St Adalbert and Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Modlnica

In 1553 the nobleman Jakub Śladkowski of Zabierzów built a new wooden church in Modlnica, and in return received the annual tithes, the crops from the parish fields and – according to the parish chronicle – the right to use the parish priest's cows for two years. That is how the Church of St Adalbert and Our Lady of Sorrows came into being, one of the most valuable wooden monuments near Kraków, with Renaissance wall paintings from 1562 and a tabernacle by Giovanni Maria Padovano.

History: from the legend of St Adalbert to the Renaissance

Modlnica lies on the road to Olkusz, about 2 km from Kraków's northern boundary. Local tradition holds that St Adalbert (Wojciech), on his way to Prussia, stopped at a place called Zagórze and preached under a lime tree – and that the village takes its name from his prayers (modły in Polish). In the records, Modlnica first appears in 1254 as the property of the Norbertine nuns of Zwierzyniec.

The present church was built in 1553 at the initiative of parish priest Jakub Biskupic (known as Pontificius) on the site of an earlier, ruined church, and consecrated in 1555. The priest did not live to see it finished – he died in 1553. His successor, the humanist Tomasz of Płaza, had the interior decorated with Renaissance paintings in 1562. The church was originally cross-shaped, but in 1622 Katarzyna Kucharska funded a masonry Chapel of St Anne in place of the north arm, where her husband Stanisław, who died in 1619, was buried. In 1878–1879 a porch was added on the west side.

What to see

• The 1562 wall paintings – in the chancel, the genealogy of Christ according to St Matthew's Gospel, with his ancestors from Abraham to the Virgin Mary in an arcaded frieze; in the nave and chapels, scenes from the life and Passion of Christ and the Last Judgement with the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In later centuries the paintings were whitewashed and papered over.
• A Gothic painting of the Virgin and Child from 1460–1470 in the Baroque high altar of 1723.
• A tabernacle shaped like a small chapel, carved from red Hungarian marble in 1533–1536 by Giovanni Maria Padovano.
• The Chapel of St Anne with its groin vault and the epitaph of Stanisław Kucharski, shown in armour.
• A font of black Dębnik marble, a 17th-century pulpit and coffered ceilings.
• The wooden bell tower from the 18th century with bells cast in 1498 and 1542.

Tripto tip

The church is on the Wooden Architecture Route of the Małopolska region. It is a working parish church, so the interior is easiest to see before or after Mass or by contacting the parish in advance. Allow about 45 minutes – start in the chancel and try to follow Christ's ancestors along the frieze, from Abraham to the Virgin Mary. Modlnica combines easily with a trip to the Prądnik Valley and Ojców.