The church is one of the very few wooden churches in Greater Poland designed on a Greek cross floor plan with an orthogonal middle section. The design of the church is also reminiscent of the architecture of orthodox tserkvas. Inside, the church houses an extremely valuable painting depicting St Sebastian and St Fabian.

History

The first church that stood on this spot was erected somewhere around 1572 as an infirmary church. Until the year 1600, it remained in the hands of the Bohemian Brethren. The existing church was most likely built in 1752. In 1813, the building underwent thorough restoration at the initiative of the local burghers, with a tower and a small turret crowned with a steeple being added in the western part of the edifice. Subsequent renovation works were carried out in years 1967-68 and 1983-2004. From 2008 onwards, the church serves as the patronal church of the Marksman Society in the Kalisz diocese.

Description

The church of St Fabian and St Sebastian in Krotoszyn is located in the town centre, on Koźmińska street. It is oriented towards the east. The church is made of wooden logs with protruding ends; the tower in the western part of the church is clad with vertical weatherboards. The church follows a centrally-planned, Greek cross layout with a taller, octagonal central part and four rectangular arms. The chancel is adjoined by a rectangular sacristy, positioned north of the chancel itself. Inside, the central section is covered with an eight-part wooden dome, while the arms of the cruciform church feature false barrel vaults, with a beamed ceiling used for the sacristy. The choir gallery is an overhanging structure with a straight parapet and a decorative pipe organ casing. The rood beam incorporates a Baroque crucifix and two sculptures of patron bishops from the 17th century, also designed in the Baroque style. The windows are topped with segmental arches and adorned with rectangular, moulded window surrounds. A pronounced crowning cornice runs beneath the eaves. The roofs of the church are clad with wood shingles. The central section features an eight-pitched roof topped with a bulbous, wood-shingled steeple with a lantern. The arms of the cruciform church feature gable roofs, while the tower rising above the porch is covered with a pyramid hipped roof. The lower section of the porch around the tower features a skirt roof that runs around the tower’s base.

The interior décor, including especially the main, architectural altarpiece from the 2nd half of the 18th century, deserves a particular attention. The Baroque altarpiece incorporates sculpture of St Peter, St Paul and a group of angels as well as what is surely the most valuable part of the fixtures and fittings of the church - the painting of St Fabian and St Sebastian, dating back to the 17th century. The interior also features original architectural wall paintings executed in 1813.

The church may be visited during church service.

compiled by Beata Marzęta, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Poznan, 14.11.2014.

Bibliography

• Kościoły drewniane Wielkopolski, Poznań 2004
• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, t.5 z. 11, powiat krotoszyński
• Krotoszyn, pr. zb. Pod red. Dionizego Kosińskiego, t.1-2, Krotoszyn-Poznań 1996