Church of Christ the King in Lubanowo

The church in Lubanowo was built in the mid-13th century of regularly dressed stone blocks. It was built by the Templars from Rurka, to whom the village belonged. Today it is the parish church in Banie municipality.

A Templar building

The church is a hall church on a rectangular plan measuring 26.3 by 9.5 metres, with a straight-ended chancel and a gable roof. Above the western part of the nave stands a wooden tower with a pavilion roof. The gable of the west elevation is decorated with three pointed blind arches, the middle one taller, and in the lower part of the elevation is a portal with three steps. A second such portal, plastered, is on the south side.

At the south-east corner, in the first and fifth courses above the plinth, a mason's chequerboard mark was carved in the ashlar. Beside it can be seen a walled-up narrow late Gothic window, probably a hagioscope, that is a window for the sick, or a piscina.

Interior and surroundings

The interior is covered by a wooden beam ceiling. An 18th-century high altar and a 19th-century organ gallery have survived, and a bell of 1697 hangs in the tower. The church was rebuilt in the 18th century. After damage in the Second World War it was repaired and on 30 October 1948 blessed as a Catholic church. Adjoining the church is a former cemetery surrounded by a stone wall with a walled-up gate on the south side. On it stands a monument to the villagers who fell in the First World War, which is now the pedestal of a figure of Christ.

Nearby

Within a few kilometres lie the church in Banie (about 4.6 km) and Lake Dłużec (about 5.6 km).

Practical information

• Address: Lubanowo (Banie municipality, Gryfino County).
• Church entered in the heritage register, dated to the mid-13th century.
• No fixed visiting hours have been established; check Mass times and the possibility of entering with the parish.