History

The first wooden temple on a hill on the west side of the town was probably erected in 1404. The date of erection of a new, masonry church in place of the former one has not been precisely determined. It is possible that it took place in 1444, at the initiative of an abbot of the Augustinian Order, Heinrich Stanislav. According to other sources, the building was erected in 1484. From 1540, when pursuant to the order of Duke Henry of Żagań Catholic services ceased to be held, the temple remained abandoned for many years. During the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) it was plundered by the Swedes. It underwent renovation in 1691 owing to the efforts of abbot Andreas Adalbert Thiele. At the same time the church graveyard was surrounded by a wall. Around 1750 the church was enlarged through extending the nave. During a renovation carried out in the late 20th century the floor tiles were replaced, new stairs to the choir gallery were built and some elements of the fixtures and fittings were removed, among others, a pulpit, choir stalls, gates at the altar and epitaph plaques. In 2001 a free-standing belfry was built next to the church. In 2017 the roof was renovated.

Description

The church is located on the left bank of the Bóbr river, in a cemetery area between Księżnej Żaganny and Piastowska street. The church, exhibiting Gothic and Baroque stylistic features, is oriented towards the east, made of brick and plastered. It has a single nave, four bays and a narrower, two-bay chancel terminating in a semi-hexagon, with a chapel on the south side and a sacristy on the north side. The nave is covered with a gable roof with pediments, the chancel with a multi-hipped roof and the chapel with a mansard roof. The nave is topped with a wooden steeple crowned with a bulbous cupola with a lantern. The façades are accentuated with tall windows and stepped buttresses in the chancel section. Inside, above the chancel and two eastern bays of the nave, there is a lierne vault; above the western part of the nave - a barrel vault with lunettes; over the sacristy - a barrel vault; over the chapel - a groin vault. Three altars have survived: the main one, linking the Late Renaissance elements with the Baroque ones, and Baroque side altars of the Transfiguration and the Heart of Jesus.

Limited access to the monument. It can be visited upon prior telephone arrangement.

Author of the note Anna Jackiewicz, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Zielona Góra. 21-12-2017

Bibliography

• Garbacz K., Przewodnik po zabytkach województwa lubuskiego, vol. 2, Zielona Góra 2012, pp. 115-116.
• Kowalski S., Zabytki architektury województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2010, p. 441.
• Zabytki sztuki w Polsce. Śląsk, Warsaw 2006, p. 1099.