In 1974, it was handed over to the Museum of Firefighting and adapted for exhibition purposes of the Greater Poland Museum of Firefighting (a branch of the Central Museum of Firefighting in Mysłowice).

History

The first Evangelical church in the village was built in c. 1662. It was an initiative by Krzysztof Grzymułtowski, castellan of Poznań. The present church building, having a wattle-and-daub structure, was erected in 1763. It is situated by the north-west corner of the town square, on a conspicuous spot, which is evidence of the dominant position of Evangelicals in Rakoniewice in that period. In 1781, a square tower, made of wood and covered with weatherboards, was built onto the west wall of the church. A clock with a mechanism from 1781 was installed on the tower and bells were placed inside. The roof and the cupola of the tower were covered with wood shingles. The cupola was surmounted by a spire. The church used to be surrounded by a graveyard, which was moved to the northern part of the town in the late 18th century. The church underwent renovations in 1933. After World War II, the building was devastated and abandoned. It was renovated in the 1970s. In 1974, it was handed over to the Museum of Firefighting and adapted for exhibition purposes of the Greater Poland Museum of Firefighting (a branch of the Central Museum of Firefighting in Mysłowice). The museum contains exhibits documenting the history and traditions of the Fire Service in Greater Poland.

Description

The former church is situated in the centre of Rakoniewice, by the north-west corner of the market square, on a parcel enclosed with a fence.

The chancel is oriented towards the south-east. The church has a rectangular floor plan, with a tall tower in the front. The main body of the church is covered with a gable roof and the tower is topped with an onion-shaped roof with a lantern. All roof planes and the cupola are covered with sheet zinc.

The building has a wooden frame structure with clay infill replaced with brick infill in places. The infill is covered with white plaster. The tall tower, added at a later date, has a post-and-beam structure with two skirt roofs running around its body. It is covered with vertically-positioned weatherboards.

The aisleless interior is covered with a false barrel vault. It features a transverse crossbeam with the date “1933”, resting on brackets in the central part. On both sides, there are two-storeyed balconies supported by profiled posts with diagonal beams, covered with beamed ceilings. In the south-east corner, below the balcony, there is a porch.

The church is open to visitors. More information is available on the website of the Greater Poland Museum of Firefighting in Rakoniewice: www.wmp-muzeum.psp.wlkp.pl

compiled by Radomiła Banach, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Poznan, 21-10-2015.

Bibliography

• J. Łukaszewicz, Krótki opis historyczny kościołów parochialnych w dawnej diecezji poznańskiej, Poznań 1858, s.474.
• Drewniane kościoły w Wielkopolsce, koncepcja, teksty i wybór fotografii P. Maluśkiewicz, Poznań 2004, s. 216.
• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, t. V, z. 28: powiat wolsztyński, Warszawa 1970, s. 23.