Church of Our Lady of Fatima in Czorsztyn

From the outside it is a modest 1980s church with a steep roof and a small bell turret. Inside, though, it keeps mementoes of a world that vanished under water: furnishings from the church of Stare Maniowy, flooded when Lake Czorsztyn was created, and an organ more than two centuries older than the village in its present form.

History: a church for the new Czorsztyn

Today's village of Czorsztyn is largely the former Nadzamcze – the higher part of the settlement on the road to Nowy Targ. When old Maniowy and the summer-resort part of Czorsztyn ended up at the bottom of the future reservoir, parish life had to be rebuilt. In the 1980s, on the initiative of the parish priest of Maniowy, Father Antoni Siuda, and with the work of local people, the present church was built. It was consecrated in 1992 by Cardinal Franciszek Macharski. Until 2011 it was a chapel of ease of St Nicholas' parish in Maniowy; since then it has been the seat of the Rectorate of Our Lady of Fatima.

What to look for

• Furnishings from Stare Maniowy – fittings and decoration brought from the church that stood where the lake is now.
• The organ of 1781 – built by Jakub Stankiewicz of Zator for St Andrew's parish church in Tyniec, which was later demolished. In 1946–1947 it was rebuilt by organ builder Bartłomiej Ziemiański of Szczyrzyc, who added a two-stop pedal division. The instrument went first to Maniowy and then to Czorsztyn.
• The bell tower next to the church and the small churchyard cemetery.

Tripto tip

The church stands on ul. Jana Pawła II, on the road many visitors take towards Czorsztyn Castle. A visit takes 15–20 minutes; the interior is easiest to see before or after Mass. Combine it with the castle and a walk by the lake – it makes it easier to picture where the drowned village of Maniowy stood.