History

The church was build in approx. 1520, replacing an earlier (wooden) one. The date is shown on the front façade. The question who was the founder remains problematic. Some sources give the name Drzewiecki, but authors of the most recent studies are more inclined towards the Strykowski family. The latter theory is confirmed by, inter alia, Jastrzębiec coat of arms of the Strykowski family, placed on the late-Gothic church doors. The church was used by the town residents.

In the end of the 19th century, the church was converted and lost its original, late-Gothic appearance. The building was also damaged during the war. Blowing up of the bridge located nearby caused numerous cracks in the walls in which - according to local stories - a number of projectiles from the World War I were stuck.

Description

The church is located in the centre of Inowłodz. It was built on the bank of the river Pilica, near the route from Łódź to Opoczno. It is made of sandstone and, partially, brick, and both its internal and external walls are plastered. It is an oriented, single-nave building with a narrower chancel with a polygonal end section (the chancel is lower than the nave). From the north, a tower adjoins the main body of the church, and the chancel is flanked by sacristies from both sides. The interiors of the nave and chancel are covered with wooden flat ceilings, and over sacristies, there are barrel and groin vaults. The roof truss and roof were replaced a number of times, they are made of wood. The gable roofs are covered with sheet metal. The bell tower is topped with a tented roof, also covered with sheet metal.

The main entrance to the church is positioned in the western façade. It is decorated with a neo-Gothic portal. The façade is topped with an open-work turret with a crucifix. The wall is supported by two oblique buttresses. Walls of remaining façades are also buttressed. In the northern façade, a two-storey bell tower is the characteristic element.

In its northern wall, there is door leading to the church. The entrance is accentuated by a portal over which there is a rosette with date 1520 - the year of construction of the church.

Church interior fittings are quite modest. The neo-Baroque main altar frames a copy of a miraculous image of Our Lady of Sorrows, painted in the 16th century and decorated with a 17th-century dress. The original painting was stolen in 2000.

There are also two neo-Baroque altars in the church, made in the workshop of A. Urbanowski from Łódź.

The old sacristy adjoining the chancel from the north can be reached through a 16-century cast doors with Jastrzębiec coat of arms. The oldest element of the fittings is a late-Gothic baptismal font. An interesting element is also the grave slab of Jeremiasz Barbariga, Metropolitan of Naxos and Paros. He was a Greek Patriarch who travelled through the woods of Spała. He was murdered near Inowłodz by bandits (1634), and his remains were buried in the church of St Michael the Archangel.

The building is accessible all year round - visiting is possible upon arrangement with the parish priest.

compiled by Anna Michalska, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Łódź, 18.11.2014.

Bibliography

• Lechowicz Z., Olędzki M., Dawne dzieje Inowłodza, Łódź 2004 r.
• Kieszkowski W., Zabytki sztuki w Polsce, Inwentarz topograficzny, woj. łódzkie, Warszawa 1939, cz. VI, z. 1