Church of St Clare in Dobra

The Church of St Clare in Dobra, in Łobez County, was built in the second half of the 14th century. It is a Gothic three-nave building on a rectangular plan, of brick with stone elements, with two chapels added to the main nave on the north and south. The chancel is closed on three sides, and the east gable is decorated with blind arcades.

History of the building

In 1539 a fire destroyed the church, after which it was rebuilt. Restoration work was carried out in 1819-1840, and in 1897 the previously low brick tower was raised by an octagonal fourth storey, with neo-Gothic detail and a tall tendril spire added. After the war, on 12 August 1945, the church was consecrated as a Catholic one; a parish was established in 1951.

Interior

On the west wall, a gallery for the choir from the 18th century rests on four columns, with a neo-Gothic organ of 27 stops from the second half of the 19th century, made in Hanover. Along the north wall of the chancel stands a 17th-century patron's gallery. The altar from 1614, Renaissance in style, was funded by Zofia Julianna Dewitz: at its centre is the Crucifixion, in the predella the Last Supper, and in the crowning the Resurrection. The Renaissance pulpit from 1593 has a canopy and steps, and the church also holds a Renaissance font and two sandstone tomb slabs of the founders, the chancellor Jobst von Dewitz and Wolf von Borck with his wife.

Nearby

In Dobra you can also see the castle and the Museum of the Dobra Land.

Practical information

• Address: Armii Krajowej Street, Dobra; Nowogard deanery.
• Service times are given by the parish.