History

• 1870 - construction of the church

Description

Originally, there were two churches in Roztoka: a Catholic and an Evangelical one. In the end, however, the Catholic church of St Stanislaus, with its Gothic chancel and Renaissance tower and sgraffito decorations adorning the walls, was torn down in the 1970s. All that remains of the now-vanished church is the perimeter wall surrounding the church cemetery.

An Evangelical house of prayer rose next to its Catholic counterpart. According to the available iconographic sources, it was originally designed on a rectangular floor plan, with a two-tier roof and a steeple rising above the western gable wall. After the year 1860, the house of prayer was replaced by a new, monumental Evangelical church, erected at the initiative of Hans-Heinnrich XIV Bolko v. Hochberg. During those times, the Evangelical community in Roztoka outnumbered the Catholic one severalfold.

The church was designed in the Romanesque Revival style; it is a three-nave structure with a transept and westwork, its chancel ending in a semi-circular apse. The entire structure is made of granite and brick. The church features a pair of towers adjoining the nave to the south. The northern tower has never been completed, however, with only the southern tower rising up to the intended height of five storeys. Designed on a square floor plan, the tower is topped with a pyramid roof adorned with triangular gablets. The Romanesque cathedral in Speyer is believed to have served as inspiration for the designers of the church. Its stone façades are partitioned with brick lesenes supporting an arcaded frieze. The interior is illuminated by two stacked rows of windows topped with semi-circular arches and featuring broad, stepped reveals. The upper row is made up of single windows, while the lower row consists of paired windows. The western façade incorporates an entrance portal above which rises a triangular gable with a rose window, crowned with a steeple. The roofs and tower cupolas are clad with sheet metal. Of the three original church bells only one remains, the others having been commandeered during the two World Wars to provide raw material for the arms industry.

The interior fittings mostly date back to the times when the church was built, although some of the moveable items have been relocated from the neighbouring Catholic church which was torn down in the 1970s; these include the polychromed wooden sculptures and a baptismal font from the 18th century.

In 1945, the church was taken over by Catholics, having served as the parish church of St Stanislaus the Bishop and Martyr ever since. The former Catholic Church was abandoned, leading to its ultimate destruction.

The building can only be viewed from the outside.

compiled by Krzysztof Czartoryski, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Wrocław, 11-06-2015.

Bibliography

• Zabytki Sztuki w Polsce. Śląsk, Warsaw 2006