Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Otok

The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Otok (Gryfice municipality, Gryfice County) was built in 1913 of brick. It belongs to the parish of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Górzyca and is entered in the heritage register.

A gable of the old church’s timber

The most interesting detail is the half-timbered gable of the chancel, which comes from the previous, 17th-century church. An inscription with the date 1670 is cut into a beam, and according to its text the gable was rebuilt in 1913 from the timber of the old church. The encyclopedia entry describes the style of the building as Neo-Romanesque, the heritage register as Neo-Baroque.

The form and interior

The building stands on a rectangular plan. To the west adjoins a tower on a square plan, turning into an octagon on the upper storey, topped with a sheet-metal spire. The interior is covered with a boarded barrel vault covered with polychrome. The wooden choir gallery with an organ case and the pews date from the time of construction. Inside there is also a font from the 16th-17th centuries and a 17th-century pulpit supported on a pillar. Catholics blessed the church on 15 October 1946.

In the area stands the Church of Our Lady Queen of the World in Kłodkowo, about 4 km from here.

Practical information

• Location: Otok, Gryfice municipality, Gryfice County.
• A filial church.
• Information on the possibility of entering the interior is given by the parish.