Corpus Christi Church, Olesno

The neo-Baroque Corpus Christi Church, with its pale, multi-storey tower, stands just off the centre of Olesno. Built in 1909–1913 on the site of a 15th-century wooden church, it is surprisingly grand: a monumental building on a Latin-cross plan covering about 1,500 m², with painted ceilings and figurative stained glass.

History

A wooden Church of the Body of Christ stood here from 1450–1478. It burned down in 1624 and was rebuilt by 1635, and in 1807, during the Napoleonic Wars, it served as a field hospital for French soldiers. By around 1900 the growing town needed a larger church. The wooden church was moved to nearby Gronowice, and the present one was built in its place in 1909–1913. The work was carried out by a firm from Kluczbork under master builder Walter Schmidt. On 18 October 1913 the church was consecrated by Cardinal Georg Kopp of Breslau (Wrocław). It became the parish church in 1935, taking over from St Michael's.

What to see

• The high altar of 1913, with a painting of the Last Supper, a gilded tabernacle and statues of St Roch, St John of Nepomuk, St Augustine and St John the Evangelist.
• Side altars from 1914 – Our Lady of the Rosary and St Joseph.
• The painted ceilings – the Ascension in the dome over the crossing, angels in glory above the chancel, the Adoration of the Magi above the gallery, and scenes of the Wedding at Cana and the Crucifixion.
• Figurative stained glass showing St Hedwig of Silesia, St Anthony, St Clare and St Francis.
• The organ balustrade, with busts of the architect and the parish priest who built the church.

Tripto tip

The church stands on a slight rise a few hundred metres from the market square, with steps up to the entrance. Allow 15–30 minutes for the interior. As the parish church it is open more often than St Michael's – it is best to come before or after Mass. Listen for the bells: beside the surviving St Joseph bell of 1928, four new bells were hung in 1987.