It has preserved its authentic shape and furnishing from the period of its construction. A building of regional importance that forms a complex of great landscape values.

History of the structure

Pawłowo has been known since the 13th century, when the Dryj family owned the village. From 1357 the village belonged to the Gniezno chapter. The first church, which probably existed in Pawłowo even before the 14th century, dates from this period. It was first mentioned in 1406, and since 1520 it has been known by the name of St. Martin. The currently preserved temple was built in 1762 through the efforts of the Gniezno chapter, especially canon Hilary Krzysztof Szembek. The church underwent extensive restoration in 1856 and 1880. In 1928-1932 a tower was added on the western side and the former porch was converted into a chapel. The most recent restoration works in the church were carried out in 2002.

Description of the structure

Pawłowo village is located about 8 km south-west of Gniezno, on a hill near the road to Czerniejewo. The Church of St. Martin is situated in the middle of the village. The vast area around the church and the former cemetery was surrounded by a stone fence. Near the church is a historic rectory from the first quarter of the 19th century and a contemporary chapel of St. Joseph.  

The church is oriented, single-nave, built on a rectangular floor plan, with a separate, square chancel closed on three sides. A quadrilateral sacristy was added to the chancel to the north, and a tower on a rectangular plan to the west. Adjoining the nave from the south is the former porch, which was converted into a chapel with a wide arcade opening into the church. The nave of the church is covered with a gable roof with a hexagonal ridge turret, the chancel with a lower roof with a triple-pitched closure. The whole is dominated by a tower covered with a tented roof topped with a square lantern.

The sacristy and the chapel are covered by separate lower gable roofs. The roof of the chancel is covered with shingles, of the nave with tiles, of the tower with sheet metal.

The building is wooden, of log construction with a tower of post-and-beam structure with a porch on the ground floor. All the walls were planked on both sides with vertical boards and reinforced with vertical supports. Window openings and door portals have retained their original shapes, divisions and materials.

The single-space interior of the church, closed on three sides from the chancel side, is divided by columns into three aisles. Inside, a ceiling of equal height, covered with a geometric decoration with medallions, with paintings with religious scenes from the interwar period. In the western part of the nave there is a music gallery with a balustrade, supported by four pillars.

The preserved furnishings of the church from the 18th and 19th centuries include the main altar and two side altars with 18th century sculptural elements modified in 1856. The late Gothic bas-relief of the Holy Family from the first half of the 19th century deserves particular attention. 

Visitor access. The site can be accessed from the outside. Visiting the church inside is possible by prior telephone arrangement. More information, including the Holy Mass schedule, is available on the website.

Compiled by: Radomiła Banach, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Poznań, 28.09.2017

Bibliography

• Słownik geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego, Vol. VII,
• Drewniane kościoły w Wielkopolsce, concept, texts and selection of photographs by P. Maluśkiewicz, Poznań 2004, p. 200.
• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, Vol. V, z. 3: pow. gnieźnieński, Warsaw 1959, p. 82.
• Jankowski A., Malarstwo ścienne drewnianych świątyń Wielkopolski 1795-1939, Bydgoszcz 2017