History

The church is believed to have been founded by Władysław Herman, although it is also linked to Piotr Włostowic. The church is believed to have been built somewhere around the 12th century; it was then renovated in 1440 by Andrzej of Bnin, the bishop of Poznań. Subsequent restoration and alteration works took place in 1605, encompassing the portal and the western façade gable wall; in 1802, the walls of the church were refurbished and a new ceiling was constructed, while in 1929 further works were carried on the façades and the ceilings.

Description

The church of St Giles, currently serving as the cemetery chapel, is located in the cemetery which occupies a part of the hill north of the town, in the suburb of Krobia known as Kościelskie, in the vicinity of the end section of Poznańska street, which continues as a road towards Gostyń.

The chapel is oriented towards the east; it is an aisleless structure, its nave and apse being of the same height and sharing a single ceiling. Built using granite blocks and featuring sandstone cladding on its corners, the building was designed on a rectangular floor plan, with a semicircular apse. The apse itself is made mostly of brick, with a smattering of field stones. The western façade and the apse are covered with plaster. The front façade features an entrance positioned on the axis of the ground floor level, topped with a basket-handle arch. The gable wall of the façade is separated from the lower part thereof by a cornice and features a slightly concave coping and a semi-circular top section. A niche with two embedded stones is positioned above the entrance. The stones are inscribed with the dates 1802 and 1929 as well as the word “Repara”. The southern façade features traces of three small, bricked-up Romanesque windows as well as a single pointed-arch Gothic window with splayed reveals. There is also a stepped portal which is believed to date back to around 1440. The façade of the apse features a pointed-arch window on the axis. Inside, the most notable features are the Late Baroque altarpiece with sculptures of saints and a painting depicting the lamentation of Christ (carrying the date 1669) as well as a Romanesque granite baptismal font.

The structure can be viewed from the outside.

compiled by Beata Marzęta, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Poznan, 17-10-2014.

Bibliography

• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, woj. poznańskie, t. V, z. 4, pow. gostyński, s. 27.
• Szkice z dziejów ziemi krobskiej, Poznań- Krobia 1986, s. 22-25