It is an example of interpenetration of forms of monumental architecture and wooden provincial architecture.

History

The parish of St Stanislaus of Szczepanów in Lekowo belongs to the oldest rural parishes in Mazovia - it was established in 1280. The first written mention of the foundation of the church dates back to 1385. In 1388 the Bishop of Płock enlarged its emolument. That year it was most probably consecrated as well. There is a written mention from 1406 of its bad state of preservation. It was burned down by the Teutonic Order in 1409. Soon afterwards it was rebuilt, but already in 1456 it required a full-scale renovation. A comprehensive restoration of the temple in the years 1597-1600 was supervised by the parish priest of then, Szymon Lekowski. A subsequent renovation took place in the years 1690-1694. The current St Stanislaus of Szczepanów parish church was erected in 1772 at the efforts of the parish priest, Rev. Józef Krawczyński. It underwent further renovations in the years 1824-1827 and 1843. In 1870 the temple was partially remodelled by adding a porch and a tower. Further refurbishments were conducted in the 20th century, among others in the years 1908-1910, 1954 and 1975-1976.

Description

The church complex is located on the west side of the road running across the village, on a small hill, within the church graveyard (without surviving graves), surrounded by a brick wall.

The church is oriented towards the east, has a log timber structure reinforced with vertical supports and is covered with board-and-batten cladding. The roof is clad in sheet metal. The nave was built on a rectangular floor plan, while the narrower chancel terminates in a straight wall. A sacristy adjoins the chancel on the south side, while a porch preceded by a vestibule adjoins it on the north side. Both include lodges on upper storeys. A porch was added to the nave on the south side. The nave and the chancel share a gable roof. The porch and the sacristy are covered with shed roofs. The façade is crowned with a triangular gable, framed with two two-storey towers surmounted with soaring cupolas topped with metal crucifixes. At the end of the nave, the ridge features a quadrangular steeple clad in sheet metal, topped with a bulbous cupola clad in sheet metal and featuring a metal crucifix.

The interior has three naves partitioned by three pairs of wooden columns. The main nave and the chancel feature a barrel vault with a basket arch, while the side naves are covered with a flat ceiling. The choir gallery is supported by four posts. The walls are covered with ornamental polychrome. The interior fixtures and fittings are stylistically diverse: a large crucifix from the 17th century on a rood beam, a baptismal font from the late 18th century, altarpieces from the second half of the 19th century. The main altar features a Baroque painting “Holy Mother with Child” from the late 17th century.

A bell tower accompanying the church, erected in the 17th century, is situated to the south-west from the temple, at a certain distance (at a road leading to a graveyard). It has a post-and-beam structure, reinforced with transoms and raking shores, and is covered with vertical board-and-batten siding on the outside and topped with a rafter roof covered with wood shingles. It has a square floor plan. The body has two storeys: the upper one is narrower and separated with an offset covered with wood-shingle roofing. The entrance opening is located at the south end; the upper part of the second storey is not covered with weatherboards. The entire building is covered with an eight-faced, bulbous roof with an octagonal lantern, with a tented cupola rising above it, featuring a tin pinnacle including a crucifix.

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

Author of the note Jerzy Szałygin, National Institute of Cultural Heritage, Regional Branch in Warsaw 22-12-2017

Bibliography

• A wooden church of St Stanislaus of Szczepanów (1772): http://www.polskaniezwykla.pl/web/place/5835,lekowo-drewniany-kosciol-sw--stanislawa-biskupa-(1772).html
• Record sheets of monuments of architecture: Kościół parafialny p.w. Św. Stanisława bpa, Zespół kościoła parafialnego p.w. Św. Anny, Dzwonnica, prepared by Bożena Ankiewicz, n.a.
• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, vol. X, Dawne woj. warszawskie, issue 1, Ciechanów i okolice, Warsaw 1977, p. 35-36.
• The church of St Stanislaus of Szczepanów in Lekowo: http://mazowieckiszlaktradycji.com/poi-lista/kosciol-pw-sw-stanislawa-biskupa-i-meczennika-w-lekowie/?thematicPathId=1264
• Lekowo-Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów church: http://www.drewnianemazowsze.pl/lekowo-kosciol/
• Mazowieckie kościoły drewniane, Jezierska B., Nadolny R. (eds.), Warsaw 2009, p. 56.
• Wiśniewski J., Szałygin J., Materiały do katalogu drewnianego budownictwa sakralnego na Mazowszu, Mazowsze no. 3/94, p. 45.