The church has retained its original architectural form, half-timbered wall structure and historic interior fittings.

History

The church was built in 1751, on the site formerly occupied by a fifteenth-century temple, which was first mentioned in 1491. The half-timbered church was founded by the von Leckow family, owners of the village and the estate. It was a filial church in the parish of Rusinowo. In 1947, the structure was consecrated as a Roman Catholic Church of SS Peter and Paul the Apostles, which originally belonged to the parish of Świdwin; since 1980, it has been a parish church. In the 1970s-1980s, the walls of the nave were reinforced by masonry on the outside and a brick and stone sacristy was added.

Description

The Church of SS Peter and Paul the Apostles is located in the middle of the village, on the north side of the intersection of main roads, within the historic cemetery enclosed by a stone wall. The temple is oriented, aisleless (with a tower jutting out from the church body), and represents the regional half-timbered (rural) architecture. The nave was built on a rectangular floor plan, is closed off on three sides from the east, measures 14.5 m by 8.5 m, has the shape of a cuboid, and is covered by a gable roof (with three planes over the presbytery). A small sacristy was added to the north wall. A two-storey tower juts out from the western part of the body; the tower is topped with a stepped tented roof with an octagonal lantern. The walls of the church feature a half-timbered (timber-frame) structure with brick infill, and plastered and whitewashed spaces between the transoms. The wooden structural frame of the nave is made of oak, forms a truss composed of an arrhythmically spaced posts, ground plates, top plates, three levels of pillars, and a layout of several braces. The walls of the naves were reinforced by masonry and plastered. The walls of the sacristy are also made of brick, plastered, and feature a pseudo-post-and-beam painting. The ceiling above the nave is made of exposed wooden beams and was fitted with additional wooden boards. The roof of the building rests on the original wooden roof truss featuring a rafter and collar structure with a single queen-post support (wall), reinforced by struts and braces; the entire structure was shaped using an axe, and the carpentry joints were studded. The covering of the nave roof is made of ceramic beaver tail tiles forming a “lace” pattern; the tented roof of the tower is covered with galvanised and painted sheet metal. The façades feature the original layout based on the “drawing” of the wooden structural frame, without any style features. The façades of the long walls are three-axial and asymmetrical, while the gable-end façades exhibit a single-axis design. The church hall is closed off with a three-sided presbytery to the east, and with an organ gallery resting on two pillars to the west. The western section of the church includes two separate small rooms under the tower. The presbytery is decorated with a wooden Late-Gothic (ca. 1500) triptych depicting apostles and saints. Other interior fittings of great historical value include Baroque baptismal font dating back to the mid-17th century, eight-branched candleholder, Neoclassical pipe organ casing from the late 19th century, and stained glass windows depicting coats of arms from 1909.

The structure can be viewed from the outside. Viewing of the interior is only possible with the consent of the parish priest.

compiled by Waldemar Witek, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Szczecin, 28-04-2015.

Bibliography

• Der Kreis Belgard, Celle 1989.
• Hinz J., Pommern Wegweiser, Würzburg 1992.