History

• 1274 - first mentions of a church in Szymanów
• 1498 - construction of the church
• 1618-1648 - church damaged during the Thirty Years’ War
• 1680 - reconstruction of the chancel
• 1886 — renovation of the interiors
• 1945-1968 - church used as a fertilizer storage facility
• 1968 — renovation
• 1999 — renovation

Description

The Church of St Hedwig of Silesia is located on the north-eastern edge of the village of Szymanów. The first mentions of a church in Szymanów date back to 1274, with the existing church having replaced an earlier, wooden structure in 1498. It was subsequently destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War and rebuilt in 1680. Following the collapse of the bell tower during the late 17th century, a new one was erected alongside the church, forming part of the perimeter wall surrounding the churchyard and cemetery. In 1886, renovation works were performed on the interiors of the church. After 1945, the church was used as a fertilizer storage facility. It was only able to regain its religious function in 1968.

The church itself does not feature a tower. Its structure consists of a rectangular nave and a chancel, also rectangular in shape, its northern wall reinforced with two massive buttresses. Next to these buttresses there is a bricked-up Gothic portal. A number of 16th-century tomb effigies are embedded in the outer walls of the church. Towards the south lies the sacristy covered with a shed roof, with two pointed-arch niches in its walls. Its gable roofs are clad with ceramic roof tiles. The chancel features a ribbed groin vault.

The church is surrounded by the old cemetery (no longer in use) with a few surviving headstones, including a large tomb protected by wrought-iron grillwork as well as fragments of old headstones, including one dating back to the Late Gothic period. Another notable feature is an old column shrine from 1498.

The cemetery is circumscribed with a stone wall designed on a roughly circular plan.

The northern section of the wall incorporates a masonry bell tower from the early 18th century, covered with a gable roof clad with ceramic roof tiles.

The fixtures and fittings of the church include the Baroque main altarpiece with the painting of St Hedwig of Silesia, a Baroque pulpit as well as a number of oil paintings.

The church is usually closed; it may be viewed from the outside without limitations.

compiled by Krzysztof Czartoryski, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Wrocław, 07-08-2015.

Bibliography

• Słownik geografii turystycznej Sudetów, vol. 20, M. Staffa (ed.), Wrocław 2005