Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Wałbrzych

Wałbrzych's oldest church is also one of its smallest. The little Church of Our Lady of Sorrows on Plac Kościelny holds a Pietà before which pilgrims have prayed for centuries. Since 3 May 2010 Our Lady of Sorrows has been the official patron of Wałbrzych, and locals call this church the heart of the city.

History: older than the town

A small wooden church on this spot is already mentioned in the Liber fundationis of the Wrocław bishopric from around 1305 – the same register that contains the first reliable reference to Wałbrzych itself. According to the parish, a new church was built here in 1428. The present building dates from 1714–1718: construction was begun by Father Georg Weizer, and parish tradition says 500 impoverished parishioners worked on it. Further major renovations followed in 1934 and in 2000–2003; the restored church was blessed by Bishop Tadeusz Rybak on 15 September 2003.

The Pietà and local legends

At the heart of the sanctuary is the figure of Our Lady of Sorrows – a Pietà, showing Mary holding the body of Christ taken down from the cross – set in the Baroque high altar. The parish recalls that during the plague and typhus epidemic of 1637–1641, which killed half the town's population, people prayed before it day and night and left votive offerings once the disease subsided. Several legends surround the church. In one, a thief was unable to lift the figure because it suddenly became too heavy; in another, a fountain shot two metres into the air from a spring when the building was completed.

Did you know?

• When the Prussian king Frederick II was closing churches, mayor Krzysztof Reis saved this one with a letter arguing that it was older than the town itself and that no Protestant service had ever been held in it.
• During the Reformation the little church served as Wałbrzych's main Catholic place of worship.
• The sanctuary belongs to the parish of the Holy Guardian Angels, whose neo-Gothic collegiate church of 1899–1904, designed by Alexis Langer, has a tower more than 80 m tall.

Tripto tip

This is a working sanctuary rather than a museum, so the easiest time to see the interior is during services. From January to June and September to December, Mass is celebrated every Wednesday at 12:00, with confession from 11:00; on the first Saturday of each month Mass begins at 8:00. A visit takes 20–30 minutes, so combine it with a walk around the town centre and the collegiate church. The current schedule is published by the Holy Guardian Angels parish.