had 1120 faithful. Before World War I, pastor Klawieter served in Kobyla Góra. In the interwar period, as well as in the occupation period, the services were held by Pastor Ernst Weinholt from Pisarzowice. Currently the church is used by the Evangelical-Augsburg Parish in Kępno.

Description of the structure

The Evangelical church in Kobyla Góra is located in the south-western part of the village by the road leading to Marcinki. A wide tree-lined avenue leads to it from the north through the church cemetery. The church is a non-oriented building with the chancel facing south, built of brick and not plastered. It was built on a cross plan formed by the nave and the chancel with annexes adjoining its sides. Adjoining the single, rectangular nave from the north is a square tower topped with a cupola with a spire, reinforced with buttresses and flanked from the east and west with rectangular porches of different heights, while from the south - a rectangular, three-sided closed chancel with rectangular rooms with a sacristy from the east and west. The main nave is covered with a steep gable roof, the chancel with a three-slope roof, the porches with gable roofs, and the sacristies with tented roofs. The interior of the nave is closed with a wooden gable ceiling on an open rafter framing, whereas the chancel, opened to the nave with a rood beam arch, is vaulted hemispherically. The nave is closed from the north by a wooden choir gallery with a simple balustrade supported on two pillars. At the chancel on the left side of the nave there is a neo-Gothic pulpit, on the right - a neo-Gothic baptismal font. The old furnishings also include pews. The area of the church cemetery is surrounded by a brick fence with an entrance gate located in the northern part.

Visitor access: The church is open to visitors from the outside.

Author of the note: Tomasz Łuczak, 26.09.2017

Bibliography

• Kobyla Góra – kościół ewangelicki, Record sheet of monuments of architecture and construction, compiled by Marcin Szeląg, 2005, Archive of the Voivodeship Heritage Protection Officer in Poznań.
• Wielkopolska. Słownik krajoznawczy, ed. Łęcki Włodzimierz, Poznań 2002, p 137.
• Edward Nawrot, Kobyla Góra. Dzieje parafii Kobyla Góra w latach 1821-1945, Poznań 1990.