Wooden Church of St John the Baptist in Brusiek

The wooden Church of St John the Baptist in Brusiek stands at the edge of a forest village in Lubliniec County, in the municipality of Koszęcin. According to dendrochronological research it dates from 1593, making it one of the oldest monuments on the Wooden Architecture Route of the Silesian Voivodeship. Behind its modest shingled form lies a story of forgers, ironworks and one of the first Polish poems about metallurgy.

History: a village of forgers

Brusiek has been known since at least the 14th century, when the first ironworks was built here. The first forgers were the Brusiek family, regarded as the best in their trade. From this family came Walenty Roździeński, son of Jakub Brusiek, author of the verse work "Officina ferraria, or the Ironworks and Workshop with Forges of the Noble Craft of Iron", published in 1612. By the end of the 18th century the settlement had about 600 inhabitants, most of them from forging families.

A first church probably stood here as early as the 15th century. The present one was built on the site of its predecessor, which is thought to have burned down; the Wooden Architecture Route dates it to 1593 on the basis of dendrochronology, and its foundation is linked to Andrzej Kochcicki. The church was a chapel of the vast Sadów parish, joined the Koszęcin parish in the 19th century and has belonged to the Kalety-Drutarnia parish since 1977. Between 1675 and 1758 about ten people of merit to the church were buried beneath the chancel.

What to see

• The building – an east-facing log church with a post-built tower on the west side, a pyramid roof and a hexagonal ridge turret with an onion cupola; roofs and walls are covered in shingles.
• Stencilled wall paintings from 1693 by Wawrzyniec Grochowski.
• An altar with a painting of St John the Baptist from the mid-18th century and a wooden font.
• Two 16th-century sculptures – the Virgin Mary and St Anne. According to tradition they arrived after 1945, probably thrown off a Soviet transport carrying looted works of art.
• The churchyard, where workers of the Brusiek forge and nearby ironworks were buried; cast-iron crosses made in the ironworks survive.

Curious facts

Beneath the tower lies the grave of an ironworks overseer named Liszczyk, who died after falling from the church tower. In 1947 parishioners funded two new bells – "Jude Thaddeus" and "John the Baptist" – inscribed "Brusiek – Upper Silesia 1947".

Tripto tips

• Renovation: because of work on the church, Masses have been held in the parish church in Drutarnia since 15 March 2026. The parish describes the monument as needing major structural repairs, drainage and restoration of the paintings.
• Visiting: check announcements on brusiek.pl before you go – during the renovation you can see the exterior, while access to the interior must be arranged with the parish.
• Time needed: 20–30 minutes is enough for the church and the churchyard.
• Route: Brusiek lies on the Koszęcin – Tworóg road, so it combines easily with a trip through the forests around Lubliniec.