It is situated at the “District Tourist Trail of Michał Drzymała — Wooden Churches of the Grodzisk District”.

History

The oldest document mentioning the first church in Błonia, which is currently part of the town of Wielichowo, is the last will of an inhabitant of Wielichowo, Jan Zarychta, dated 31 March 1667. The present church was erected in 1793. It was founded by Walenty Przykłocki from Wielichowo and Mateusz Nowak from Łubnica. The church underwent restoration works in 1865, which was an initiative by Rev. Maciej Świtalski. Four stained glass windows were installed during the renovation works carried out in the years 1912-1913. In 1957, new wall paintings were made inside the church. They were designed by Tadeusz Szukała and Jan Kot.

Description

The Cemetery Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is located in the suburbs of Wielichowo, in the Błonia district, on the east side of a road leading to Gradowice, in a parish cemetery enclosed with a wall.

The church is oriented towards the east. It has a rectangular floor plan. The chancel terminates in a semi-hexagon. The nave is adjoined by a sacristy on the north side and a porch on the south side. The church has a gable roof and a polygonal conical roof over the chancel, both covered with slate. Over the nave, there is a steeple with an onion-shaped, sheet metal cupola crowned with a cross.

The building has a wooden log structure. The walls are covered with weatherboards; the door and window openings are framed by wooden surrounds. The stained glass windows in the chancel, dating from 1912-1913, depict St Joseph and the Black Madonna of Częstochowa and St Adalbert and Mary the Mother of God (by the music gallery).

The church has one nave (with no aisles). It is covered with a false barrel vault. The walls are adorned with modern figure paintings made in 1957 based on a design by Tadeusz Szukała and Jan Kot. The church fittings include a Baroque main altar, incorporating a painting of Our Lady of the Snows with Child from 1670, two side altars, and a pulpit from the 3rd quarter of the 17th century. Between the nave and the chancel, there is a profiled rood beam with a crucifix from the 16th/17th century. On the west side, there is a music gallery, supported by two profiled posts.

The church is situated at the “District Tourist Trail of Michał Drzymała — Wooden Churches of the Grodzisk District”. More information is available on the website of the Poznań Archdiocese: www.archpoznan.pl and on the website of the Wielichowo Parish: www.parfiawielichowo.pl

compiled by Radomiła Banach, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Poznan, 28-09-2015.

Bibliography

• J. Łukaszewicz, Krótki opis historyczny kościołów parochialnych w dawnej diecezji poznańskiej, Poznań 1858, s.473.
• Drewniane kościoły w Wielkopolsce, koncepcja, teksty i wybór fotografii P. Maluśkiewicz, Poznań 2004, s. 275.
• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, t. V, z. 10:dawny powiat kościański, Warszawa 1980, s. 111-112.