History

The filial church of St Maria Domenica Mazzarello had formed a part of the village of Krzeczyn Wielki (known as Gross Krichen until 1945) right until 1982; today, however, the eastern part of the village along with the church complex forms part of the town of Lubin. The first mentions of the church in Krzeczyn in written sources date back to 9.08.1373, when a man called Johannes, the parish priest “in Crychin”, was referred to in the purchase contract. Another medieval document of the Legnica deanery (31.10.1399) contains a reference to Henricus, “plebanus ecclesiae de Krichen in Sede Legnicensis”. In the years 1524-1945, the church remained in the hands of the Evangelical community. The current church was erected towards the end of the 14th century; it was later remodelled in the 17th century and in 1860, followed by renovation works in the years 1959-60.

Description

The complex centred around the Gothic filial church is positioned east of the village of Krzeczyn Wielki, currently within the administrative boundaries of the town of Lubin. The church is surrounded by a medieval cemetery circumscribed with a perimeter wall, parts of which were erected back in the 17th/18th century, while the rest of the wall was completed during the 19th century. The former preacher’s house (a timber-framed building from the 18th century) is likewise located in the vicinity of the church.

The church is a masonry structure oriented towards the east, consisting of a single nave, a narrower, lower chancel designed on a rectangular plan as well as a monumental, quadrangular tower in the western part of the church. The nave and the chancel are covered with gable roofs. The façades of the tower are made of exposed stone, while the walls of the church feature a plain plasterwork finish. The chancel features a 19th-century coffered ceiling. The northern side of the tower is adjoined by a chapel, featuring a groin vault supported by a single pillar. A sacristy adjoins the southern side of the chancel.

The interior fixtures and fittings include the architectural main altarpiece from the first quarter of the 17th century, incorporating a painting depicting St Maria Domenica, as well as a pulpit dating back to the year 1620, featuring lavish, complex decorations, its entrance gate surmounted by a cartouche incorporating the family crests of the benefactors of the church: Hans von Schweinitz and his wife Maria von Schweinitz née con Kreckwitz. The headstones commemorating Christoph von Brauchitsch (†1600) and his wife Eva von Brauchitsch née Bock (†1600) can be admired inside the chancel.

The wattle-and-daub rectory constructed during the late 18th and early 19th century is located west of the church.

The historic monument is accessible to visitors. More information is available on the website of the Legnica diocese - http://www.diecezja.legnica.pl/.

compiled by Bogna Oszczanowska, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Wrocław, 08-09-2014.

Bibliography

• Zabytki sztuki w Polsce. Śląsk, Warsaw 2006, pp. 520-521.
• Lubin. Studium środowiska kulturowego, ROSiŚK we Wrocławiu, Wrocław 2002 [archive of the National Heritage Board of Poland, Regional Office in Wrocław]