History of the site

The first mention of the church in Gorzyca dates back to the mid- 13th century. It was a parish church, probably made of stone. In the early 18th century it was destroyed. Another temple, most probably using the foundations of the earlier one, was erected by the Protestants in 1736. After the fire of 1777 the building was redeveloped. A tower was added at that time. In the 19th century a burial chapel of the von Kalckreuth family and a wooden bell tower, featuring bells cast in 1804, were built next to the church. After World War II the church was adapted to the Roman Catholic liturgy and consecrated in 1949. In the 1960s the side galleries were shortened. A renovation carried out in 1970 focused on the façades, whereas the one conducted in 1980 replaced the roof cover and introduced a flat roof above the burial chapel. The window and door joinery was replaced in 1992 and 1993.

Description of the site

The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is located in the western part of the village. The building is oriented. The feature was erected in a timber-frame structure with brick filling on a rectangular floor plan, with its chancel featuring a semi-hexagonal end section. A simple body is covered with a gable roof passing into a three-hipped one above the chancel. A tower crowned with a bulbous cupola with a lantern rises above the western part. Windows of diverse shapes are positioned on two levels. The façades are accentuated with an irregular spacing of posts and transoms with plastered inter-transom fields. The aisleless interior is covered with a raw beamed ceiling. A sacristy was delineated in the chancel through removing a fragment of galleries that had originally encircled the entire interior. A pulpit casing was removed from the original pulpit altar and placed at one of the gallery pillars. Side altars were added, most probably originating from the burial chapel. A brick flooring has survived until present.

Limited access to the monument. It can be visited upon prior telephone arrangement.

Author of the note:compiled by Marta Kłaczkowska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Zielona Góra, 04-04-2017

Bibliography

• Szymańska-Dereń M., Kościoły zrębowe i szkieletowe województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2009, pp. 27-29.
• Grabacz K., Przewodnik po zabytkach województwa lubuskiego, vol. 3, Zielona Góra 2013, pp. 216-217.