History of the structure

The church in Niedźwiedź existed already in the Middle Ages, as it was mentioned in the early 16th century as a parish church. After the Reformation it was taken over by the Protestants, but in 1654 the temple was returned to the Catholics on the basis of the imperial edict. Due to the fact that the Protestants prevailed in the village and attended services in the Stok village, the church fell into disrepair and was ultimately demolished in the 18th century. After 1740 the village of Niedźwiedź belonged to the Lutheran parish in Gryżyna. The Protestant temple was erected in the early 19th century. Most probably this was the church that has survived to this day, albeit extended and remodelled in 1930. In that year a large annex was added, most likely intended to serve as a school that had functioned in the village from the early 19th century. Since the end of World War II the church has been used by the Catholics - it was consecrated in 1945. Weatherboarding was introduced outside and partially inside the church and the interior was adapted to the Catholic liturgy. In 1993 the roof was renovated.

Site description

The wooden church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is located on a small hill at the edge of the village. The feature was erected in a timber-frame structure filled with bricks, on a rectangular floor plan and includes a separate quadrangular chancel on the west side and an annex having a form of a single-storey house set on a square floor plan on the north side. The entrance to the church is located at the east end and is preceded by an arcade resting on three pillars. A fragmented main body is covered with gable roofs. A quadrangular steeple crowned with a bulbous cupola rises above the eastern part of the nave within the roof body. The façades are nearly completely covered with non-original weatherboards, except for a triangular gable above the main entrance, with an exposed timber-frame structure. The aisleless interior of the church is covered with a faux vault obscured by weatherboarding. Two Baroque epitaph plaques have survived.

Visitor access. Limited access to the historic building. It can be visited upon prior telephone arrangement.

Author of the note: compiled by Marta Kłaczkowska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Zielona Góra, 21-03-2017

Bibliography

• Szymańska-Dereń M., Kościoły zrębowe i szkieletowe województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2009, pp. 72-75.
• Kowalski S., Zabytki architektury województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2010, p. 244.
• Garbacz K., Przewodnik po zabytkach województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2011, p. 166;