It is an example of a rural wooden church typical of this region. The building, slightly larger following its extension, is typical of the southern part of Greater Poland. It represents wooden architecture characteristic of the Silesian school of the 17th and 18th centuries. The final form of the building was shaped in several visible stages.

History

Before 1510, there used to be a manor house chapel in Grębanin.

In 1615, a new chapel was built; it currently serves as the church chapel.

In 1712, a nave was added to the chapel owing to the efforts of Antoni Stoiński.

A two-storeyed tower was built onto the church in 1850.

In 1873, the filial church of the parish in Baranów underwent full-scale renovations.

On 1 February 1929, a parish was established in Grębanin.

The church was renovated at the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. It underwent restoration works in the 1990s, when the church fittings were restored, and after 2011, when the tower and the exterior walls were renovated.

Description

The village of Grębanin is located 4 km to the south of Kępno, in the Baranów Commune.

Its history goes back to the 13th century. At that time, Grębanin was owned by a Cistercian convent in Ołobok. At first, there was a manor house chapel in Grębanin, modified in 1510. It was replaced with a new chapel, which is currently used as the chancel, in 1615. In 1712, a nave was added to the chapel owing to the efforts of Antoni Stoiński. The church tower was erected in 1850. The church underwent full-scale renovation works in 1873, in the 1990s, and after 2011. The graveyard by the church contains a classical tomb of Joachim Kręski, who died in 1795, and his wife Justyna, who died in 1817. There is also a grave of Gabriel Hołubek, a knight of Hetman Jan Zamoyski who died on 24 January 1588 in the Battle of Byczyna. To the east of the church, there is a wooden building which was used a rectory until 1923 and was subsequently converted into a Catholic house and a chapel. The Grębanin Parish was established on 1 February 1929. In 1923, a new rectory was built owing to the efforts of Rev. Józef Janiszewski.

The church is oriented to the east. The building has a log structure, with the exception of the tower, which has a post-and-beam structure; the exterior walls are covered with weatherboards. The church has one nave (no aisles). The chancel, terminating in a polygon, is adjoined by a sacristy on the north side. The nave is slightly higher and wider than the chancel. The tower, having a square floor plan, adjoins the church on the west side; on the north side, there is a porch. The church roofs are covered with weatherboards and the tower and steeple roofs are covered with sheet metal. The steeple over the nave has a Baroque shape. The tower has two storeys and is topped with a four-pitched roof with a lantern. Inside the church, there is a false barrel vault, with the upper logs of the chancel side walls running along the entire length of the nave, supported by profiled posts connected by means of profiled crossbeams. On the rood beam, there is a crucifix from the 2nd half of the 17th century. The music gallery is supported by four posts.

The church has Late-Gothic, Late-Renaissance (the main altar from 1629), and Baroque fittings. The main altar incorporates a Late-Gothic statue of Mary with Child, regarded as having miraculous properties. Particularly interesting elements include side altars from the 17th and 18th centuries, dedicated to Mary with Child and Saints Catherine and Barbara, Adoration of the Child, the Holy Family, and the Stigmatisation of St Francis. In the tower, there is a bell from 1687, cast by a Wrocław company of Zygmunt Götz’s. In the porch, there is a list of 86 persons coming from the areas covered by the Grębanin Parish who died in the years 1914-1920 on battlefields in France, Belgium, Russia, and Poland.

The historic monument can be visited from the outside. Visiting the building inside is possible by prior arrangement. More information about the parish and the Holy Mass schedule can be found on the website of the parish and the Kalisz Diocese: www.diecezja.kalisz.pl

compiled by Teresa Palacz, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Poznan, 04-02-2015.

Bibliography

• Anders P., Województwo kaliskie, szkic monograficzny, Poznań 1983.
• Janiszewski J. ks., Powiat kępiński z mapą powiatu na podstawie różnych źródeł, Kępno 1928.
• Łęcki W., Wielkopolska - słownik krajoznawczy, Poznań 2002.
• Maluśkiewicz P., Drewniane kościoły w Wielkopolsce, Poznań 2004.
• Rocznik Diecezji Kaliskiej - 2002, Kalisz 2002.
• Ruszczyk G., Architektura drewniana w Polsce, Warszawa 2009, s. 500.
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, t. 5, z. 7: Powiat kępiński, Warszawa 1958, s. 6-7.