Church of St Anthony of Padua in Osieki

The Church of St Anthony of Padua in Osieki is a Gothic brick church, entered in the heritage register. It stands by Lake Jamno, in Sianów municipality, and has been linked with the Eucharistic cult for centuries.

From chapel to pilgrimage church

According to the parish website, archaeologists discovered the stones of the first altar, which belonged to a wooden chapel from about 1300. The oldest part of the church, the Gothic chancel, was built about 1350. In 1398, during a visit by a Pomeranian bishop, a dropped host was said to bear traces of blood. The event was considered miraculous, pilgrims began to come to Osieki, and the chancel was therefore extended with a wide, four-bay nave. The church had four entrances for pilgrims, and the northern one was bricked up in 1711. The massive tower was added last.

Architecture and furnishings

This three-aisled hall building has a chancel closed on five sides. On the ground floor of the tower is a pointed-arch main portal, framed with millstones, and in the vestibule under the tower lies a Neolithic quern. In the 16th century the church became Lutheran and the relic of the bleeding host was removed from it. Furnishings from this period have survived: a Renaissance high altar from 1616, a pulpit from 1662, a 17th-century font and three candelabra from the 18th century. During conservation work in 2015 a bricked-up place where the host was kept was uncovered, and in 2017 similar niches in the western part of the church.

Practical information

• Osieki, Bałtycka 15, Sianów municipality.
• Masses are held on Sundays and holy days at 12:00, and the parish website also gives service and confession times. Check them before a visit.
• Nearby are Lake Jamno and the Jamno Homestead, and in Jamno the Church of Our Lady of the Rosary.