The church is devoid of stylistic features and is located outside the old town, to the east of the market square. The body of the church was redesigned multiple times, however, the feature is one of the tourist attractions in the Żary commune.

History

In the 14th century in Żary, at a route leading from Lusatia to Greater Poland, a hospital was built together with a church of the Holy Spirit. The hospital, built in the former Dolne Przedmieście in Żary, was one of Lusatia’s oldest ones. The fire of 1700 destroyed the church and the hospital. Reconstruction of the temple was conducted in 1702. During the construction works, the feature was stripped of its stylistic features. In 1844 the temple received a new east gable and buttresses. Hostilities of World War II did not lead to major damage to the building. After 1945 the temple was used as a warehouse by the National Municipal Council in Żary. Since 1975 it has served ecclesiastical purposes and has belonged to the Polish Catholic parish of the Good Shepherd. After changing the owner, adaptation works were carried out, the interior was rearranged and the fixtures and fittings were brought from the post-Evangelical church in Lubiń. In the years 1991-1992 the temple underwent a comprehensive renovation, consisting in, among others, anti-fungal treatment, replacement of the floor lining and systems, applying new layers of plaster and supplementing the roof cladding. The church represents an important element in the spatial layout of the town.  

Description

The Polish Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Żary is located at 13 Żagańska Street, outside the old town area. The church stands on a small plot and is recessed from the alignment of buildings in Żagańska Street. The church is separated from the street by a modern, metal fence with a wicket, resting on a stone base. The area in front of the church is partially lined with cement flooring and partially overgrown with grass and trees. A metal cross with Crucified Jesus stands in front of the church. A two-storey building adjoins the church on the west side. The church is a brick-and-stone single-space structure with plastered walls, resting on a base made of fieldstones. It was built on a rectangular plan with a chancel singled out inside by means of an arcade of rood beams. A sacristy, covered with a mono-pitched roof, adjoins the north façade. The temple body faces the street with its ridge and is covered with a gable roof. The façades are pierced by rectangular window openings, terminating in a semi-circular arch and featuring metal joinery. The main entrance to the church is located in the south façade and terminates in a segmental arch. Smooth façades of the church are supported by wide buttresses. The interior of the temple is covered with barrel vaults with lunettes. The church fixtures and fittings include, among others, a Baroque painting presenting the Resurrection of Jesus and an altarpiece from the first half of the 19th century, brought from Lubiń, as well as a Neo-Classicist marble baptismal font from the first half of the 20th century.

The church is property of a religious community. It celebrates regular masses. It is open to the public.

Author of the note Krzysztof Słowiński, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Zielona Góra, 15-11-2017

Bibliography

• Kowalski S., Zabytki architektury województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2010, p. 450;
• Kowalski S., Zabytki województwa zielonogórskiego, Zielona Góra 1987, p. 248;
• White record sheet: Kościół pw. Dobrego Pasterza w Żarach, prepared by Wanda Janowska, study of 1999, [in] Archives of the Regional Monument Protection Office in Zielona Góra.