On the west side, it is adjoined by a tower having a post-and-beam structure, covered with weatherboards and topped with a Baroque roof. The church is one of the twelve wooden churches covered by the project “Trail of Wooden Churches Around the Zielonka Forest”, run by Związek Gminny “Puszcza Zielonka” (Inter-Gmina Association “Zielonka Forest”), which is co-financed by the Integrated Operational Programme for Regional Development.

History

Raczkowo is a small village upon the Mała Wełna River, located to the south-east of Skoki. It was mentioned in written records for the first time in 1252. At that time, it was referred to as Raskovcze — the name was derived from the name of the contemporary owner of the village, Raczek. In 1389, Raczkowo belonged to Florian Grochała Raczkowski from the Nałęcz family. In the 14th century, Raczkowo was owned by the Nałęcz-Raczkowski family. The family founded a church there in the 13th or 14th century. The building has not survived to this day. In 1406, the parish-priest of the Raczkowo Parish was Rev. Wojciech, and in c. 1526 - Maciej from Łekno. The present wooden church was constructed in the years 1780-1782. It was founded by local noblemen — Stanisław Miniszewski and Ludwik de Osten-Sacken, as well as Ludwika Osten and Wawrzyniec Loga, burgrabia (“burgrave”) of Wałcz. During World War II, in the years 1940-1945, the church was closed as the priest was arrested by German authorities. After the war, between 1959 and 1963, the church underwent full-scale renovations, including the complete renovation of the foundations. The roof was completely renovated in the 1980s/1990s. For many years, the parish-priest of the Raczkowo Parish has also been the parish-priest of the neighbouring parish in Jabłkowo.

Description

The Church of All Saints in Raczkowo is situated in the western part of the village, on a high hill by the Mała Wełna River. Below the church yard, there is a graveyard. It used to contain the graves of three Italian generals, prisoners of a camp in the nearby Antoniewo, who were buried there after World War II. In 1959, the ashes of the generals were transported to Italy. The church yard is enclosed with a wooden fence resting on a stone base. The church is oriented towards the east. It has a wooden log structure reinforced with vertical supports (in the south wall) and covered with weatherboards. It has one nave (with no aisles). On the west side, the nave is adjoined by a two-storeyed square tower having a post-and-beam structure, covered with a Baroque sheet metal roof with a lantern topped with a sphere and a cross. The nave has a rectangular floor plan. The chancel, terminated polygonally, is lower and narrower than the nave. It is adjoined by a sacristy on the south side. A small square porch adjoins the nave on the north side. The church has a two-ridge gable roof covered with beaver tail tiles. The sacristy has a three-pitched roof. The windows are topped by semi-circular arches. Inside, there is a flat ceiling covering both the nave and the chancel. The interior walls are embellished with paintings made in the years 1960-1963, featuring a cream, green, and golden colour scheme and plant motifs. Between the nave and the chancel, there is a rood beam with a crucifix from the 17th century, statues of Mary the Mother of God and St John, and the date “1780”, as well as verses of a religious inscription. The main altar from the early 20th century incorporates a folk crucifix from the 17th century, regarded as having miraculous properties — it is surrounded by numerous votive offerings coming from the 17th-20th centuries. It is also decorated with sculptures of Saint Peter and Paul and a painting of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa. The south side altar incorporates a painting of St Joseph with Child, above which there is a painting of St Adalbert with companions looking out for approaching slaughterers. The north side altar features a painting depicting Mary the Mother of God with Baby Jesus offering a rosary to Saint Dominic and St Catherine of Siena. To the north of the church, there is a wooden bell tower constructed in 1780. It has a square floor plan and is covered with a tented roof. The structure rests on a brick wall base. The walls, having a number of openings, are covered with weatherboards. Rev. Leonard Foerster, who built the local parish community house, was a priest in the Raczkowo Parish for 50 years, during the Partitions of Poland and in the inter-war period. His grave is located in the church graveyard, among graves of local nobles and other priests.

Limited access; Holy Masses: Sunday at 8.00 AM and 11.00 AM.

compiled by Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Poznan, 24.11.2015.

Bibliography

• Brykowski R., Wielkopolskie Kościoły Drewniane, Poznań 2001; str. 169
• Drewniane kościoły Wielkopolski, Poznań 2004, s. 215
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, t. V: Województwo poznańskie, z. 27: Powiat wągrowiecki, oprac. T. Ruszczyńska, A. Sławska, Warszawa 1964, s. 7-8
• Kowalski J., Na szlaku kościołów drewnianych wokół Puszczy Zielonka, Dębogóra 2011, 147-153