St Leonard's Church in Wierzbie

In Wierzbie, a village in the Praszka municipality on national road 45 between Wieluń and Opole, stands a wooden church whose log structure is dated to around 1522. It is a late Gothic church of the Wieluń type – a reminder that this northern edge of Opole Silesia once belonged to the Wieluń Land. Two things make it worth a stop: the massive 16th-century portals and the triptych in the high altar, which local tradition links to Jan Zamoyski.

History: from the Wieluń Land to Opole Silesia

The village has existed since at least the 14th century – a document of 1381 records it as "Vierzbie". It was a royal village in the Wieluń starosty. The parish may have existed in the 15th century; in 1531 it was a daughter church of Ożarów, and it regained its independence on 12 January 1902. The oldest known description of the church dates from 1668: a wooden building with a belfry, a brick sacristy and a brick floor. It was thoroughly repaired at the end of the 18th century, restored in 1889 and 1949, and entered in the heritage register on 30 December 1967.

Architecture: what the 20th century changed

The nave and chancel are built of horizontal logs, the roofs are covered with wooden shingles and the walls with vertical boarding. In the second half of the 20th century the church was enlarged: open annexes were added to the nave and chancel, the south porch was removed, and the tower – which originally reached only the ridge – gained an extra storey and was absorbed into the main body. The work improved the structure but blurred the original silhouette. Two portals from around 1522 survived: the west one with a segmental arch and broad moulded jambs, and the north one with a horseshoe-shaped opening decorated with rope and dentil ornament, rosettes and lozenges.

What to see inside

• The triptych in the high altar – late Gothic according to the National Heritage Board; the centre shows the Virgin and Child with St Leonard and St Margaret, the wings St Catherine and St Nicholas.
• The rood beam with a crucifix beneath the flat ceiling shared by nave and chancel.
• An 18th-century pulpit with painted images of the Evangelists, plus a confessional and pews from the same century.
• Folk-style Stations of the Cross from the 19th century and plant-motif paintings framing the windows.

Local tradition connects the triptych with the Battle of Byczyna: Jan Zamoyski is said to have taken the altarpiece from the battlefield in 1588 and given it to Wierzbie. Sources present this as a probable tradition, not a documented fact.

Tripto tips

The church is in active use by the parish of St Leonard (Wierzbie 45). You can view the exterior at any time; the interior is open during services or by arrangement with the parish priest. Sunday Mass is at 9:00 and 11:00 and weekday Mass at 17:00 – confirm before you travel. Fifteen minutes is enough for the portals and exterior, about half an hour including the interior. A large parking area separates the church from the road to Ożarów.