Built between 1847 and 1851 at the behest of Zakopane’s first parish priest, Father Stolarczyk, the town’s oldest wooden church is a charming example of traditional rural architecture. Receiving extensive renovation work a century after its completion, the interior is rather plain, brightened up a little with some nice folk art painting and its main altar, a copy of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa (the original being in the Jasna Góra Monastery in Częstochowa). The tiny stone chapel of Saints Sverad and Benedict to the right of the church was built between 1806 and 1820. The oldest shrine in Zakopane, it was built by a clearly laid-back Paweł Gąsienica. Further to the right the church’s Na Pęksowym Brzyzku cemetery is full of ornate crosses and carvings marking the graves of many notable former Zakopane inhabitants.
St. Mary of Częstochowa Church comments
- Priscilla Stolarczyk McNeal - Colorado USA, Fort Collins
In the January 1981 issue of the National Geographic, page 104, you will find a feature article on Poland's Proud Mountain People. This contains information about the people of this Tatra Mountain area and the town of Zakopane. You will find a lovely photo of this charming church built by Father Jozef Stolarczyk. A quote from this article reads "The church was begun a hundred yars ago, after Zakopane's first pastor, the forceful Father Stolarczyk, ordered hot-blooded young men of the town to repent their indiscretions by delivering stones for the construction of the church. As the errant village lads carried in their heavy penance the priest mused. "Even if we can build a whole church in this fashion, I wonder whether God will really like to live in it." This priest was also responsible for attracting artists, musicians, and writers to the region to elevate it's culture. He also managed to have a huge cross constructed on the top of Mount Giewont, which overlooks the village. It is today a popular tourist destination. How do I know this? Father Jozef Stolarczyk was the Uncle of my Grandfather Joseph Stolarczyk, who with his wife, Theresa Wojciak,emigrated to the US in the first years of the 1900's, and lived in the Foley-St. Cloud, Minnesota area.
Nov
2008