Church of Our Lady of Częstochowa in Wąwelnica

The Church of Our Lady of Częstochowa in Wąwelnica, in Dobra municipality, is a Roman Catholic filial church entered in the heritage register. A church in the village existed as early as the 13th century: in 1286 the Bishop of Kamień transferred the patronage over it to the Collegiate Church of St Mary in Szczecin. The appearance of that building is not known, and the present one was built at the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries (the register gives the 16th century).

The building

The church is a hall church, built of granite cobbles, without a separate chancel. In the south wall there is a brick portal, and in the east wall an old almsgiving niche has survived. In 1777 the elevations were plastered, the windows were enlarged and given a segmental shape, and a half-timbered turret topped with a lantern was added on the roof above the west facade. A bell cast in 1660 in a Szczecin foundry hangs in the turret.

Interior and rebuilding

The interior is covered by a wooden beam ceiling. Of the former furnishings an 18th-century pulpit with painted images of the evangelists, supported on a spirally twisted small column, and a Neoclassical altar have survived. Before 1945 the church was a filial church of the parish in Dołuje. During the war it was damaged and until 1992 it remained in ruins. It was rebuilt then, the elevations were plastered and the roof covered with sheet metal, and the consecration took place on 3 May 1992.

Nearby

Szczecin lies about seven kilometres in a straight line from here, where, among others, there is the Quistorp Tower.

Practical information

• Location: Wąwelnica, Dobra municipality, Police County.
• Service times and the possibility of entering are given by the parish.