History

The church in the village of Wojciechów, owned by the Gniezno Archdiocese, was mentioned for the first time in sources in 1376. The present church was built in the 15th century. In the 16th century, when dukes of Oleśnica from the Poděbrady family converted to Lutheranism, it became an Evangelical church and remained so until 1945. After the restitution of churches to Catholics, from 1653 on, the church in Wojciechów was frequented by Evangelicals from Namysłów. In the late 17th century, the interior of the church was provided with Baroque décor and fittings. In 1718, the top storey of the tower was added, built in the Baroque style.

Description

The church is located in the central part of the village. It is enclosed with an openwork, wooden fencing with brick posts. In the past, the church was surrounded by a cemetery. The building is oriented, its body is rectangular. The tower was built on the longer axis (from the west). The church includes a sacristy (from the north) and a porch from the south. It is built of brick, with a separated plinth section. The two-bay chancel, terminating in a semi-hexagon, was built on a rectangular floor plan. To the wider and higher, three-bay nave, a three-storey one-axial tower was added, built on a square floor plan. Its ground storey is built of brick and field stone. The second, octagonal storey is topped with a tented roof with a lantern. The body and chancel of the church are embraced by buttresses topped with a gable roof. On the eastern gable, a flag with dates: 1718, 1869, 1959, and 2010 is set. The sacristy, adjoining the chancel from the north, is covered by a shed roof. The façades of the church are articulated with window openings of various shapes and sizes (rectangle, oval, pointed arch and segmental arch) in plaster surrounds, with visible post-scaffolding openings.

Interior of the church is covered with false barrel vaults, and the sacristy is covered with a flat ceiling. The chancel opens to the nave with a pointed rood arch. The entrances under the tower, to the sacristy, and from the western porch, and windows of the chancel, are all of pointed arch type. Window openings in the nave were transformed in connection with the construction of two-storey wooden galleries. Inside the church, there are lavish Baroque fittings originating from the 17th and the 18th century: main altar, pulpit, pipe organ casing, stone tomb slab, and bell.

The building is accessible to visitors.

compiled by Aleksandra Ziółkowska, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Opole, 15-11-2015.

Bibliography

• Goliński M., Kościk E., Kęsik J., Namysłów. Z dziejów miasta i okolic, Namysłów 2006.
• http://wilkow.pl/33/zabytki.html
• Karta ewidencyjna zabytku architektury, Kościół filialny pw. Nawiedzenia NMP w Wojciechowie, oprac. Stoces D., 2008, Archiwum Wojewódzkiego Urzędu Ochrony Zabytków w Opolu.
• Katalog Zabytków Sztuki w Polsce, t. 7: Województwo opolskie, z.7: Powiat namysłowski, oprac. Chrzanowski T., Kornecki M., Warszawa 1963, s. 65-66.
• Thullie C., Zabytki architektoniczne województw katowickiego i opolskiego. Przewodnik, Katowice 1969, s. 216.
• Zabytki sztuki w Polsce. Śląsk, red. zbiorowa, Warszawa 2006, s. 943.