Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Ostrykół

In 1656, Tatar troops returning with their plunder from the battle of Prostki burned Ostrykół to the ground, together with its church and library, and carried off 1,326 people from the parish into captivity. The village was rebuilt, and a new wooden church went up in 1667 – it still stands today. According to the Prostki municipality, it is most probably the oldest wooden church in the Warmian-Masurian region, with a Baroque altar, galleries and a chandelier with a stag's head.

History: from Lutheran church to Catholic church

Ostrykół lies on the Ełk river in Prostki municipality, in Masuria. The village already existed before 1538, when Duke Albrecht of Prussia granted it a charter under Chełmno law and set aside land for the parish priest. The raid of 1656, after the battle of Prostki, almost wiped it out. The rebuilt church served Lutherans for nearly three centuries; after the Second World War it was taken over by Catholics. Today it is the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, part of the parish in Prostki, and it has been a listed monument since 29 December 1964.

Among the local pastors was Michał Grodzki (c. 1682–1747), author of a hymn about the plague that ravaged Prussia in 1709 – it was printed in Königsberg in 1711 and later included in hymn books. Several later pastors, including Zygmunt Pianka, Jakub Siwek and Herman Schrage, are remembered as defenders of the Polish language in school and church. In 1794, Prussian troops defeated a unit of Kościuszko Uprising insurgents near the village.

Architecture

The church stands on an elongated rectangular plan, with aisles added along the long walls and sacristy annexes. At the front is a square porch topped by a belfry. The timber structure rests on a foundation of fieldstone. The building was restored in 1933.

What to look for

• The high altar of 1683 – Baroque, with twisted columns, Corinthian capitals and a Crucifixion.
• The pulpit of 1690 and the galleries on both sides of the nave – typical of former Lutheran churches.
• The stag's-head chandelier of 1700, hanging by the entrance.
• An 18th-century baptismal angel in the chancel, plus figures of the Virgin Mary, St John and a pelican.
• A plaque of 1700 on the back wall, commemorating the beginnings of the Protestant faith in what is now Prostki municipality. It was funded by Augustyn Schrage in honour of his father, pastor Herman Schrage.
• The organ – an instrument was bought as early as 1799; according to the conservation office the present organ case dates from around 1880, while the instrument itself was built in 1925 by Furtwängler & Hammer of Hanover. Today it needs a thorough restoration.
• A German plaque by the entrance commemorating villagers who fell in the First World War.

Tripto tip

This is a working filial church without regular opening hours – your best chance of seeing the interior is before or after Mass; check the service times with St Anthony of Padua parish in Prostki. Concerts are held in the church too – in 2018, for example, the Aleksander Tansman String Quartet played here. Allow 20–30 minutes for the outside and the interior. There is a Yotvingian hillfort near the village, and the town of Ełk is not far away.