History

The first mention of the church in Korfantów dates back to a papal tithe record of 1335. The church was probably built at the turn of the 13th century (as seen by the lower level of the tower). From 1564, that is, from the time when Adam Gotsch became the owner of Korfantów, until 1629, the church was administered by the Protestants. W 1751 the tower was raised and topped with a Baroque cupola with a lantern.

A thorough redevelopment of the church took place no earlier than at the beginning of the 20th century. In 1908 the nave was demolished and a new one was built according to the design by Schylek of Nysa; the chancel was rebuilt in 1925. The building was consecrated on 11 June 1911.

Description

The church is located in the north-west part of the village on a gentle hill in Opolska Street. From the north and west side, it is surrounded by a brick and stone fence. The south slope of the hill has access steps installed.

The church is oriented towards the east. It was built on a cruciform plan with a quadrilateral tower surviving from the early Gothic structure. It has a short chancel terminated with a straight wall and a number of annexes of different shapes, integrated into the church body.

The church is built of brick and plastered with richly decorated façades - painted bands running around the walls, different sizes and shapes of window and door openings, profiled pilasters, volutes, and pediments. On the west, there is a four-storey tower with corner buttresses, reaching up to the third level, and an early Gothic, stepped portal on the building axis. The top level of the tower changes from a quadrilateral to octagonal shape. It is topped with a wavy cornice covered with a cupola with a lantern. The other arms of the cross are topped with gables of concave-convex lines with volutes; from the north and south, there are window openings distributed in three levels. On the south side and on the building axis, there is an expanded, neo-Baroque portal flanked by columns. It is crowned with an ornamental decoration with a bas-relief representing the Eye of Providence in a cartouche and with a dove placed beneath.

The aisles of the church are covered with gable roofs with a varying ridge line; the annexes are covered with conical and multi-pitched roofs.

Inside, the north, west and east arms of the church are linked by galleries with a wavy balustrade. The balustrades, pillars, ceiling and walls are covered with stuccowork. The church equipment comes mainly from the early 20th century and was tailor-made to fit this specific interior - as shown by the pulpit and font superstructure by the rood beam as well as the side altars integrated in conch bays. From the earlier decor, only the tombstone of Henryk Wacław Nowak (1681) and the epitaph of Heinrich Schubert (1591) have survived.

The monument is available to visitors.

Compiled by Aleksandra Ziółkowska, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Opole, 11-02-2015.

Bibliography

• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, t. VII: Województwo opolskie, z. 8: Powiat niemodliński, red. T. Chrzanowski, M. Kornecki, Warszawa 1963, s. 13-14.
• Lutsch H., Verzeichnis der Kunstdenkmäler der Provinz Schlesien, t. 4: Die Kunstdenkmäler des Reg. Bezirks Oppeln, Breslau 1892, s. 210-211.
• Sztuka Śląska Opolskiego od średniowiecza do końca w. XIX, T. Chrzanowski, M. Kornecki, Kraków 1974, s. 20.