Kościół pw. Narodzenia Pańskiego i Świętego Bartłomieja Apostoła
Churches of Kraków
Church (Roman Catholic), Nowa Huta district. Date according to Wikidata: 15th century. A listed monument (heritage register).
History
The wooden larch church in Mogiła, in the Nowa Huta district, stands at Klasztorna Street 4. For centuries it served the people of Mogiła as their parish church, until 1851. Today it is looked after by the Cistercians from the nearby abbey.
It was the Cistercians who built the church, so that they could minister to the local people. It first appears in documents in 1329. A document of 2 November 1347, kept in the monastery archive, records that the bishop consecrated the church standing by the monastery gate, together with its altar and cemetery. The Odrowąż family, founders of the abbey, meant a great deal to the parish: in 1266 Bishop Jan Prandota handed over to the monastery the parish at St Bartholomew's Church, together with its income.
The building was rebuilt in 1466, possibly after a fire. Abbot Piotr Hiszberg of Biecz commissioned the work from the royal carpenter and woodcarver Maciej Mączka. His signature, the date and the Odrowąż coat of arms can be seen on the Gothic pointed-arch portal, which is decorated with plant motifs. Bishop Jan Rzeszowski consecrated the church in 1475. Around 1740 the church was thoroughly rebuilt, but its Gothic structural layout was left untouched. It was given a Latin-cross plan, and side chapels and a two-storey sacristy were added.
Inside, the Rococo wall paintings from 1766 catch the eye. Medallions show bishops, saints and scholars associated with Mogiła, alongside the Odrowąż, Radwan and Abdank coats of arms. The three-arched bell tower dates from 1752. The church is considered the oldest wooden three-aisled hall church in Poland and one of the most valuable Polish monuments of wooden architecture.
Did you know?
The old painting of St Bartholomew from the high altar was moved to the archive of the diocesan museum, because the scene of his martyrdom was so realistic that worshippers found it too gory. The new painting that hangs in the altar was painted in the 1920s by Father Józef Kaczmarczyk.