Church of Christ the King in Gosław

The Church of Christ the King in Gosław, a village in Trzebiatów municipality, was built in the Romanesque style in the third quarter of the 13th century. The Wikipedia entry counts it among the oldest churches in Pomerania. It is entered in the heritage register.

Of stone and brick, in several stages

The oldest part is a rectangular, probably unfinished chancel, built of stone and brick. In the 15th century a short nave was added to it, in the lower part of unworked boulders, higher up of brick, together with an east gable with pointed recesses. In the same century a four-sided tower was built, of stone and brick, which in the 18th century was covered with a Baroque cap. In the 19th century a neo-Gothic sacristy was added on the south, which covered the original three-step portal.

Traces of Romanesque workmanship

Masons' marks have survived in the walls. In the south-eastern corner, in the seventh course above the plinth, is a stone with an engraved chessboard of rhombuses, and in the north-eastern corner a second chessboard, of squares. Inside, in the north wall, a trace of the original stone portal with an engraving of two snakes on the jamb is partly visible. In the east wall is a brick tabernacle in a shallow niche.

Interior

The single-nave space is covered with a wooden beamed ceiling with polychromes, and above the chancel a star vault from the 15th century has survived. In the chancel arch hangs a Gothic crucifix from the second half of the 15th century with medallions bearing the symbols of the evangelists. There is also a Baroque pulpit from the second quarter of the 18th century, decorated with gilded ornaments. On the gallery above the entrance stands a nine-voice organ by the Szczecin firm Grüneberg.

After 1945

The church was consecrated as a Catholic one on 1 October 1945, and the parish was established in 1973.

Nearby

About five kilometres further on stands the Church of St John the Baptist in Sarbia.

Practical information

• Place: Gosław, Trzebiatów municipality, Gryfice County.
• The church is in use; check the times of services and the possibility of entering the interior with the parish.
• Heritage register entry: number 122 of 1956.