Church of Our Lady of the Rosary in Rusowo

At a crossroads in the village of Rusowo, on a low rise next to a pond, stands a little church that remembers medieval Pomerania. Its massive tower and nave of fieldstone have survived fires, wars and shifting borders, and inside a Renaissance bell cast in 1592 still rings. It makes a short but rewarding trip from the beach at Ustronie Morskie, about 7 km to the north.

History: from "villa Ruzowe" to a village chapel of ease

Rusowo (German: Rützow) appears in records as early as 1182/1183, when Duke Bogislaw I of Pomerania confirmed the village "villa Ruzowe" as property of the monastery at Słupia on the Piana. In 1321 the knights of the Damitz family bought the village, and for about 450 years it remained wholly or partly theirs. In the early 19th century the estate passed to the family of Schröder, a merchant from Kołobrzeg, who held it until 1907.

Today the church is a chapel of ease of the parish in Ustronie Morskie. The local municipality dates it to the 14th century and says it is more than 600 years old; other accounts point to the 16th century, so sources differ. What is certain is that the nave and tower are medieval, the upper part of the tower was built in 1684, and the only later addition is a 19th-century annexe on the east side, built as a sacristy.

What to see

• Walls of fieldstone and brick set in lime mortar, partly rendered – best seen on a walk around the building.
• The 1592 bell – the only old bell to survive. An older one from 1379 still hung in the tower in 1899 but later disappeared, probably melted down for cannons.
• A wooden hanging chandelier in the form of a ring with twelve candle holders, symbolising the twelve apostles.

In 2023 the municipality received PLN 490,000 from a national heritage programme for repairs: damp-proofing, drying out the walls and renewing the plaster, windows and floor while exposing original features. Work was still going on in 2025.

Interesting facts nearby

Right next to the church begins a former manor park covering 37.62 ha, listed as a heritage site in 1976. It was laid out in the 19th century by Charlotte Sophie Henriette, wife of Ernst Schröder, and its design is linked to Peter Joseph Lenné, the landscape architect of Sanssouci. Of the manor house only the outline of the foundations remains, along with a structure resembling the tower of a Teutonic Knights' castle, surrounded by a moat. Eight trees in the park are protected natural monuments, including a plane tree called "Antoni". According to a local legend, on the anniversary of the Red Army's arrival you can hear an old woman – the estate's last owner – lamenting in the garden.

Tripto tip

• Interior: there are no fixed opening hours. The key is kept at the nearby farm no. 13 – ask the owner to show you round, as he knows the story of the church and village well.
• Time: 30–45 minutes for the church, the same again for a walk in the park.
• Getting there: by car or bike from Ustronie Morskie or Kołobrzeg (about 16 km). A municipal cycle route and the blue walking trail pass through the village. There is no designated car park, so pull over considerately by the road.
• Nearby: the site of the "Bolesław" oak, brought down by a storm in 2016, and the still-living "Warcisław" oak, around 640 years old, in the Kołobrzeg Forest.