Church of the Visitation in Zwardoń

At first glance it looks like two buildings joined together: a small brick chapel with a turret and a soaring structure with triangular gables clad in red metal. That is how the church in Zwardoń tells the story of a village that grew up around the railway – and of a parish that lived for decades right next to a closed border.

History: the railwaymen's chapel

Zwardoń began to grow after the railway from Żywiec to Čadca opened in the 1880s. To go to church, residents had to travel to Rajcza. Around 1890 the railwaymen decided to build their own chapel, with stationmaster Franciszek Herman overseeing the work. The foundation stone was blessed on 3 August 1893, and in 1896 a brick chapel in the Gothic style with a single turret was completed. Railway staff and farmers from Zwardoń, Sól and Skalité in Slovakia contributed.

In 1906 a chancel was added and a Gothic altar with a statue of the Virgin Mary was brought from Tyrol. An independent pastoral station was set up in 1932, when the church received its dedication to the Visitation. Enlargement began in 1978 – a foundation stone from the high altar of St Francis' Basilica in Kraków was set in the wall – and the new part, designed by Stanisław Wiewióra, was consecrated on 5 July 1984.

Did you know?

• In communist times the parish priest Karol Targosz built an outdoor altar facing the Czechoslovak border, so that people on the other side could follow the services without crossing it.
• Karol Wojtyła, the future Pope John Paul II, visited the parish as bishop and cardinal – in 1963, 1967 and 1972 – and loved walking in the surrounding hills; the trails are now known as the papal trails.
• Next to the church is a grotto of Our Lady of La Salette from 1987.

Tripto tip

The church stands in the village centre, a few minutes from the railway station on the pass. A visit takes 15–20 minutes; the interior is easiest to see before or after Mass (on Sundays at 7:30, 9:00 and 11:00; check current times on the parish website). Look out for the older brick part with its turret – the former railwaymen's chapel.