History

The existence of a parish in Rogów Sobócki was first noted in written sources back in 1335. The current church was erected in the early 15th century; back then, the design did not feature a tower. The walls of the nave, chancel and sacristy all originate from that period. Later on, in the early 16th century, a tower was added; this tower was later either covered with plasterwork or extended upwards in 1612. From the second quarter of the 16th century until 1703, the church remained in the hands of the Evangelical community; in years 1570-1594, a series of alteration works were performed, with the von Gellhorn family providing the necessary funds. It was at that point that the chancel received its new lierne vault; the original Gothic supports beneath the vault, however, were left intact. In addition, a tomb chapel was added to the northern section of the church, with two founders’ pews constructed above the said chapel and the sacristy. Following a devastating fire which swept across the church in 1647, restoration works have commenced, reaching completion in 1653; the northern porch is believed to have been added during the same period. In the years 1686-95, the roofs, façades and church interior underwent a series of renovation works. A chapel positioned alongside the southern façade of the nave was erected in the year 1700 by Luiza von Schlegenberg u. Gellhorn, the erstwhile owner of a large estate in Rogów Sobócki. In 1714, the uppermost section of the tower has collapsed; four years later, the damage was repaired, with the tower receiving a new cupola topped with a roof lantern. Subsequent renovation works were carried out in years 1738, 1840-1847 as well as in 1909 and 1930.

The church was gutted by fire in 1945 as a result of wartime hostilities and subsequently became a filial church of the parish in Sobótka. In the years 1962-1969, the church was reconstructed on the basis of the design produced by B. Lepiesz and Teodor Pretorius; the nave space was extended at the expense of the western bay of the chancel, where parts of the vaulted ceiling were also dismantled. New, flat ceilings were constructed above the nave and inside the tower; the vaulted ceiling in the western porch (i.e. the ground floor section of the tower) was likewise removed. Furthermore, the floor inside the porch was lowered and the external stairs preceding the tower entrance were demolished. The roof truss and cladding were replaced, the tower received a new roof, and a new interior gallery was added. The doorways between the chancel and the sacristy as well as between the nave and the porches were widened. The window and door joinery as well as the flooring were all replaced. Once the reconstruction process was complete, the church regained the status of a parish church. Subsequent comprehensive renovation works were carried out in years 2002-2003.

Description

The church is located in the southern part of the village; it is surrounded by a cemetery circumscribed with a stone wall with a pointed-arch gate in its northern section. Three penitential crosses made of granite are embedded in the wall.

The church is a Gothic edifice oriented towards the east, its walls made of brick and stone. The walls of the nave, the chancel and the annexes are all covered with plaster. The church is a single-nave structure designed on a rectangular floor plan, with a rectangular, integrated chancel which had originally been of the same length as the nave. The church is covered with a gable roof clad with ceramic roof tiles. The nave is preceded by a quadrangular tower adjoining its western side, covered with a flat roof. The chapel of the von Schnellenberg noble family (1700), designed on a roughly square floor plan and crowned with a bulbous cupola, adjoins the southern wall of the nave. An annex containing the sacristy, the chapel dedicated to the von Gellhorn noble family (built in years 1570-1594 and featuring a Mannerist portal) as well as the patrons’ galleries on the first floor adjoins the northern façade of the chancel Next to the said structure lies the second annex, adjoining the wall of the nave and containing the northern porch. Both annexes are covered with mono-pitched roofs clad with ceramic roof tiles. The walls of the chancel and the southern walls of the nave are reinforced with buttresses. The southern façade of the nave incorporates a pointed-arch portal from the early 15th century. The eastern façade of the chancel incorporates a fragment of a Gothic tabernacle surround from ca. 1420-1430, embedded in the wall at a later date. Inside the chancel, visitors can admire a fragment of a vaulted ceiling with Gothic supports adorned with reliefs in the form of masks. The nave features a flat ceiling (years 1962-1969); barrel vaults with lunettes are present inside the northern chapel, northern porch and the sacristy, while the southern chapel features a quadripartite dome-shaped ceiling.

The surviving period fixtures and fittings include four 17th-century headstones and a Baroque altarpiece in the southern chapel. The remaining fixtures and fittings are mostly sourced from the Evangelical church in Rogów Sobócki which was demolished after 1945.

The church is open to visitors.

compiled by Beata Sebzda, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Wrocław, 25-11-2014.

Bibliography

• Degen K., Die Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler des Landkreises Breslau, Frankfurt am Main 1965, pp. 237-242.
• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce. Seria Nowa, vol. IV, issue 2: Województwo wrocławskie, Sobótka, Kąty Wrocławskie i okolice, Warsaw 1991, pp. 82-85.
• Pilch J., Leksykon zabytków architektury Dolnego Śląska. Warsaw 2005, p. 291.
• Zabytki sztuki w Polsce. Śląsk, Warsaw 2006, pp. 736-737.