All were built or completely altered around 1748, have a uniform appearance and structural features distinguishing them from a large group of wooden churches in the Opole voivodeship.

History

The village was first mentioned in 1260; the existence of the parish from the first half of the 14th century is attested by records. The former wooden church was built probably in the 15th century and was used by Protestants in 1524-1701. The present shape of the church dates back to 1748, when the church was built anew or underwent full-scale alterations. It was covered with weatherboards and slightly altered in the modern era. The church belongs to the parish of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Klucz.

Description

The church is located on a hill in the centre of the village, surrounded by streets forming a small village square. To the north of it, there is a Lourdes Grotto, a shrine with a sculpture of St. John of Nepomuk, and a stone crucifix. The site is encircled by a paved path and surrounded by a modern fence. The preserved remains of the former cemetery include two tomb crosses.

The church is oriented towards the east, wooden, built as a log structure, with a post-and-beam tower, on a tall foundation. It consists of a short chancel closed off on three sides and a nave on a plan in the shape similar to a square, with diagonal eastern walls. To the west, the nave adjoins a tower annex which is equal in height to the nave and can be accessed by covered stairs to north (formerly on the opposite side of the tower). The northern wall of the chancel adjoins a sacristy with a founders' gallery on the upper storey, and next to it there is a low annex with stairs to the pulpit; part of the annex is adjacent to the nave. The body of the church is compact and homogenous, covered with a double-ridge roof, with smoothly interconnected planes; the low tower is topped with a tented roof, and the sacristy is surmounted by an extended plane of the chancel roof. Over the eastern edge of the nave there is an octagonal steeple turret, with a small cupola, clad with wood shingles like other roofs. The façades of the church are clad with vertically positioned weatherboards. The windows are topped with flat arches, rectangular, and glazed with coloured stained glass. Over the western door to the nave, there is a decorative insert next to the lock, depicting a soldier.

The interior is covered with flat ceilings. The choir is on the western side of the nave, simple, and supported by four pillars with capitals. The rood beam is profiled; the founders' gallery opens towards the interior with a rectangular opening. The church features uniform antique fixtures and fittings including a Baroque main altar and Late Baroque side altars, with sculptures of holy figures. The neoclassical pulpit dates from the first half of the 19th century.

The structure can be viewed from the outside; the interior is open to visitors during services or by arrangement with the parish priest.

compiled by Ewa Kalbarczyk-Klak, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Opole, 09-09-2014.

Bibliography

• Katalog zabytków sztuki w Polsce, vol. VII, issue 14, T. Chrzanowski and M. Kornecki (eds.), pp. 58-59.
• Emmerling D., Wierzgoń A., Opolskie kościoły drewniane, Opole 2006, p. 80.
• Architectural monument record sheet: Filial Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Zimna Wódka, prepared by W. Żurakowski, 2001, Archives of the Voivodeship Monuments Protection Office in Opole.
• Website of the parish of St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Klucz, 09.09.2014.