Inside, the valuable set of “marble” epitaphs from the 17th to 19th century is particularly noteworthy.

History

The oldest wooden church in Węgleszyn already existed at the beginning of the 14th century. According to Jan Długosz, between 1367 and 1380, the Bishop of Krakow Florian from Mokrsko erected the present brick temple in its place. Probably soon afterwards, the parish of St. Andrew the Apostle, mentioned for the first time in Liber Beneficiorum of Archbishop Jan Łaski from the years 1511-23, was established there. In the unanimous opinion of contemporary historians, the church was not taken away from Catholics in the second half of the 16th century, despite the fact that in the acts of a dissenting synod in Oksa in 1602, information about the need to send a priest to the congregation in Węgleszyn was noted. In the second half of the 18th century, the church was renovated and its furnishings were replaced with Rococo elements. In 1840 it was in a disastrous condition, as was the wooden belfry. In 1843, the church was closed to the faithful and in the same year, thanks to the efforts of Liberta Kochanowska its renovation began (new roofs were made, walls and vaults were secured). In 1847, the belfry threatened to collapse, and the bells were hung on wooden pillars. In 1858 the parents of Stefan Żeromski - Wincenty Żeromski and Franciszka Katerlanka - got married in the church. Just before 1890, a porch was added and the present belfry was built. In 1892, Fr Piotr Jędrychowski obtained permission to expand the temple on condition that its former character was preserved. Shortly afterwards, the nave was enlarged by two western bays and a new sacristy was added to the chancel. Before 1900, new vaults and a new roof were built above the nave body. However, mistakes must have been made, because already in 1914 the vault was demolished, and in 1915 it was replaced with a concrete one. Further significant renovation work in the church was carried out in 1946 and 1977-1980, during which the interior was renovated and tidied up (design by S. Skibniewski), and covered with polychrome (design by W. Szabelski). The furnishings underwent conservation in 1981-1985 (altars) and 1992 (organs). In 2000 and 2015, the external plasters were repaired and the interior was renovated in 2010. In 2006, the roof truss and roof sheathing of both the belfry and the church were renovated.

Description

The parish church complex is located in the north-eastern part of the village, on the road to Oksa. Its elements include a Gothic temple, an eclectic belfry and a former church cemetery which occupy the inner part of an irregular, polygonal yard, surrounded by a fence.

Located in the south-western part of the area, the orientated Church of St. Andrew is a single-nave building (three eastern spans of the body are Gothic) with a Gothic separated rectangular chancel, closed with a straight arch, with low and rectangular rooms adjacent to it, from the east - a storage room with a rectangular apse and from the north - a sacristy. There is a low, square porch at the southern wall of the body. The church was made of brick and stone, fully plastered and covered with buttresses. It is covered with: a gable roof (above the nave with a steeple, the porch), three-pitched (above the chancel), shed roof (above the sacristy) and multi-hipped (above the storage room). Its façades are modest, with a two-zone façade with a triangular gable with an oculus on the axis and pedestals on the sides, framed by buttresses placed on pilasters. The main and side entrances to the church are accentuated by stone portals (in the porch leading to the nave a Gothic portal from the third quarter of the 14th century). The interior of the church is covered with: a barrel vault with lunettes (in the nave), double barrel vaults (in the sacristy), barrel vaults (in the porch) and a ceiling (in the storage room). The entrance from the chancel to the sacristy is accentuated by a stone portal from the 3 quarter of the 14th century (on its door there is a Gothic coat of arms made of sheet metal - Jelita). Among the modest furnishings of the church the following are noteworthy: three late Baroque altars from the 2nd half of the 18th century, a pipe organ casing from 1906, a baptismal font from the 1st half of the 14th century, two “marble” epitaphs with engraved figural representations commemorating Katarzyna Majowa (after 1631) and Anna and Marcin Krzelczycki (after 1657), made by stonemasons from Chęciny, as well as “marble” epitaphs of Michał (died 1789), Kazimierz (died 1840) and Anna (died 1844) Bystrzonowski from the 1840s-50s (both made by Jan Nepomucen Galli?).

The monument is open to visitors. The interiors may be explored upon prior arrangement with the parish priest.

Łukasz Piotr Młynarski, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Kielce, 14.03.2016. 

Bibliography

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