St Joseph's Church in Ruda Śląska

A brick basilica rises above the Ruda district, looking as if it had been moved from Rome to Upper Silesia. St Joseph's Church was built in 1902–1904 by Count Franz Xaver von Ballestrem, owner of the local mines and ironworks, who modelled it on the Roman basilica of San Lorenzo fuori le Mura. Inside you will find columns carved with human temperaments, a "Jerusalem" chandelier with 144 lamps and the founders' crypt.

History: a count's monument

On 18 July 1900 Count Franz Xaver von Ballestrem announced publicly that he wanted to leave a lasting monument and build a new church in Ruda. He chose the highest point of the village and bought the plots there. The foundation stone was blessed on the feast of St Barbara, patron of miners, on 4 December 1901. Construction, paid for entirely by the count, took 29 months, from April 1902 to September 1904. Berlin architect August Menken and the count's brother-in-law Johann Joachim von Pölnitz combined the Roman model with Rhineland Romanesque, a nod to the family's Italian and German roots. The bricks came from the count's own Karol Emanuel brickworks. Cardinal Georg Kopp consecrated the church on 21 June 1905, but it remained the founder's private property and was handed to the parish only in 1910, for the count's golden wedding anniversary. In 2010 it became the archdiocesan Sanctuary of St Joseph.

What to see

• Column capitals in the nave carved with the four temperaments, the four estates (nobleman, burgher, cleric, knight), the elements, human races, stages of life and the cardinal virtues.
• The Jerusalem chandelier from the workshop of Antoni Sieroń of Ruda: the ring is the city wall with 12 gates and 12 turrets, and the 144 lamps stand for the biblical number of the saved in the Book of Revelation.
• The coffered nave ceiling with paintings from 1938.
• Portal tympana with the Paschal Lamb and St Joseph, and the Ballestrem coat of arms above the entrance to the founders' chapel.
• A marble Pietà by J. Weirich from 1905 in the tower chapel.

The Ballestrem crypt

Beneath the chancel lies a crypt designed as a burial chapel. It holds Franz Xaver Ballestrem and his wife Johanna von Saurma-Jeltsch, and Valentin Wolfgang Ballestrem with his wife Agnes zu Stolberg-Stolberg. Two bronze angels of death by Berlin sculptor Joseph Limburg guard the stairways: one holds a wreath, the other prays. They were moved here from the parish cemetery in 1938.

Tripto tip

The church is at ul. Piastowska 16 and is a working parish church, so plan your visit outside service times; ask at the parish office about access to the crypt (Monday and Friday 8:30–10:15 and 16:30–17:30, Wednesday 17:00–18:00). Allow 30–45 minutes for the interior and the column details. Bring binoculars or a camera with a zoom, as the best reliefs sit high up on the capitals.