Church of St Barbara and St Valentine in Siewierz

The Church of St Barbara and St Valentine in Siewierz is a small masonry church from 1618, built through the efforts and money of the town's burghers for a hospital that had operated here since 1515. It stands south of the Market Square, in the historic centre of the former capital of the Duchy of Siewierz. Behind its plain white exterior hides a late Renaissance altar and a painting of the patron saints from 1639.

History: a hospital church and noble assemblies

The church replaced a 16th-century wooden one. For over two centuries it served as a hospital church, and the independent hospital parish caring for the neighbouring hospital existed until 1840. In the 17th and 18th centuries the nobility of the Duchy of Siewierz held their local assemblies (sejmiki) inside its walls. A Confraternity of the Lord's Passion and a Literary Confraternity were active at the church. Today it is a filial church of the parish of St Matthias the Apostle in Siewierz.

What to see

The building has a rectangular plan closed to the south by a semicircular apse, with a rectangular sacristy to the east. The walls are divided by pilaster strips, the windows have round heads in moulded frames, and above the roof rises an octagonal turret with a lantern and a Baroque bell turret. Note the stone portal of the sacristy with an iron-fitted door, additionally secured by an iron grille.

The highlight is the late Renaissance high altar from 1620–1640, set into the apse. It is decorated with strapwork ornament and statues of Saints Adalbert, Stanislaus and Martin, the Virgin and Child, two female saints and two angels. At its centre hangs the painting of St Barbara and St Valentine from 1639, and the polygonal tabernacle with a figure of Christ the Saviour dates from the same time. The side altars hold a Baroque painting of Our Lady of the Angels from the early 18th century and figures of Saints Lawrence and Andrew painted on boards. There is also a 17th-century Baroque pulpit with images of the four Evangelists and a stone holy-water stoup. The interior and the high altar were restored in 1987–1995.

Tripto tips

The church combines easily with a walk around the Market Square and to the ruins of the castle of the bishops of Kraków. The interior has no regular opening hours – ask at the parish of St Matthias about access. Fifteen minutes is enough for the exterior, half an hour including the interior.