History

Kościelnicka Hill was first mentioned between 1373 and 1374. At that time, the local parish was found. In the 15th century, the village belonged to Jan of Koniecpol and later to Krzesław of Kurozwęki, in the 3rd quarter of the 16th century to Jan Wodzisławski, in the 17th century to the Lubomirskis, in the 18th century to the Morsztyns, and in the years 1773-1945 to the Wodzickis. The church was funded by the owner of the village, Barbara Morsztyn in 1648, probably on the site of a previous temple. In the period from the mid-17th century until the 1980s, the temple was several times in a terrible technical condition. In 1980, after the technical examination, there was a proposal to demolish it. The first major renovation of the church was carried out and funded in 1777 by Konstancja Wodzicka nee Dembińska. The interior was decorated with wall paintings and new paintings and fittings were purchased. Conservation works aimed to secure the structure and roofing were carried out in the 3rd quarter of the 20th century. They continued in 1983, 1993 (the shingled roofing and wall shuttering were replaced) and in 1997 (renovation of the church furnishings). In the autumn of 2006, the pipe organ casing was renovated.

Description  

The church is located on a picturesque elevation of the land in the north part of Kościelnicka Hill. The temple is made of wood, built as a log structure, timbered, in the late Gothic style. The body of the building is covered with a steep, single-ridge, gabled roof, rested on the king post truss, with a Baroque octagonal bell turret, topped with a bulbous dome with a lantern. The church has one nave and polygonally closed presbytery, north of which there is a sacristy and south of which a vestibule. A porch is added on the west side. The interior is covered with a mock barrel vault, with flat areas to the side supported on pillars. The rood beam, profiled and decorated with a cord-like ornament, is semi-circular in shape. The Rococo altars were made in the 2nd half of the 18th century. The main altar features the painting of Our Lady of the Angels of the 17th century, and two side altars the images of Christ and the Samaritan Woman of the 18th century and the Heart of Jesus painted in 1953 By Jadwiga Rymanówna. Among the historic fittings of the temple, there is a Rococo pulpit of the 2nd half of the 18th century and a Baroque font of the 18th century. The walls and ceiling of the church are covered with the ornamental and “figural” wall paintings of 1954 made by Jadwiga Rymanówna. The churchyard can be accessed by a passage under the classicistic, two-storey gatehouse belfry founded in 1823 by Count Józef Wodzicki. The cemetery features a tomb designed by Hans Mayer with the remains of 42 soldiers of the Austro-Hungarian army who died in the years 1914-1918 at the local military hospital. Along the alleys to the top of the church hill, there is the Way of the Cross made up of dozens of cemetery crucifixes. Near the church, there is a brick rectory building of 1881.

The monument is open to visitors. It may be visited upon prior telephone appointment with the parish. The church is located on the Wooden Architecture Route of Małopolska. Access in the summer period is also possible as part of the tour of selected monuments on the route.

Compiled by Tadeusz Śledzikowski, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Kraków, 08.09.2014.

Bibliography

• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, t. 1: Województwo krakowskie, oprac. J. Szablowski, Warszawa 1953, s. 153-154.
• Słownik historyczno-geograficzny województwa krakowskiego w średniowieczu, oprac. Laberschek J., Leszczyńska-Skrętowa Z., Sikora F., Wiśniewski J, cz. I, z. 4, Wrocław i inne 1986, s. 838.
• Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, t. II, F. Sulimierski, B. Chlebowski, W. Walewski (red.), Warszawa 1881, s.709.
• Brykowski R., Kornecki M., Kościoły drewniane w Małopolsce południowej, Wrocław 1984, s. 71.
• Kornecki M., Kościoły drewniane w Małopolsce, Kraków 1999, s. 104.
• Krasnowolski B., Leksykon zabytków architektury Małopolski, Warszawa 2013, s. 162.
• Śledzikowski T., Drewniane kościoły, kaplice i dzwonnice w Krakowie, Rocznik Krakowski, t. LXXIII, Kraków 2007, s. 79-81.
• Weiss-Nowina-Konopoczyna Z., Kościół parafialny Wszystkich Świętych w Górce Kościelnickiej na wschodnim pograniczu Krakowa, „Kościoły Drewniane”, z. 68, red. i wyd. M. Kornecki, Kraków 1998, Archiwum Narodowego Instytutu Dziedzictwa Oddział Terenowy w Krakowie.