During that period, attempts were made to transfer the concept of ecclesiastical stone architecture to wood, based on popular patterns, primarily aspiring to develop and adapt to the Jesuit church of Il Gesu in Rome. The church in Szalowa, by an unknown yet professional designer, is a masterly “imitation” of a stone church and, therefore, unique on a European scale. It boasts extraordinary architectural solution, remarkable aesthetic values and picturesque body harmoniously aligned with the surroundings. The décor and the stylishly uniform interior exhibits the wealth of architecture, sculpture, polychrome and equipment of considerable artistic value, ranking the temple as one of the most valuable monuments of its era, not only in Poland. In 2000 the church in Szalowa was proposed for inscription in the UNESCO World Cultural and Natural Heritage List.

History

Szalowa is a village founded under German law in the 13th century. The local parish was established around 1375. The late-Baroque Parish Church of Saint Michael the Archangel was built in the years 1739-1756 on the site of the previous temple going back to the 16th century. The concept came from the owner of the village, Krzysztof Jordan, and the then parish priest, the Rev. Wojciech Stefanowski. By 1782 the equipment for the temple had been fully assembled. In the second half of the 18th century, the interior of the church was decorated with wall paintings of an unknown author; it was supplemented with new motifs in 1808. In 1911 the roofs were covered with metal sheet to replace shingles. In the years 1951-1953, the state-owned monuments conservation company, Przedsiębiorstwo Państwowe Pracownie Konserwacji Zabytków from Kraków, completed a comprehensive renovation of the wall paintings and equipment. In 2005, owing to the funds awarded by the Małopolska Marshal’s Office and with the parish’s own resources, the main altar, pulpits, confessional, seats, and the wall paintings in the chancel underwent a thorough renewal.

Description

The church is situated in the heart of the village by the road to Łużna. It was surrounded by a stone fence. Aligned with it are the 1739 chapel dedicated to the Divine Mercy and the 19th-century belfry. The temple was built of fir wood in a wooden log technology. The log beams are boarded and partially shingled. The three-nave church has a basilica-like layout. The chancel closed on three sides is of equal width with the rectangular nave; on its sides, there are the sacristies. Three porches are added to each nave from the front. The roof over the central nave and the chancel is multi-pitch with an octagonal, onion ave bell spirelet. The two-level façade is topped with a triangular gable set between two towers covered with double onion cupolas, with a sculpture showing Saint Michael the Archangel fighting Satan. The central nave and the chancel have corbel barrel vaults and the aisles flat ceilings. The aisles are open to the central nave with wavy-shaped arcades. The rich and uniform Baroque and Rococo interior equipment comes mainly from the 18th century. There are also outstanding pieces of polychrome, sculptural decorations, and furnishings. The Rococo, illusionist polychrome is dominated by the colour white with significant additions of green and gold. The chancel vault features allegorical images, including Golgotha, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, Tablets of the Decalogue, and Noah’s Ark. The walls are covered with wild flowers. The decoration is dominated by an impressive painting and sculptural composition on the wall and the rood beam. It shows the view of Jerusalem, figurative scenes, and illusionist architecture. The central figure of the painting is a soldier on horseback, piercing the side of crucified Christ on the beam. The ceilings in the aisles are adorned with illusionist sail vaults, richly decorated with rosettes, flowers, winged heads, volute motifs, and vases full of roses. The walls were covered with painted panneaus filled with, for example, vases with multi-coloured flowers. Numerous wooden architectural details in the church are richly carved and painted (for example, two impressive sacristy portals, arcades with the figurines of winged angels). Some of the most interesting items of the temple’s equipment are seven richly decorated column altars. Particularly impressive is the main altar with the images of the Holy Trinity and St Michael the Archangel and characteristic mirrors placed in the retable. One of the side altars has a locally worshipped painting of St Jan Kanty from the first half 17th century. Some other valuable monuments are the 16th-century paintings of the Virgin and Child with St Anne and St Nicholas, a black marble baptismal font from the 17th or 18th century, a veraicon from the 17th century, a pulpit, confessionals and benches from around 1782. The style of the entire equipment is well aligned with the decor of the choir loft with a richly ornamented balustrade.

The site is accessible to the general public. Apart from the times of services, it may be visited upon prior telephone appointment with the parish. The church is located on the Wooden Architecture Route of Małopolska. Access in the summer period is also possible as part of the tour of selected monuments on the route.

Author of the note Tadeusz Śledzikowski, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Kraków, 31/10/2014

Bibliography

• Kopera F., L. Lepszy L., Kościoły drewniane Galicji Zachodniej, Kraków 1916, pp. 149–158.
• Kornecki M.,, Szalowa, in: Rocznik Diecezji Tarnowskiej 1972, Tarnów 1972, pp. 232–234.
• Idem, Kościoły drewniane w Małopolsce, Kraków 1999, pp. 20, 172, 173, 174, 175, 180, 181, 182, 184, 185, 196, 214, 216, 217, 246, 331.
• Śledzikowski T., Szalowa: kościół pw. św. Michała Archanioła, in: Kościoły drewniane Małopolski, Kraków 2000, pp. 63-68.
• Idem, Szalowa: kościół pw. św. Michała Archanioła, in: Kościoły drewniane południowej Małopolski. Materiały do dokumentacji wpisu na Listę Światowego Dziedzictwa UNESCO, Teki Krakowskie XII, Kraków 2000, pp. 71–78.