Wooden Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Laliki

From outside it is a modest shingled church on a high hill in Pochodzita, a hamlet of Laliki. The interior is the surprise: walls and ceiling are covered with scenes scratched into the wood with a nail and knife or burnt into it, the work of self-taught highlanders from Laliki and Koniaków. The regional heritage conservator called it a well-preserved example of folk building traditions and added it to the heritage register.

History: from bell tower to church

The first wooden chapel with a bell tower was built in Pochodzita around 1890, when the hamlet still belonged to the village of Szare. In 1917 a wooden bell tower was put up whose bell called people to the Angelus prayer and warned of danger; it burned down at the end of the Second World War. The present church was built by the villagers in 1947–1948, organised in a chapel building committee. The initiators were Karol Fiedor, who donated part of his land, and Józef Pytel; the carpentry was led by Sylwester Babik. The church was consecrated in 1952 and extended with side aisles in 1965–1969. Since 1989 it has been a filial church of the Pentecost parish in Laliki.

What to see

• The building: log construction on a stone base, with shingled walls and roof and a small square bell turret. The roof and bell tower were recently re-covered with new larch shingles.
• The interior: three aisles with no clearly separate chancel and a flat ceiling; arcades link the side aisles to the nave.
• Carved and pyrographed scenes: the Creation, the mysteries of the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, apostles and saints, the Last Things, and a cycle from the Old and New Testaments. Most were made by Jan Krężelok from Koniaków and Michał Porębski, helped by Ludwik and Franciszek Zawada, Franciszek Jakus and Franciszek Wojtas, among others.
• A mechanical clock with a nativity scene to the right of the high altar.

Did you know?

The diocesan conservator compares the decoration to medieval interiors where entire walls told biblical stories. The carvers also worked naturally shaped pieces of wood into the décor. The church is one of 21 wooden churches in the Beskid Mountains listed by the Diocese of Bielsko-Żywiec, and it is part of the Silesian Voivodeship Wooden Architecture Route.

Tripto tip

Laliki lies in Milówka municipality on the Bielsko-Biała – Zwardoń road, where the Silesian and Żywiec Beskids meet. The church is mainly opened for services, so plan to see the interior around a Mass or arrange a visit with the Laliki parish in advance. Allow 20–30 minutes for the outside and a short walk on the hill, about an hour with the interior. Nearby are Ochodzita hill with its wide Beskid panorama, Koniaków with its Lace Museum, and the tripoint of Poland, Czechia and Slovakia in Jaworzynka.