History

The Church of Saint Nicholas the Bishop in Skrzydlna was erected in the 16th century owing to the generosity of its sponsor, Prokop Pieniążek. The brick chancel was raised in that period. The temple was consecrated in 1585. This was another temple in the parish established in 1351. The wooden nave was built or rebuilt in 1787. In 1838 a tower and a chapel were added, also wooden. In that period, the church was also dedicated to St Anne. In 1993 a new church was consecrated in Skrzydlna, and the original one became an auxiliary facility.

Description

The temple is a single-nave, wooden log structure with a stone chancel and sacristy. The chancel supported by buttresses and the wooden nave are covered with a shared, single-ridge roof with an ave bell turret. The tower with a minor upper extension is covered with a Baroque cupola and boarded.  The corbel vaults in the nave were added during the 1787 renovation.

The vaults and walls are decorated with paintings with figurative and ornamental motifs from 1958 by Tadeusz Łakomski. They show Queen Jadwiga of Poland, St Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Casimir Jagiellończyk, Jacek the Dominican, Maksymilian Kolbe and St Stanislaus Kostka. The Baroque main altar from the late 17th century features a copy of the Gothic painting of the Virging mary with Child from the early the 16th century. The original painting was stolen. After its recovery, it was placed in a museum. The Baroque side altars date back to the end of the 17th century: they contain a sculpture of the Virgin Mary with Child and a sculpture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Next to the main altar, there is a Renaissance tombstone of the church founder, Prokop Pieniążek. Also, the 18th-century baptismal font and the 17th-century pulpit have been preserved. A 14th-century Gothic wooden crucifix from the earlier temple can be seen on the rood beam. From the south, there is a small chapel with a copy of the painting from the Loreto Chapel in St Mary’s Basilica in Kraków, produced by Maria Ritter. There is a wooden bell tower beside the church. The stone fence from the late 18th century has gates and three chapels covered with a shingled, gable roof. The site is full of old trees and exhibits some relics of the former church graveyard.

The site is open to visitors. Weekdays 7:00 a.m., 6:00 p.m. (in winter 5:00 p.m.). Sundays and holidays 7:00, 9:00, 11:00 a.m., 4:00 p.m.

Author of the note Roman Marcinek, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Kraków 20/03/2015

Bibliography

• G. Ruszczyk, Drewniane kościoły w Polsce 1918-1939, Warszawa 2001,
• [M. Kornecki], Kościoły Diecezji Tarnowskiej [in:] Rocznik Diecezji Tarnowskiej, Tarnów 1972,
• Słownik Hist.-Geogr. Małopolski w średniowieczu, part II, no. 2, Ossolineum 1989,
• P. Skoczek: Parafie Ziemi Limanowskiej. Proszówki 2009,
• A. Matuszczyk, Beskid Wyspowy. Pruszków 2008.