Church of the Immaculate Conception and St Susanna in Stolec

The Gothic church in Stolec, the largest village in the Ząbkowice Śląskie municipality, has two towers and, on its high altar, a painting by the Baroque master Michael Willmann. The church was first recorded in 1251, and its present form dates from the late 13th century. A few years later, in 1277, Silesian dukes fought a battle near Stolec.

History: from a Romanesque parish church to a chapel of ease

Stolec was founded in the first half of the 13th century as a knight's village; a village head is recorded in 1240. The name comes from the Old Polish word "stolicz", meaning the capital of the surrounding area; in German the village was called Stolz. The church is mentioned in 1251; in 1257 the Bishop of Wrocław made it subordinate to the parish of Sadlno, but by 1273 documents already name a local parish priest, Henry. The originally Romanesque building was remodelled in Gothic style in the early 16th century, later extended and given a Baroque interior, and a neo-Gothic porch was added in the late 19th century.

From 1536 to 1653 and again from 1707 to 1945 the church served the Protestant community. From the late 18th century Stolec was the seat of the Free State Lordship of the Schlabrendorf family. Today the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary and St Susanna is a Catholic chapel of ease.

What to look for

• Michael Willmann's "Assumption of the Virgin" from around 1705 on the high altar. The other paintings – "The Vision of St Bernard", "The Immaculate Virgin", "The Holy Family" and "The Crucifixion" – come from his workshop and are most likely by Jan Krzysztof Liszka, painted in 1706–1710.
• The late Gothic Holy Kinship triptych from the early 16th century.
• The 15th-century wall paintings.
• Stone epitaphs from the early 17th century.
• The tower clock mechanism made by Eppner & Co of Srebrna Góra in 1874, with a plate bearing serial number 150; it was installed in August 1875 at a cost of about 417 thalers.

Interesting facts

On 24 April 1277 a battle was fought near Stolec: the Wrocław army clashed with Duke Bolesław II of Legnica, who, in an inheritance dispute, had imprisoned his nephew, Duke Henry IV of Wrocław. A truce was only brokered by King Ottokar II of Bohemia. According to the Protestant parish chronicle, the new clock was bought in 1875 because the previous one, from 1867, was in poor condition.

Tripto tip

This is a working chapel of ease without fixed visiting hours; the easiest way to see the interior is around services, and you can view the exterior at any time. Allow 30–45 minutes for the church and its surroundings. On the hill behind the church stand the ruins of an early 18th-century palace, remodelled in French neo-Baroque style and left to decay after 1945, and a neglected park with remains of an orangery and a belvedere tower. North of the palace is the neo-Gothic Church of St John of Nepomuk – sources date it either to the second half of the 19th century or to 1909–1911. Stolec lies on the red trail (heading, among other places, to Ślęża mountain) and the yellow trail, which leads to the Skałki Stoleckie reserve on Góra Wapienna (357 m), where a dozen or so bat species hibernate in a former limestone mine.