There are valuable Gothic sculptures and paintings in the church.

History

Parish Church of St John the Baptist was built in the place of a former, wooden one from the 1st half of the 16th century. The present neoclassical church was erected in 1822 by a little-known architect from Cracow, Antoni Beck. The church was founded by archbishop of Cracow Jan Paweł Woronicz (the locality was situated in the centre of bishop's property complex in Jangrot). It was consecrated in 1824. In the 2nd half of the 19th century, when priest Jan Kozacki was the parish priest in the church, the building was renovated. At that time, the roof was covered by wood shingles, among other things. The church was severely damaged during the war in 1914. After the end of the World War I, it was rebuilt owing to the efforts of the then parish priest Piotr Jegierski. In the 1960s, floor was replaced in the church. In the 1980s, the roof was covered with sheet metal, and in the 1990s, plasterwork inside the church was renovated. Concurrently with the church, in 1822, a classical bell tower was built.

Description

The church is located in the eastern part of the village, by the main road running from Jangrot to Trzyciąż. It is circumscribed by a brick wall with three wicked gates. The bell tower is located on the south side, in the line of the walls. The church is made of brick and plastered. The church was build on a floor plan shaped as an elongated rectangle, with a chancel terminating in a straight wall and narrower than the nave, with two-storey localities on the sides. The church's body is simple, compact, and uniform, and terminates in a cuboid, monumental block encompassing the bipartite interior and all additional annexes (sacristy, storage room, porches). The building is covered by a one-ridge roof from galvanised sheet, with a polygonal steeple turret on the roof ridge. The front façade is partitioned by pilasters and frames with false rustication, and topped by a triangular pediment with volutes on the sides, with a rectangular entrance opening framed by a portal with a tympanum featuring the foundation plaque inside, with an illegible inscription and the coat of arms of bishop J.P. Woronicz. Side façades are partitioned horizontally, with outermost axes accentuated by false rustication, and feature profiled cornices, string courses, and a crowing cornice. The external silhouette of the church is accentuated by rows of semi-circular windows with metal muntins arranged radially, glazed with transparent glass. The doors are massive, two-leaf, with decorative blacksmith strapwork. Door joinery is of very good quality. The nave is covered by a strongly flattened barrel vault with lunettes, resting on engaged columns, and the chancel is covered by a sail vault resting of four massive columns. Corners of the nave inside the church are rounded. In the sacristy, stone floor from the time of construction of the church has been preserved. The most valuable artefacts in the church include an archaic and rather crudely designed monumental crucifix from the 2nd half of the 14th century, and the painting "Holy Family", an example of late-Gothic panel painting of the 1st quarter of the 16th century. In the main altar, there is a painting depicting St John the Baptist and St Paul, created in the years 1892-1893. In the side altars, flanking the rood arcade, there are, among other things, "Crucifixion" and "Feeding of the Multitude" paintings, created around 1822 by a painter from Cracow, Michał Stachowicz. The altars, ambo, and two confessionals are Baroque in style. The pipe organ was made in 1887 by the workshop of Józef Szymański in Warsaw. The free-standing bell tower by the church is made of brick, plastered, two-storey. Its façades are partitioned with pilasters. It is covered by a gable roof with a triangular gable. Inside, there is, among other things, a bell from 1557.

The historic monument is accessible. Apart from the times of services, it may be visited upon prior telephone appointment with the parish.

compiled by Tadeusz Śledzikowski, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Krakow, 03-11-2014.

Bibliography

• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, t. 1: Województwo krakowskie: Powiat olkuski, oprac. K. Kutrzebianka, Warszawa 1953, s. 390.
• Chrzanowski T., Kornecki M., Sztuka Ziemi Krakowskiej, Kraków 1982, s.119, 506-507.
• Kornecki M., Natura i kultura w krajobrazie Jury. Sztuka sakralna, Kraków 1993, s. 26-27, 79.
• Krasnowolski B, Leksykon zabytków architektury Małopolski, Warszawa 2013, s. 62.
• Karta ewidencyjna, Jangrot. Kościół parafialny pw. św. Jana Chrzciciela wraz z dzwonnicą, oprac. Barbara Tondos, Mieczysław Kuś, Anna Marek, Kraków 2003, Archiwum Wojewódzkiego Urzędu Ochrony Zabytków w Krakowie.