History

The church was erected at the end of the 16th century on the site of the previous temple. Its construction was commissioned by Marcin Rusiecki, the canon of Gniezno. The church has no towers and follows the floor plan of the Latin cross. The interiors are decorated with polychromes painted by Andrzej Radwański in the first half of the 18th century. A short time later, in 1750, the church was remodelled: two porches were added, the elevations were decorated with tops and pilasters. New polychromes were also painted on the walls and on the vault of the nave. In 1937, a parish was established in Strzałków, previously the church had a function of a filial church. A year later, the floor of the sacristy was lowered.

Description

The temple is situated in the central part of the village, next to the road from Radomsko to Kobiele Wielkie. From the south-west, it is adjoined by a manor house (now a boarding school). On the three other sides, it is surrounded by a manor park. The church is oriented.

The church has a single-nave structure, consisting of the connected bodies of the nave, chancel (on a trapezoidal floor plan), transept, two porches and a sacristy. The latter adjoins the chancel from the north.

The church was built from bricks and stones. Its walls are plastered on both sides and buttressed from outside. The interior is covered with cross-barrel vaults. The roof truss of the temple is wooden, with a purlin and rafter structure. The roofs have sheet metal cladding.

The eastern elevation terminating the chancel serves as the façade. The chancel is terminated semi-hexagonally and has buttressed corners. The elevation contains a window with a semicircular top (similar to those inserted in the side walls of the chancel). The whole is crowned with a Baroque top. The main entrance to the church is placed in the western elevation. The entrance is situated in the low porch, separated from the principal block. It has a Baroque top based on four pilasters. The smooth wall of the elevation is flanked by two buttresses. The whole is crowned with a three-level top. The northern elevation incorporates a smoothly plastered wall of the nave, an arm of the transept (decorated with a Baroque top and illuminated by a slender window opening) and the lower sacristy. The southern elevation is lit by three windows in the nave. There is also a window opening in the arm of the transept. The low porch has no windows.

The interior is divided into a nave part, a narrower chancel (positioned slightly higher) and a transept. The walls are decorated with polychromes (including a polychrome depicting the Mysteries of the Rosary). The western part of the nave ends with a choir gallery carrying the organ.

Of special interest is the main altar from the beginning of the 17th century, containing a painting of Virgin Mary with the Child. The painting is adorned with a silver robe and two crowns. Apart from the painting of Virgin Mary, the altar contains representations of St. Andrew and of Sts. Peter and Paul. In the church, there is also an epitaph dedicated to the painter H. Siemiradzki, who bought the estate of Strzałków and died there in 1902.

The church is open to the public all year round. It can be toured upon prior arrangement.

Prepared by Anna Michalska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Łódź. 8 May 2017

Bibliography

• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, Warszawa 1954, woj. łódzkie, vol. II