History

The church was built as a Gothic temple after 1300, funded by the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, the then owners of the hamlet. It was completely rebuilt in the Baroque era. The polychrome dates back to ca. 1714. In 1771 the tower was covered with a Baroque cupola. In the 18th century, a porch was added to the nave from the south. After 1910, the Chapel of the Crucifixion was built at the closing of the chancel. The church was refurbished in 1835, 1910, 1930, 1960 and 1995.

Description

It sits in the centre of the village, by one of the side roads running parallel to the Niedzica - Łapsze Wyżne road. It overlooks the Łapszański creek from a buttress. Originally Gothic, the church was rebuilt in the spirit of Baroque in the 18th century. The temple is oriented and single-nave. It has a narrow chancel closed on three sides. From the north, the chancel touches the sacristy. The porch adjoins the nave from the south. The tower adjoins the church from the west. It was built on a square plan and is topped with a Baroque cupola. The chancel has a cross vault, wooden above the nave. Above the chancel, there is an ave bell turret. The church has gable roofs. It is built of stone, plastered, and buttressed. The façades are covered with smooth plaster without any architectural details. They are topped with a modest cornice under the eaves. The tower is decorated with the so-called “mirror” whitewashed lesenes and rough surface plaster. The upper level of the tower is articulated with a prominent, profiled cornice under the cupola. The interior equipment is mostly from the 18th century. The main altar is wooden, painted, and gilded. In the middle of it, there is a painting of the patron of the church, St Quirinus, from 1763. According to tradition, St Quirinus was a bishop in what is today’s Croatia during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. He was a martyr: he was drowned in the territory of today’s Hungary. There is a wooden, polychrome-adorned ceiling above the nave. The paintings date back to 1914. In the middle, there is an image of Our Lady of the Angels. Among the Baroque ornaments, there is a cross of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre with the date of the painting. The church is part of the Małopolska Route of the Order of the Holy Sepulchre. This temple is Poland’s only church dedicated to St Quirinus.

The site is accessible all year round.

Author of the note Stanisław Kołodziejski, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Kraków 14/10/2014

Bibliography

• Skorupa A., Zabytkowe kościoły Polskiego Spisza. Kraków 1997
• Janicka –Krzywda U., Zabytkowe kościoły Orawy, Spisza, Podhala, Gorców i Pienin. Kraków 1987