History

The first church in Ulanów located at the market square of the newly founded town dates back to 1636. The church and the entire village of Ulanów belonged to the old parish in the nearby village of Bieliny. This rare situation when a municipal temple is a filial church of a rural parish lasted until 1928, when Ulanów was established as a separate parish. The present church dates back to the 1650s. There is no information when the church was extended by the western and southern vestibule. The building was renovated in 1724-1726, 1751, and 1758 (new steeple). Probably in 1868, wall paintings were made by a painter named Karpi(nel) (?). The bell tower accompanying the church and the fence surrounding the complex date back to the third quarter of the 19th century. In 1901, a new roof covering made of sheet metal was installed. Further conservation works were carried out in 1959 and 1976-1979 (alterations to the sacristy, replacement of coverings and weatherboarding, work on fittings). In 2012, another renovation was commenced (including building a new stone foundation, new aprons).

Description

The complex is located in the south-west corner of the market square. It consists of a church oriented towards the east, bell tower located north of the church, which was erected as part of the masonry fence surrounding the complex.

The church is a three-aisled hall church. The aisle body is preceded by a large vestibule to the west and extended by the addition of a small vestibule to the south. The aisle body is built on a floor plan resembling the shape of a square and consists of a wide central aisle (nave) and narrow side aisles. The chancel with a three-sided end section corresponds to the width of the central aisle. It is flanked by two auxiliary rooms. The church body consists of a group of structures clustered around the nave, including the aisle body, a chancel lower than the aisle body, and a tall two-storey sacristy, which corresponds to a low auxiliary room. To the west, the church was extended by the addition of a large squat vestibule; the second, much smaller, was added to the southern wall of the aisle body. The body is covered with a gable roof with a slender steeple in the eastern part of the roof ridge. The chancel is topped with a multi-hipped roof. The sacristy is covered with a gable roof with planes perpendicular to each other, with the northern plane forming an extension to the plane over the chancel. The vestibule features gable roofs. The room on the south side of the chancel is covered with a shed roof. The church is set on a stone foundation. It is wooden log structure reinforced with double-sided clamps. The walls are covered with board and batten siding and an apron. The roofs and aprons are clad with sheet metal (condition as at 2013). The aisles and the chancel are topped with faux cloister vaults. The façades of the church are devoid of decorations, embellished mainly with window openings and clamps. The front façade of the body features two distinctive round windows. The western part of the interior of the aisles features a choir gallery resting on a pair of pillars with braces. Similar two pairs of slender pillars partition the aisles. The chancel is separated by a rood arch with a beam, on which a crucifix was placed. The walls of the church interior are covered with wall paintings stylistically reminiscent of the trompe l’œil painting technique of Late Baroque. The interior décor consists of a set of Late Baroque (2nd half of the 18th c.) altars and a pulpit.

The bell tower was built partially as part of the fence. It is an architectural feature distinguished by its massive body. The bell tower is set on high pedestals and consists of two parts — a typical three-bay screen bell tower with a stepped gable was extended to the south by the addition of a transverse tall and narrow bay covered with a ceiling, inside of which a bell was installed. The brick and plastered bell tower is decorated with profiled cornices.

The fence around the church in the form of a low wall built of brick and stone is oval in outline. It was covered with a shed roof clad with roof tiles. The north-western part of the fence was pierced by the main gate, to the east of which a bell tower was erected. The fence has two more gates from the west and from the south. The main gate and the south and western gates are flanked by massive pillars. The eastern part of the fence features a small masonry morgue. The fence also includes three shrines with alcoves, and on its outer side there are a number niches crowned by segmental arches.

The building is open to visitors all year round and can be viewed upon prior telephone appointment.

compiled by Bartosz Podubny, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Rzeszów, 23-09-2014.

Bibliography

• Record sheet of monuments of architecture, the so-called white sheet, Ulanów, Kościół parafialny pw. św. Jana Chrzciciela i św. Barbary, prepared by Cz. Kiełboń, 1991-92 (Archives of the Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office in Tarnobrzeg)
• Record sheet of monuments of architecture, the so-called white sheet, Ulanów, Dzwonnica z murem kościelnym, prepared by Cz. Kiełboń, 1991 (Archives of the Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office in Tarnobrzeg)
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, województwo rzeszowskie, powiat niżański, Kutrzebianka K. (ed.), typescript (Archives of the Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office in Tarnobrzeg)
• Gaj-Piotrowski W., Flisacki Ulanów. Studia z dziejów Ulanowa, Stalowa Wola 1997
• Kumik T., Ulanów, Ulanów 1992
• Podubny B., Drewniane świątynie odzyskują blask - prace konserwatorskie przy wybranych zabytkach świątyń północno-wschodniego dorzecza Sanu (północnej części województwa podkarpackiego) na przykładzie Ulanowa, Dąbrówki, Krzeszowa i Huty Krzeszowskiej, “Ochrona Zabytków” 2014 (in print)
• Rocznik Diecezji Sandomierskiej 2010, Kida K. (ed.), Sandomierz 2012