In addition, the church features the fittings and equipment of various epochs and styles: late Gothic sculptures from 1499, a late Renaissance tombstone with alabaster statuettes, or complex Baroque furnishings of a coherent iconographic pattern.

History

The first mention of the church in Głogówek goes back to 1284 and its parish priest Tilo. In 1380 St Bartholomew Church, thanks to Prince Henryk Niemodliński, was made a collegiate church. Over the centuries, the temple was destroyed by the Hussites, rebuilt by the parishioners and then taken over by the Protestants. Only the 17th century was a peaceful time for the temple. At that time, the Oppersdorf’s Chapel was consecrated and St Candida and St Joseph chapels were funded (the Oppersdorfs ruled the Głogówek castle from 1561).

The present-day interior decor mostly dates from the late 18th century and is attributed to Franz Sebastini (paintings and images) and Johann Schubert (carving decorations).

Description

The Church of St Bartholomew was built within the boundaries of the old town. It is located in one of the side streets south-west of the market, with a neo-Gothic rectory building to the north.

The church was built as a three-aisled, east-oriented basilica with a two-bay chancel with a three-sided termination. On the north side of the chancel, there is the Oppersdorf’s Chapel of almost equal length; the sacrity is located to the south. At the central bay of the nave, there are two chapels: a four-sided St Candida’s on the north and St Jospeph’s on the south (with clipped corners). Between the Oppersdorf’s Chapel and St Candida’s Chapel there is a rectangular porch with a library on the upper floor. Two newer staircases are located on the west, at the tower bay.

The temple is built of brick, buttressed and partly plastered (the west façade with the towers, the chapels of St Joseph and St Candida and architectural details, including window bays and the crowning cornice). The west façade is a 3-axis form with the entrance in the central axis; above, there is a window opening closed with a pointed arch. The central axis is topped with a bulging gable braced with double volutes. In the lower section, the towers are quadrilateral to become octagonal in the upper sections. They are covered with bulbous cupolas with lanterns.

The body of the church is covered with a gable roof, the north place of the roof extending over the aisle and chapels. The south aisle has a lean-to roof, the St Joseph’s Chapel a cupola with a lantern.

The chancel and the Oppersdorfs’ Chapel are covered with lierne vaulting with the ribs with keystones and supports with anthropomorphic shapes; the aisles and chapels are covered with barrel and cloister vaults. The walls and ceilings are entirely painted and covered with stuccowork decoration by Franz Sebastini and Johann Schubert (scenes from the life of Christ and St Bartholomew). The interior is filled with Baroque fittings with the winged main altar (1796) with the painting of the Martyrdom of St Bartholomew by Lauser from Prague (1885), pulpit and baptismal font with sculptures by Schubert and side altars with paintings by Sebastini. The interior also boast some elements of the earlier equipment, e.g. statues of 1499 and the late Renaissance tombstone of Johann Georg Oppersdorf and his parents, Georg and Isolde, made by Sebastian Hall in 1634.

The monument is available to visitors.

Compiled by Aleksandra Ziółkowska, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Opole, 19-02-2015.

Bibliography

• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, t. VII: Województwo opolskie, z. 12: Powiat prudnicki, red. T. Chrzanowski, M. Kornecki, Warszawa 1960, s. 15-20.
• Lutsch H., Verzeichnis der Kunstdenkmäler der Provinz Schlesien, t. 4: Die Kunstdenkmäler des Reg. Bezirks Oppeln, Breslau 1892, s. 297-299
• Karta ewidencyjna zabytku architektury- kościół parafialny pw. św. Bartłomieja w Głogówku, oprac. PDZ ALMA Jacek Sawiński, 2006, Arch. WUOZ w Opolu http://www.parafia.glogovia.pl/viewpage.php?page_id=97 (17.02.2015 r.)