The church also features Baroque fixtures and fittings, including a painting of Our Lady of the Snows from the first half of the 17th century.

History

Lubanie was mentioned in written sources in 1258 – in the last will of count palatine Bogusza, a benefactor of the Cistercian monastery in Szpetal. Under this document, Lubanie was supposed to be transferred for life to his wife, Ludmiła, and then in the 13th century its ownership was transferred to the Włocławek chapter. At the time, there already existed a wooden church on stone foundations in Lubanie – the church of St Nicholas.

In the late 16th century, the parish priest of Lubanie, Bartłomiej of Pobiedziska, remodelled the existing church. Construction of the current church began in the second half of the 19th century. Surviving elements of the original building comprise the Late Gothic sacristy and parts of the northern wall of the chancel. The work was completed in 1909.

In the same period, a tower was added to serve as a belfry. The church was consecrated on 18 August 1909 by Bishop Stanisław Zdzitowiecki, the ordinary of the Włocławek diocese. Later on, the church was fitted with new painted decorations and marble flooring.

Description

The church was built in the Gothic Revival style (with surviving Late Gothic elements). It is oriented towards the east, i.e. situated on a hill in the heart of Lubanie, at a road junction, and surrounded with old trees. The slender tower north-west of the church rises high above its surroundings.

The church is a hall building built on a Latin cross floor plan with a narrower rectangular chancel. The arms feature rectangular chapels. The nave has a four-bay layout and terminates in a rectangular porch with side annexes on the west side.

The church was built on stone foundations, with walls made of irregular ashlar blocks (supported by ceramic bricks in the corners). The end walls (of the nave, chancel and transept) are topped with brick stepped gables.

The entrance is flanked with a stepped pointed-arch portal which protrudes from the wall. In each side façade, there are four pointed-arch windows with brick profiled surrounds.

The plastered interior of the chancel was adorned with mosaic and painted decorations in the years 1964–1965 (based on the concept of Marta Koch and Miron Grześkiewicz). The decorations in the main nave were designed by Helena and Lech Grześkiewicz. The nave was covered with a flat ceiling with ornamental moulding and the chancel features a wooden ceiling with lower sides. The sacristy, on the other hand, is covered with a barrel vault.

The main altarpiece features a Baroque painting of Our Lady of the Snows from the first half of the 17th century (currently undergoing conservation). Furthermore, the church is also adorned with a 17th-century Baroque tabernacle in the southern altarpiece and gates from the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as a 17th-century sculpture of Michael the Archangel in the northern altarpiece.

The site is open to visitors. The inside can be viewed upon prior arrangement

Prepared by Michał Horbowicz, 22-11-2015

Bibliography

Record sheet, Kościół parafialny p.w. św. Mikołaja w Lubanie, prepared by Dębicki P., 1993, Archives of the Voivodeship Heritage Protection Office in Toruń, Branch Office in Włocławek.

Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, Vol. XI: Dawne województwo bydgoskie, issue 1: Powiat aleksandrowski, Warszawa 1969, pp. 8-9.

Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Sulimierski F., Chlebowski B., Walewski W. (eds.), Warszawa 1884, Vol. 15, part 2, p. 240.