Old Church of St Martin in Tarnowskie Góry

In Stare Tarnowice, in a churchyard enclosed by a limestone wall, stands the oldest church in Tarnowskie Góry – a relic of the days before the town existed, when Tarnowice was a knightly village. The old Church of St Martin was built from the end of the 14th century, and a Latin inscription in the tower porch bears the date 1400. Inside are Baroque frescoes from 1707, attributed to a painter known for his work at Jasna Góra.

History: from Sir Sambor to a Baroque makeover

The church stands in the centre of the former village of Tarnowice, near the small stronghold of its owners. Its founder was most probably the knight Sambor de Tarnowicz, mentioned between 1369 and 1415. At first the church was a chapel of ease of the parish in Repty, but on 15 April 1415 the Bishop of Kraków, Wojciech Jastrzębiec, established a separate parish here. From 1570 to 1608 the church belonged to the Lutherans. Its present form results from a remodelling in 1707, initiated by the siblings Wacław and Anna Felicjana Ohm-Januszewski and her husband Kasper Hunter de Grandon. An apse and a chapel with a family crypt were added, and the interior received a brick vault. In 1749, funded by Szymon Brzózka, the Chapel of St John of Nepomuk was built on the south side. When a large Neo-Gothic church went up next door in 1899–1902, old St Martin's became a chapel of ease and a cemetery chapel.

What to see

• The 1707 frescoes in the chancel, nave and St Wenceslaus Chapel, attributed to Karol Dankwart, who also painted frescoes in the Jasna Góra basilica. Scenes from the life of St Martin, the Evangelists, the foundress's coat of arms and a still undeciphered abbreviation of the letters C. H. A. F. H. V. G. S. S. R. O.
• The foundation inscription in the form of a chronogram on the chancel arch.
• St Wenceslaus Chapel (originally St Anne's), circular in plan, with a lantern dome and the crypt of the Hunter de Grandon and Ohm-Januszewski families.
• The oldest features: a 15th-century door with Gothic ironwork and a Gothic stone holy-water stoup.
• The mid-17th-century high altar and one of the oldest copies of the image of Our Lady of Piekary, painted on wood.

Did you know?

The inscription about the 1400 tower was discovered only during repairs in 1912–1914, when the church, closed in 1909 because of its poor condition, was rescued by parish priest Ludwik Spohr. The roofs, dome and spires are still covered with wooden shingles, and the tower, chapel and bell turret are topped with onion domes. The church, together with the churchyard and wall, is listed in the Silesian Voivodeship heritage register. Of two Baroque statues of St Sigismund and St Louis only records remain – they were stolen.

Tripto tips

The church is at 2 Niedziałkowskiego Street, about 300 m from the Stare Tarnowice Janasa bus stop. It is normally locked: visits are arranged by the Dziedzictwo Association, which looks after the building, or by the parish – by prior appointment. The association also invites visitors to events such as spring concerts and talks. Allow 30–40 minutes for the interior. In the same district it is worth stopping by Stare Tarnowice Castle.