It is a valuable element of the cultural landscape, a testimony of the rich spiritual life of past and present generations of the local community.

History of the structure

A Classicist chapel from around 1800. According to Hans Joachim Helmigk, it was inspired by the cemetery chapel located in Dolny Brzeg of Karl Georg Heinrich von Hoym, which was designed by Friedrich Gilly. The close vicinity of the buildings of the former palace

in Ulanowice allows us to assume that the founder of the chapel may have come from the upper class of society.

In the first decade of the 21st century, the building underwent renovation, during which the wooden window frames were replaced with plastic ones. The walls of the building underwent a drying process. The bases of the columns, which were covered with a thick layer of plaster, and the roof sheathing, which was originally made of slate, underwent unfavourable transformations.

In 2016, at the request of the owner of the chapel, i.e. the Roman Catholic Parish of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Goświnowice, a thorough renovation was performed. During the renovation, the old roof sheathing was replaced with a new one made of coated aluminium sheet laid in a diamond pattern. The ridge turret was clad in scales-shaped aluminium sheeting with an embossed seam and a simplified lily form. The damaged structural elements of the roof and turret were replaced with new ones of the same parameters and with the same method of joining. As it is not possible to go inside the chapel, it can only be assumed that the chapel may be dedicated to St. John of Nepomuk due to the close location of the pond.

Description of the structure

The Classicist chapel is located in the centre of the village. Free-standing, facing south-east. Built on a rectangular floor plan, with a semi-circular apse closed on the north-west side. It is a brick chapel, covered with plaster. Although the front elevation is sparse in details, the effect of monumentality was emphasized by the portico consisting of four Doric columns topped with a tympanum-shaped gable. The columns are not evenly spaced. They form pairs that are placed closer to each other. This creates a wider space between the second and third columns. The interior of the chapel is accessed through double solid doors, panelled, made of wood. On their sides, forged hinges with sophisticated shapes are mounted. The plate covering the bolt lock mechanism was also decorated with subtle ornaments. The chapel is covered with a gable roof and a three-span roof above the apse. The roof sheathing is made of coated aluminium sheet. On the roof ridge, close to the gable wall, a small ridge turret topped with a tower roof is set. On the eastern side elevation there are two windows, closed in a semicircle. The western side elevation is a mirror image of the eastern one.

Visitor access: The monument is open to visitors.

Author: Magdalena Urbaniak – Leśniak, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Opole, 23.08.2017

Bibliography

• Zabytki sztuki w Polsce Śląsk, pod red. S. Brzezicki, C. Nielsen, Warsaw 2006, p. 898.
• Oberschlesische Landbaukunst um 1800, H. J. Helmegk, Berlin 1937