Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Świdwin

The Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Świdwin is a Gothic parish church of dark brick. According to the Wikipedia entry it was built in 1338, and the heritage register dates the building to the turn of the 14th and 15th centuries. The church has the form of a basilica with three aisles, and the chancel is surrounded by an ambulatory.

A brick building

A tower with a spire adjoins the church, and the roof of the church is covered with copper sheeting. In 1475 side chapels, in which the sacristy was placed, were added, and the tower was added thirty years later. The tower then received a new crowning covered with copper sheeting.

Fires and the Reformation

In 1538 the previously Catholic church became Protestant. In 1611 a new pulpit made by craftsmen from Stargard was set up in the church. In 1644 lightning struck the tower and destroyed it. On 16 April 1689, during a great fire in the town, the church also burnt down, leaving only the walls. The townspeople rebuilt it in three years, and by 1692 services were again held in it. In 1776 the tower burnt down again.

After 1945

The church, very seriously damaged during the liberation of Świdwin, was taken over after the war by the Catholic Church and consecrated on 21 December 1947. In the same year a Church Reconstruction Committee was formed, and work began in 1948. The consecration took place on 16 December 1982. Later the church was dried out, a new copper roof was laid and the chapel of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn was renovated. In the 1990s renovation of the tower began, and in 2006 the outer walls were renovated thanks to funds from the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

Nearby

The church stands in the centre of Świdwin, about two hundred metres from the castle.

Not far away lies also the Church of St Michael the Archangel.

A little further on, about eight hundred metres from the church, stands the Bismarck Tower.

Practical information

• Address: Niedziałkowskiego 2, Świdwin.
• Opening hours of the church outside services are given by the parish. Check them before your visit.