It is a former Old Lutheran chapel. The church of the Divine Mother Queen of Poland (Polish Catholic church) is one of the tourist attractions of the city.

History

Before Old Lutherans built their own church, they met to pray in the apartment of a widow named Schirmer on Kupiecka Street. Such state of affairs lasted nearly 25 years. The chapel alone was built on 30 September 1866. The church was built by stonemason Carl Mühle and carpenter Prüfer. Initially, it was equipped with a pipe organ bought from the liquidated church in Nietków. Only in 1884, a new pipe organ made by the “Gebrüder Walter” company from Góra Śląska was installed. The organ has survived until present and one can see it currently in the Evangelical church of Jesus Christ at Bohaterów Square in Zielona Góra (the organ is the oldest instrument of that type in the city). Soon thereafter, in 1911, Lutherans commissioned the new church on Bohaterów Square. The decision to build a new church resulted from the bad technical condition of the chapel and an increase in the number of believers. In 1922, the abandoned chapel was adapted for museum purposes for an association established to compile collections and protect and nurture the national heritage in the city and in the district of Zielona Góra. Private collections donated by the citizens were collected and exhibited here. In 1927, the attic was adapted to serve as a “homestead room”. Owing to the efforts and commitment of the then director Klose, it was possible to protect the collections during the war hostilities and hand them over, after World War II, to the newly created museum on Niepodległości Avenue. After World War II the church remained unused for many years. In 1967, the building was handed over to the parish of Polish Catholic Church which has owned it until today.

Description

The chapel was built in the Historicist style. It is a brick aisleless erected on a rectangular floor plan. The body of the chapel is covered with a gable roof. The front and the back façade feature four-stepped gables. Window and entrance openings have semi-circular top sections. Inside the chapel, in its northern part, a gallery was installed on wooden posts. The body of the chapel, which is simple in form and features modest architectural décor, has retained its historical character and is a significant sacred facility of the city.

The church is owned by a religious community. It celebrates regular masses. It is open to the public.

compiled by Krzysztof Słowiński, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Zielona Góra, 08-07-2014.

Bibliography

• Brylla J. W., Z dziejów Kościoła staroluterańskiego na Środkowym Nadodrzu ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem zboru zielonogórskiego, [w:] 50 lat Parafii Ewangelicko - Augsburskiej w Zielonej Górze, Brylla J. W. (red.), Zielona Góra 1998 r.
• Klose M., Das Grünberger Heimatmuseum, [w:] Grünberger Hauskalender, 1924 r.
• Bielenis-Kopeć B., Zabytki Zielonej Góry, Zielona Góra 2005 r.
• Kowalski S., Zabytki architektury województwa lubuskiego, Zielona Góra 2010 r.
• Kowalski S., Zabytki Środkowego Nadodrza, Zielona Góra 1976 r.
• Pertyt - Gierasimczuk I., Czas architekturą zapisany, Zielona Góra 1998 r.