Wooden Church on Just Pass in Tęgoborze

On St Just's Pass, a few steps from the busy national road 75 between Nowy Sącz and Brzesko, a small wooden Church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary stands in a ring of old lime trees. This is where, on 10 June 1939, Janina Dowbor-Muśnicka (Lewandowska) was married – a pilot and parachutist who became the only woman murdered in the Katyn massacre. Behind the fence with its two gates, the interior holds a Gothic sculpture and font that are older than the church itself.

Between legend and history

Tradition says the hill was the hermitage of St Just (Just-Jodok), a disciple of St Andrew Zoerard (Świerad), who according to the story died around 1009. No source from his time survives, though – the hermit's life was written down only in the early 17th century, based on what local people told. A document from 1400 is on firmer ground: the knight Chebda of Rożnów founded a small monastery here for canons of the Order of Penance, known as the "Marks". During the Reformation, Cyryl Chrząstowski, the Arian (Polish Brethren) lord of Tęgoborze, looted and destroyed the church and monastery.

The present church was built in the second half of the 17th century on the site of the ruined monastery and enlarged in the 18th century. In the late 19th century a sizeable porch with a small bell turret was added at the front. Do not confuse it with Tęgoborze's former parish church of St Nicholas, which was moved to the village of Tabaszowa.

What to see

The church is built of horizontal logs, clad with vertical boards and covered by a single roof over the nave and chancel. Outside, look for the decorative valance under the eaves, the Baroque sheet-metal cupola with a lantern on the turret, and a dovecote on the front wall of the nave. Inside you will find:

• a Baroque high altar from the 17th century with the image of Our Lady of Just, modelled on the Black Madonna of Częstochowa and painted on canvas glued to three boards,
• a folk-Baroque painting of St Just from 1677 – its donors are shown at the saint's feet,
• a Gothic Madonna and Child from the 15th century,
• a stone baptismal font with coats of arms from the early 16th century – both survive from earlier churches.

The feast on Just

The church feast falls on 8 September, the Nativity of the Virgin Mary. It doubles as a harvest festival: the surrounding villages bring harvest wreaths and loaves baked from the new grain to the altar, and seed corn for the next sowing is blessed. An open-air altar has been built next to the church for these celebrations.

Tripto tip

Coming from Kraków, turn right just before the highest point of the pass – the church is very close to the road but easy to miss. Seeing it from outside takes 15–20 minutes. It is a working chapel of Tęgoborze parish and the interior is mainly open around services, so check the parish's current information before you go. The pass looks out over Lake Rożnów, so the stop fits easily into a drive around the reservoir.