History

The parish in Gawłuszowice was funded already in 1215 by Krystyn of Obichów. The funds were multiplied in 1447 by Cardinal Zbigniew Oleśnicki. Another temple was consecrated in 1534. It was located at the Wisłoka river and after nearly 150 years it was destroyed by flood. The present, third consecutive church was erected in another place, according to the tradition. It was built in 1677 owing to funds by Maksymilian and Sieciech Ossoliński. Carpentry works were performed by Stanisław Karkutowicz, while flashing works were carried out by Wojciech Majkowski and Stanisław Proskowic, which we learn from inscriptions on a rood beam. Consecration of the temple took place on 2 September 1685. The church was altered during renovations in the years 1856 and 1871. In 1856, as a result of reconstruction of walkways, the church was endowed with “a completely new form on the outside” (only wooden pendants of old walkways were left intact for decorative purposes). In 1871 a tower added to the church corpus in the west was demolished and replaced with a porch. At that time windows were enlarged and a steeple over the nave was reconstructed. The church interior was decorated in 1924 by wall paintings created by Vlastimil Hoffman (strongly altered later on). The most recent renovation works were carried out in 1968 (renovation of roof truss and roof cover), 1969 (alteration of a musical gallery), 1974 (stained glass windows were installed in the nave) and in the 1990s.

Description

The church is located approx. 100 m to the west of the local road between Gawłuszowice and Mielec. It is situated on a flat terrain, fenced and surrounded by old tree stands.

The church consists of a single-space, rectangular nave and a narrower, rectangular chancel terminating in a semi-hexagon in the east. The chancel is adjoined by a rectangular sacristy in the north. The nave is preceded in the west by a rectangular porch. The other porch abuts on the nave in the south. The church body is compact, mainly owing to the application of large planes of roof cover that integrate particular segments of the building. The nave and chancel with walls of equal height are covered with a tall, steep gable roof with a common roof ridge, lowering in three slopes over the terminating vista of the chancel. Porches are covered with gable roofs, while a sacristy with a shed roof. The entire church is circumscribed by wide cloister-type walkways (discontinued only at porches) resting on low pillars. There is a small, openwork steeple turret, clad with sheet metal, on the roof ridge at the meeting point of the nave and chancel. All roofs and walls of the church are clad with wood shingles. The church was made of larch wood, based on a log structure, while the porches are based on a post-and-beam structure. The walls of the nave and the chancel are reinforced with clamps. The roof features a king post truss with longitudinal reinforcement, densely arranged full A-frames and preserved assembly marks. Walls of the chancel and nave are partitioned in the interior by fluted pilasters with composite capitals. A rood has a rectangular contour and includes a profiled rood beam where the date of construction and surnames of master builders are carved. Music gallery with a profiled parapet, bulging in the middle part, rests on six posts. The interior of the nave and chancel is covered with a flat ceiling, including a longitudinal crossbeam with decorative profiles in the nave. The sacristy has a beamed ceiling. Portals from the western porch to the nave, from the nave to the southern porch and from the chancel to the sacristy are accentuated by ogee-shaped profiled window surrounds, that are reminiscent of the Gothic carpentry tradition. Walls and ceilings are covered with wall paintings with ornaments. Interior fittings date back mainly to the second half of the 18th century: among others, the main altarpiece, side altars at the rood, pulpit.

The building is available all year round; interior tours upon prior telephone appointment.

compiled by Ryszard Kwolek, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Rzeszow, 10-27-2014.

Bibliography

• Bocheński A., Kościół w Gawłuszowicach, „Materiały MBL”, z. 19, 1974
• Brykowski R., Kornecki M., Drewniane kościoły w Małopolsce Południowej, Wrocław-Warszawa 1984
• Kopera F., Lepszy L., Kościoły drewniane Galicji Zachodniej, Kraków 1916
• Kornecki M., Małopolskie kościoły drewniane w XVI i XVII wieku, Teka Komisji Urbanistyki i Architektury XV 1981, XVI 1982
• Rocznik diecezji tarnowskiej na rok 1972, Tarnów 1972
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, Woj. rzeszowskie, Kolbuszowa, Mielec i okolice, opr. E. Snieżyńska-Stolot, Warszawa 1991