History

The village of Strzelce was founded as a settlement of servants’ of the Mazovian princes. It was situated at the edge of the forest and was inhabited by helpers who served the princes during hunting trips. The village of Strzelce is first mentioned in historical records in 1392. There was already a parish there, established by Prince Siemowit IV of Mazovia. He also founded the first wooden church in Strzelce.

At the end of the 14th century, a brick church was built, clad with roof tiles.

The village of Strzelce and the Land of Gostyń belonged to the Queen Anna Jagiellon. From 1771, it was owned by the Działowski family. From 1775, it was leased by Maciej Łączyński. Between the 1830s and 1918, the estate of Strzelce was in the hands of the von Trescov family, a German family who ran a farm and set up a sugar factory and a distillery here.

The present-day Gothic Revival temple was erected between 1906 and 1911 according to a design created by the architect Pius Dziekoński. The cornerstone was consecrated on 27 July 1911 and the church itself was consecrated by the Cardinal of Krakow on 8 June 1917.

In the interwar period, the estate of Strzelce was bought by the Polish government and given to General Władysław Sikorski.

Description

The church stands in the central part of the village situated along the Kutno-Gostyń road. It is located on an artificial hill surrounded by a stone wall. From the east, the church area is bounded by the road. From the west, it adjoins the former farm, palace and garden complex (now the seat of the Plant Cultivation Centre). The church dominates the landscape of the village of Strzelce.

The church is positioned along the east-west axis, with the chancel facing west. It is a three-nave hall church. It was erected on a floor plan of an elongated rectangle, with a chancel equal in width to the nave and terminated with a semi-hexagonal wall. The arms of the transept have the form of shallow chapels, which protrude slightly beyond the side walls. Additional rooms were annexed to the side walls of the chancel. They follow a rectangular floor plan too. In the annexes, there is the chapel of the Victorious Madonna of Strzelce (from the north) and the sacristy. The external corners of the building are buttressed. In the north-eastern part of the church, there is a high tower bell tower, erected on a rectangular plan. From the east, the bell tower is adjoined by a square turret with a staircase. From the north, it is adjoined by a semicircular annex. The main entrance is preceded by a vestibule on the floor plan of an elongated, narrow rectangle.

The church is made of brick, unplastered, uncellared. The wooden roof truss has a rafter-straining beam structure with raking shores. The purlins are based on two rows of vertical pillars with brackets, and additionally on horizontal queen posts, also with brackets. The roof has copper sheet cladding (it replaced the previous fish scale roof tiles).

The Church is not oriented. In the eastern part of the principal block, there is an entrance vestibule and a chapel, separated from the interior by a glass door inserted between the pillars. The choir gallery rests on those pillars too. The naves are separated by pillars as well. The aisles are covered with groin vaults. Over the nave, there is also a stellar vault and over the chapel - a barrel vault. The chancel arch is topped with a pointed arch.

The nave is terminated semi-hexagonally. Behind the altar, there is an ambulatory altar. On the sides of the chancel, there is a chapel.

The elevations of the church are made of brick and set on a low foundation made of stone blocks. The front wall is asymmetrical. From the north, it is adjoined by a high, quadrangular tower and from the south - by a turret incorporated in the principal block and reaching the choir gallery. The main entrance is positioned on the axis of the building. There is also an additional, slightly smaller entrance in the southern part of the elevation, placed in the arcades with a pointed arch top. Above the main entrance, there is a triple window topped with a pointed arch, inserted in a rectangular decorative panel. The openings are rectangular and topped with a pointed arch. The windows are glazed with stained glass. The side elevations are articulated by buttresses and by the window openings – high, double, rectangular, topped with a pointed arch. Under the eaves, there is a sequence of rectangular blendes with plastered interiors, topped with a full arch, – forming a frieze. In the gable walls of the transept, there are stained glass rosettes.

       The transept, the tower and the chancel are decorated with blendes placed under the cornices. The gable walls in the front elevation over the transepts are embellished with stepped pinnacles, each surmounted by a cross.

The interior consists of three sections with lower aisles. It also has side annexes and a shallow transept. The nave is separated by side arcades supported by pillars. The pillars are plastered up to 3/2 of their height. Above, they are covered with brick dosserets resting on arches and corbel arches.

The floor is laid with ceramic tiles arranged in a diamond pattern, with black tiles alternating with white ones. Centrally, on the axis of the church, in the main nave, there is a strip of ceramic mosaics with a floral ornament.

The naves are illuminated by high window openings, crowned with pointed arches and containing stained glass windows. Natural light is also provided by rosettes in the arms of the transept and in the chapels.

External doors have the form of heavy, two-wing gates with metal, S-shaped fittings and handles. The noteworthy features of the interior include a clock from the 1920s with a sculpture of Chronos, created by Ignacy Zelek from Toruń. The interior of the chapel of Our Lady of Victory is decorated with an al fresco polychrome produced in 1950-1951 by Professors Edwarda Regina Kasperska-Przeorska and S. A. Józefowicz. The main altar was made after the war. The painting of the 4 evangelists and the main painting depicting the Holy Trinity from 1855, painted by A. Dąbrowski, are all that remains from the former altar.

The building is open to visitors all year round and can be toured upon prior telephone appointment. Phone number: (24) 356-00-00, e-mail: strzelce@lowicka.eu

Compiled by Agnieszka Lorenc-Karczewska, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Łódź 20 March 2020

Bibliography

• Słowik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego, vol. XI from 1890, p. 456
• Wraga-Szymańczyk E., Record sheet of monuments of architecture and construction, Płock 1985, from the collections of the Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office in Łódź