The exterior walls are covered with weatherboards. Inside, there is a Baroque main altar dating from c. 1720, incorporating paintings of St Roch (in the central field) and St Lawrence (at the top).

History

Most likely, a church existed on this site as early as in the 15th century. It was mentioned in written records for the first time in 1587. The present church building was erected in 1778. Renovation works were carried out e.g. in the late 19th century (when a new tower roof was constructed) and after the war, in 1947. The roofs were covered with sheet metal in 2007.

Description

The church is located in the north-eastern part of the village, at Nowa Street, at a cemetery (in its northern part) of the Parish of St Bartholomew the Apostle. The cemetery is surrounded by a forest on the east and south sides. On the west side, it borders Nowa Street, and on the north side — it borders a dirt road. The church is oriented towards the east.

It has one nave (with no aisles). The rectangular nave is adjoined by a narrower chancel, also rectangular, nearly as long as the nave and terminating in a semi-hexagon. On the west side, there is a narrower tower, having a square floor plan. The chancel is adjoined by a sacristy on the north side. A porch adjoins the nave on the south side. The church has two entrances: the main one, located on the west side, in the porch at the ground floor level of the tower; and a side entrance in the south porch.

The church has a compact structure made up of cuboids. The chancel, narrower than the nave, is of the same height. It terminates in a semi-hexagon. The two-storeyed tower of the west side, also narrower, is approx. twice as tall as the nave. Its upper storey is narrower than the lower storey. The sacristy and the porch are lower, but they are covered with tall, three-pitched roofs reaching up to the top of the walls. The nave and the chancel are covered with dual-pitched roofs; the one over the chancel is slightly lower. The rear section of the chancel is covered with a three-pitched roof. The tower has a low hip roof topped with a high tented roof surmounted by a cross on a sphere. At the base of the tented roof, there are four rectangular openings topped with small pyramidal cupolas with crosses.

The wooden church has partially a log structure and partially a post-and-beam structure. The walls are covered with weatherboards and reinforced with vertical supports. Originally, the roofs were covered with roof tiles; currently, they are covered with sheet metal. Inside, there is a wooden ceiling.

All façades are covered with weatherboards. The side walls of the nave and the chancel are reinforced with vertical supports. The rectangular windows are headed by round arches. The two-storeyed tower is situated on the central axis of the front (west) façade. The lower, wider storey is separated from the narrower upper storey with a drainage skirt roof covered with sheet metal. The tower has a low hip roof topped with a tall tented roof with a cross on a sphere. On the west side, at the ground floor level, there is a wide, rectangular door opening headed by a round arch.

The church has one nave, covered with a flat ceiling. Between the nave and the chancel, there is a chamfered rood beam with a Baroque crucifix from the 18th century. In the western part of the nave, there is a music gallery supported by two posts, enclosed with an openwork balustrade.

The church fittings come from the 18th century. The Baroque main altar, dating from c. 1720, incorporates paintings of St Roch (in the central field) and St Lawrence (at the top). The side altars and the pipe organ come from c. 1788.

The church may be visited from the outside. The church holds a fair annually on 10 May. More information about the Parish of St Bartholomew the Apostle is available on the website: http://www.parafiakeblowo.pl/ (accessed on: 30-12-2015).

compiled by Anna Dyszkant, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Poznan, 30-12-2015.

Bibliography

• Drewniane kościoły w Wielkopolsce, koncepcja, opracowanie tekstów i wybór fotografii Piotr Maluśkiewicz, Poznań 2004, s. 109.
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, t. V: Województwo poznańskie, z. 28: Powiat wolsztyński, oprac. T. Ruszczyńska, A. Sławska, Warszawa 1970, s. 6.