History

Nowy Targ (German: Neumark) was chartered under Kulm law in 1336. The church was built soon afterwards, around 1340. At that time, the parish of Nowy Targ was already established. It should be assumed that since the inception of the church and the parish there was also a graveyard beside the church. Originally, the church had a wooden tower, which was converted into a brick tower in the early 19th century. Presumably at the beginning of the 19th century, the parish of Nowy Targ was incorporated into Stary Targ (there is no information that the church and the graveyard were of confession other than Roman Catholicism). The oldest gravestones in the graveyard date back to the early 20th century.

During World War 2, the church was not damaged and thus its rich interior fittings have been preserved to this day.

Description

The church and the graveyard are located in the centre of the village, in a loosely built-up area, on the elongated former village square, on the south-west side of the road to Stary Targ. The church is a free-standing oriented structure located in the centre of the plot of the graveyard in the shape of an irregular polygon.

The Gothic church was built on the floor plan of an elongated rectangle with a square tower to the west; the axis of the southern façade incorporates an nearly square porch; the eastern part of the north façade is adjoined by a rectangular sacristy. The body of the church is compact and covered with a gable roof; the tower is straight, has four storeys covered with a hip roof; the sacristy and porch (much lower than the nave) are topped by gable roofs facing the axis of the church.

The church is built of stone, partly of brick (window surrounds, part of corners, cornices, gables of the nave, sacristy, porch, tower); the roofs are clad with Dutch tiles; the roof truss and ceilings are made of wood.

The longer three-axial façades are crowned with a cornice under the eavesl all window openings terminate in pointed arches and are flanked by profiled reveals. Windows were installed on the outermost axes of the south façade, whereas the porch with a pointed-arch portal and a gable featuring a post-and-beam structure on the central axis. The single-axial east façade is supported by massive buttresses at the corners; the upper section features a triangular five-axial gable with pointed-arch blind windows separated by means of pinnacles. The axis of the west façade incorporates a tower with a pointed-arch entrance; the axes of the upper two sections feature single openings on three sides; the fourth storey contains two identical openings on four sides.

The aisleless church features a single-space interior layout without a separate chancel; the ceiling over the nave is flat. The surviving interior fittings include, among others, the Baroque main altar from around mid-18th century.

The graveyard beside the church is surrounded by a fence made of iron flat bars placed on a foundation; the two-leaved main gate with a wicket gate is located in the north-eastern corner of the plot; the two-leaved wicket gate was installed on the west side of the fence. A gravel path leading to the main gate and the wicket gate is located in the immediate vicinity of the church. The remaining part of the plot is occupied by oriented graves arranged in rows. The graveyard boasts a few preserved gravestones from the first half of the 20th century; most of them date back to the period after the Second World War. Only a few small-leaved lime trees have survived at the southern and western boundary of the graveyard.

The structure is open to visitors. Viewing of the building is only possible by arrangement with the parish office in Stary Targ.

compiled by Teofila Lebiedź-Gruda, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Gdańsk, 22-09-2014.

Bibliography

• Karta ewidencyjna (tzw. biała karta): Kościół pw. św. Jrocha, Nowy Targ, autor J. Labenz, 1984, w zbiorach OT NID w Gdańsku.
• Ewidencja cmentarzy. Cmentarz przy kościele katolickim, Nowy Targ, autor J. Labenz, 1984, w zbiorach OT NID w Gdańsku.
• Schmid B., Bau-und Kunstdenkmäler des Kreises Marienburg (Die Städte Neuteich und Tiegenhof und die lädlichen Ortschaften), Danzig 1919.
• Dehio-Handbuch der Kunstdenkmäler West- und Ostpreuβen, bearb. von M. Antoni, München-Berlin 1993.,