It is an example of a rural wooden church characteristic for this region. The building, slightly larger following its extension, is typical of the southern part of Greater Poland. It represents wooden architecture characteristic of the Silesian school of the 17th and 18th centuries.

History

The church in Słupia near Bralin was first mentioned in documents from 1285 and 1310.

It was referred to as a parish church in 1492, when it was rebuilt owing to the efforts of the parish priest - Paweł from Wałdowo.

After the Reformation period, in 1651 the church in Słupia near Bralin became a filial church of the parish in Turkowy. The current church was probably constructed the same year, in place of the former building from 1492.

In 1911, the church was extended by adding a transept and extension of the presbytery, as well as a nave oriented to the west. A turret was built where the transept joins the nave.

The church was renovated at the turn of the 20th century.

It underwent restoration in 1985 and after 2000.

In 1979, the parish of St Andrew the Apostle was re-dedicated.

Description

Słupia near Bralin is a village in the Perzów commune, located by the S7 road to Wrocław, 13 km west of Kępno.

From the end of the 15th century, the settlement belonged to State Country of Syców. The building is situated on a hill, oriented, single-nave. The church of St Andrew was built on the basis of a log structure, and covered with weatherboards from the outside and inside. According to the Catalogue of Historical Artefacts (KZS) the newer parts of the church have a frame structure, which was covered with weatherboards? The nave of the church is on a rectangular floor plan with a transept. From the east, it is adjoined by an elongated presbytery, terminated polygonally. A rectangular sacristy adjoins the chancel from the northern side. From the western side, a quadrangular tower with a post-and-beam construction was added at the front of the church. The tower is relatively small, with slanting walls (the church tower in Koza Wielka, Perzów Commune, has a similar form). The wooden construction of the church partly rests upon a brick foundation, and partly on a wooden ground plate. There are gable roofs above the nave, the presbytery, and the transept. The tower is topped with an octagonal tented roof. Inside, on one of the beams, there is an inscription with the date 1816. All roofs are covered with wood shingles. At the intersection of the nave and the transept, there is a steeple turret with a lantern, topped with a Baroque onion-shaped cupola from 1911.

On the ground floor, there is a porch. In the space under the tower, which forms a part of the nave, there is a music gallery supported by two posts, structurally connected with the tower. There are contemporary painted decorations on the beamed ceiling of the church. Another notable element is an epitaph portrait, painted on a plate, of the parish priest Tomasz Możdżanowski from 1789. In the central part of a Rococo main altar from the mid-18th century, there is a painting of St Andrew the Apostle. Eclectic side altars. There are also two other paintings in the church: a Baroque image of the Christ Crucified and an image of St John of Nepomuk from the second half of the 18th century. In the church tower, there is a Gothic bell with a minuscule inscription.

The church is open to visitors from the outside. Visiting the building inside is possible by prior arrangement. More information about the parish and the Holy Mass schedule can be found on the website of the parish and the Kalisz diocese: www.diecezja.kalisz.pl

compiled by Teresa Palacz, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Poznan, 22-10-2014.

Bibliography

• Maluśkiewicz P., Drewniane kościoły w Wielkopolsce, Poznań 2004.
• Anders P., Województwo kaliskie, szkic monograficzny, Poznań 1983.
• Rocznik Diecezji Kaliskiej - 2002, Kalisz 2002.
• Łęcki Wł., Wielkopolska - słownik krajoznawczy, Poznań 2002.
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, Ruszczyńska T., Sławska A. (red.), t. 5, z. 7 pow. kępiński, s. 20, Warszawa 1958.