The first pastor was recorded there as early as 1531, and in the years of the persecution of religious dissenters and closure of Protestant churches (1695-1707) Proślice were a refuge for Protestants and provided religious services for people from distant parishes. The monumental church tower stands out in the local landscape.

History

From 1531 the church in Proślice served Protestants. The present church was erected around 1580 and renovated in 1748. Galleries extended along the northern and southern walls were constructed around the mid-18th century. The construction of the tall tower which served as a bell tower was funded by Jerzy Zając, miller from Proślice, in 1773. In 1859, the tower underwent renovation ("G. Jurczok" — plaque on the tower truss, bearing the date and information about renovation); in 1905, the foundation of the tower was built and the interior was renovated; in 1929, the whole structure underwent repair. The church now belongs to the Roman-Catholic Parish of the Visitation of the Blesses Virgin Mary in Polanowice.

Description

The church is located in the central part of the village, at the intersection of roads. It is oriented towards the east, surrounded by a small cemetery with valuable historic tombstones and single trees.

The church body consists of an elongated chancel closed off on three sides, the northern side of which adjoins a rectangular sacristy with a founders' gallery on the upper storey and a short nave which adjoins a square tower to the west. The compact monumental body is emphasised by a common roof ridge and the large size of the massive bell tower tapering towards the north, covered with a Baroque cupola with an openwork lantern. By the northern wall of the nave, there are roofed stairs to the founders' gallery; by the southern wall there is an annex supported by pillars and fitted with a gallery which can also be accessed by roofed stairs.

The façades are covered with vertically positioned weatherboards; the roof is clad with wood shingles. To the south, the nave can be accessed via a trefoil-shaped Gothic portal featuring a door with Renaissance fittings.

The church is a log structure built on a brick foundation. The tower features a post-and-beam structure, with transverse stiffeners. The roof rests on a king post truss, with tie beams of equal width. Around the chancel, there is a wide eaves, supported by chamfered corbels with braces.

The interior of the church is covered with a false barrel vault with a lowered arch and flat ceiling sections on the sides. The music gallery features a curved Baroque parapet and is extended along the northern wall of the nave. On the south side there is a gallery, characterised by a raised parapet line, open towards the church's interior with a rectangular cutout. The gallery is adorned with varied decorative balustrades.

The fixtures and fittings of the church are predominantly in Baroque style (pulpit, pipe organ casing, etc.). The main architectural pulpit alter was made around 1700.

The monument is open to visitors. Viewing of the interior is possible by prior telephone arrangement.

compiled by Ewa Kalbarczyk-Klak, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Opole, 14-10-2014.

Bibliography

• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, vol. VII, Województwo opolskie, issue 4: Powiat kluczborski, T. Chrzanowski i M. Kornecki (eds.), pp. 41-42.
• Emmerling D., Wierzgoń A., Opolskie kościoły drewniane, Opole 2006, p. 61.
• Architectural monument record sheet: Evangelical church, Proślice, prepared by J. Kowalewski, 1996, Archives of the Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office in Opole.
• Śląsk. Zabytki Sztuki w Polsce, collective work, Warsaw 2006, p. 702.
• Lutsch Hans, Verzeichnis der Kunstdenkmäler der Provinz Schlesien, Bd. 4: Die Kunstdenkmäler des Reg.-Bezirks Oppeln, Tl. 1, Breslau 1894, p. 16.
• Matuszczyk J., Architektura drewnianych kościołów ewangelickich w powiecie kluczborskim, Rocznik Muzeum Górnośląskiego w Bytomiu, Sztuka, issue: 4, Bytom 1968, p. 12 et seq.