Ruins of the Holy Spirit Church and Hospital in Szydłów

Outside the town walls of Szydłów, next to the parish cemetery, stand the stone ruins of the Holy Spirit church and a former hospital for the poor and elderly. The municipality stresses that it is a rare surviving example in Świętokrzyskie province of a place where the sick and poor were cared for centuries ago – something between a hospital and an almshouse. The walls, with a round window in the gable and arched passages, look best in low sunlight.

History: from wooden almshouse to ruin

The story of this place has long been told in different ways. Older accounts linked its origins to the 14th century and the foundations of King Casimir the Great, but the municipality, citing archaeological research by Tomasz Olszacki in 2017–2018, gives a different timeline. The complex was first recorded in 1529 as a wooden building. The first masonry structure, a single-nave church with a sacristy, went up in 1630–1635, and in 1658–1663 the church was slightly enlarged, a music gallery was added and two hospital wings were built.

The hospital operated until the 18th century, housing anything from a few to a dozen or so residents. A royal survey of 1789 already mentions the church without its roof, destroyed by "lightning fire". After the Second World War the building still sheltered homeless people; today it is a stabilised ruin listed in the heritage register as the ruins of the church and hospital.

What to see

• The church walls with a round window in the gable – the most characteristic view from ul. Staszowska.
• The hospital wings with small windows and arched passages.
• The interior of the ruin with a stone portal and benches, showing the layout of the former rooms.

Tripto tip

The ruins are on ul. Staszowska, outside the town walls, a few minutes' walk from the medieval walls. Fifteen to twenty minutes is enough; rules for entering the interior may change, so check with the Szydłów town office (Rynek 2) before your visit. Szydłów has about 700 metres of medieval defensive walls from Casimir the Great's time, castle ruins with the Skarbczyk (Treasury) housing a regional museum, the Gothic church of St Ladislaus and All Saints' church – you can see the whole little town in 2–3 hours. The area is famous for its plum orchards, and a Plum Festival is held here every year.