Church of St John the Baptist in Zduny

The Baroque church of St John the Baptist in Zduny was completed in 1733, yet it was not consecrated until 29 April 1951 – more than two centuries later. Its tower, with a sheet-metal cupola and two lanterns, is the landmark of this small town on the border between Greater Poland (Wielkopolska) and Silesia, and inside waits a folk Pietà older than the church itself.

History: a parish from the 13th century

The parish is traditionally dated to 1267 – the same year Bishop Thomas I of Wrocław secured the town's charter. The original church of St John the Baptist and St Hedwig was founded by the bishops of Wrocław in the second half of the 13th century. The present Baroque church was built in 1719–1733 on the initiative of the parish priest Andrzej Antoni Baczewski. In 1733 the Chapel of Divine Providence, with its own choir loft and organ, was added to the nave, and priests connected with the parish are buried in its crypt.

The church was consecrated by Archbishop Walenty Dymek. The parish history also has a tragic chapter: the parish priest Jan Pewniak died in Dachau concentration camp on 19 December 1942, Canon Bolesław Jaśkowski was murdered by the Germans near Inowrocław, and Fr Wiktor Koperski survived Dachau.

What to see

• Five Baroque altars, a pulpit and a font in the same style.
• The high altar from the mid-17th century with a painting of the Coronation of the Virgin and statues of the apostles Peter and Paul on either side.
• The Our Lady of Sorrows altar with a wooden folk Pietà from the 17th century, saved from the previous church.
• A Rococo confessional from the 18th century and a holy-water stoup from the middle of that century.
• The tower topped with a Baroque cupola and two lanterns, and façades with pilasters and scrolled gables.

Did you know?

Modern Zduny is really a "triple town": Old Zduny (town rights from 1267), New Zduny, also called German Zduny (from 1637), and Sieniutowo (from 1646, merged into New Zduny in 1703). The two main towns were only united by a charter of 30 June 1761 issued by Aleksander Sułkowski. The town prospered thanks to its position next to the Silesian border, and between the wars a Polish Border Guard post was stationed here. Over the centuries the parish has belonged to the dioceses of Poznań and Wrocław, the archdiocese of Gniezno and, since 1992, the diocese of Kalisz.

Tripto tip

The church is at ul. Kobylińska 25. It is an active parish church – Mass times are on the parish website, and the interior is best seen around a service or by arrangement. The parish also offers a virtual tour of the church. 30–45 minutes is enough; afterwards walk to the market square with its town hall from 1684, whose half-timbered tower also carries a Baroque cupola with a lantern. Zduny lies about 7 km from Krotoszyn, on national road 15.