Hospital Church of the Immaculate Conception in Wolbrom

On the corner of Mariacka and Kościuszki streets in Wolbrom stands a small larch-wood church that for centuries served the poor and sick of an almshouse on the edge of town. It was built in 1638 under the will of a priest who had died the year before – and although it later nearly fell into ruin, twenty years of conservation work have made it once again one of the highlights of the Wooden Architecture Route in Lesser Poland (Małopolska).

History: a church from a will

The founder was Father Marcin Wolbram, a Kraków clergyman and official, who left 8,560 złoty in his will for a house for the poor and a church. He died in 1637, and the church was built a year later in the Łobzów suburb, where a hospital for the poor had operated since the 14th century; it was consecrated in 1672. Locals call it the Marian church or the hospital church. After the almshouse closed, the building decayed, until in the 1980s, on the initiative of parish priest Stanisław Sapilewski, restoration began and continued for almost two decades (1986–2008). The wall paintings, altars, choir loft, pews, façade, foundations, roof and small bell turret were all renovated.

What to see

• The log construction in larch: a single nave and a three-sided chancel without an apse.
• The west façade, divided by wooden pilaster strips, with a distinctive S-curved gable and a small bell turret with a cupola.
• The main altar from the second quarter of the 17th century, Baroque and about 4 metres tall, with figures of St John the Baptist, St John the Evangelist, St Adalbert and St Stanislaus and an image of the Virgin and Child.
• Side altars of St Martin of Tours and St Stephen, a Baroque crucifix in the porch and a small positive organ in the choir loft.

Tripto tip

The church belongs to St Catherine's parish in Wolbrom (ul. Krzywa 2, tel. +48 32 644 10 27). The parish does not list regular Masses or opening hours for the little church, so ask at the parish office about access to the interior – it is open after the morning Mass and on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 16:00 to 17:00. You can see the exterior at any time; 15–20 minutes is enough. In the same parish, the parish church of St Catherine in the town centre is worth a look, and the area around Wolbrom marks the edge of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland.