St George's Church, Bytów

This small church on a hill in Bytów has changed denomination more often than most churches in Pomerania. It began as a burgomaster's private chapel, became a Protestant church where sermons were preached in Kashubian, and since the 1980s has been a Greek Catholic church with an iconostasis. For centuries locals simply called it the Church on the Hill.

History: from a burgomaster's chapel to a Greek Catholic church

The first St George's chapel was built on the hill outside the town walls around 1470 by burgomaster Nikolaus Blome and his wife Gertruda; in 1490 the chapel was confirmed to the widow, and later its patronage passed to the town council. After the Reformation, before 1551, it was used by Lutherans from the surrounding villages. Sermons in the local dialect were preached here by pastor Szymon Krofey, who in 1586 published "Spiritual Songs" in Kashubian. Hence its popular name: the Kashubian Church.

The wooden church burned down in 1629 during the Polish-Swedish war, and in 1673 it was wrecked by a storm. It was rebuilt in its present form in 1675–1685, with a hipped roof and a small turret in the middle. In 1843, after 30 years of disuse, it was repaired because it was needed while the new town church was being built; partly collapsed burial vaults were filled in at that time.

After 1945 the building waited a long time for new owners. Following a major renovation in the 1980s it became the Greek Catholic church of St George's parish.

What to look for

• The iconostasis with its royal doors and the Byzantine-style dome inside.
• A 17th-century tabernacle brought from the Church of St Paraskeva in Surochów.
• The building's outline, with its hipped roof, once shingled, and the onion-domed turret.
• The churchyard, listed as a monument together with the church.

Tripto tip

The church is on Josyfa Slipyja Street, a few hundred metres from the castle. The interior is mainly open during services, so if you want to see the iconostasis, check the Greek Catholic parish's liturgy times. Fifteen minutes is enough from outside; the best view is from the gate with the wooden fence. Afterwards, walk to the castle with the West Kashubian Museum and to the Gothic tower of the former St Catherine's Church.