St Giles Wooden Church, Podlesie

The wooden Church of St Giles in Podlesie stands in a quiet village on the northern edge of Silesian Voivodeship, in the Włoszczowa Basin, in Lelów municipality. From outside it is a modest, board-clad church under a shingle roof, but the interior surprises with its Rococo furnishings. The layout is unusual too: the chancel faces north and the sacristy is placed directly behind it – an arrangement rarely found in wooden churches.

History: three churches on one site

The first church in Podlesie is mentioned in documents in the 14th century, and Father Zaborski, author of a history of the Lelów parish, believed the parish already existed in the second half of the 13th century. The next church, built in the first half of the 17th century, was burned by the Swedes in 1657 during the "Deluge" invasion. In 1728 a new church funded by the local squire Aleksander Tęgoborski rose in its place.

Around 1782–1787, thanks to the efforts of parish priest Aniołkiewicz, the church was rebuilt so thoroughly that it was in effect a new building. It was funded by Aleksander Potocki of the Pilawa coat of arms, owner of Podlesie and neighbouring Koniecpol and, from 1807 to 1811, minister of police of the Duchy of Warsaw. A free-standing bell tower was added in 1808 – the date is carved above its door.

What to see

• The building itself: log construction on a stone base, a wide nave and narrower chancel, shingle roofs, an octagonal bell turret, and a front gable clad in herringbone boarding.
• The sacristy with a small treasury upstairs, forming one block with the chancel.
• The rood beam made of two S-shaped volutes, carrying an 18th-century Baroque crucifix.
• The Rococo high altar from the late 18th century, with figures of the four Evangelists and an early 18th-century painting of St Giles between two angels; St Anne with the Virgin and Child at the top.
• The side altars: on the left the Virgin with the mysteries of the Rosary in a carved wooden cover, on the right St Anthony with the Christ Child.
• The Rococo organ loft, curving forward on two columns, along with a Rococo font and patrons' pews.

Curiosities

St Giles, a hermit who died around 712, was hugely popular in the Middle Ages – his shrine at Saint-Gilles in Provence lay on the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela. Legend says a doe fed him with her milk, which is why he is often shown with the animal. He was patron of forests, nursing mothers and couples hoping for children, and the parish feast falls on 1 September.

Tripto tip

This is a working parish church (Koniecpol deanery, Diocese of Kielce) with no confirmed regular visiting hours – the easiest way in is just before or after Mass. Allow 30 minutes for the church and bell tower. It is worth walking to the northern edge of the village, where a medieval cone-shaped earthwork fort surrounded by a water-filled moat survives among wet meadows. The church is on the Wooden Architecture Route of Silesian Voivodeship, and the village has its own railway stop, Podlesie.