History

The first mentions of a church in Pożarzysko date back to the years 1198-1201. The current church is believed to have been erected in the mid- 13th century. The church was partially redesigned somewhere around the year 1600. The Gothic Revival tower adjoining the church to the south was erected in 1852. The church was heavily damaged during military operations in 1945 and has remained in a state of ruin until the years 1974-1976, when it was reconstructed, albeit without the slender spire that had once graced the tower.

Description

The church is located on the western side of the road leading from Siedlimowice to Imbramowice. The church is surrounded by a cemetery circumscribed by a stone wall. Its walls are made of locally quarried granite, with architectural detailing being made of sandstone. The church is a single-nave building designed on a cruciform floor plan, with a transept and a rectangular chancel with cross-rib vaulting; originally, the church featured a pair of towers. The sacristy adjoining the southern side of the church features a quarter-circular domed ceiling. The splayed window reveals, the cornice and the tower are all made of brick. The church features pointed-arch Gothic portals on both the northern and the southern side, with the southern portal being of the stepped type, featuring decorative columns and capitals adorned with foliate motifs. The northern portal also follows a stepped outline and is adorned with roll-moulding decoration. Inside, visitors can admire four tomb effigies, representing the deceased in a state of “eternal repose” and dating back to the 16th/17th century as well as a 15th-century tabernacle in the chancel. The individual sections of the building are covered with gable roofs clad with roof tiles. The nave features a flat ceiling which was constructed during the postwar reconstruction of the church. The eastern and southern chancel walls feature Gothic windows with stone tracery.

The church can be viewed from the outside. The interiors can be admired during church service.

compiled by Krzysztof Czartoryski, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Wrocław, 23-10-2014.

Bibliography

• Zabytki Sztuki w Polsce, Śląsk, Warsaw 2006, p. 698.
• Ciesielski T., Gmina Żarów. Monografia historyczna, Żarów 1993
• Kozaczewski T., Wiejskie kościoły parafialne XIII wieku na Śląsku (miejscowości P-S), Wrocław 1994, pp. 10-11.