St Michael the Archangel Church in Prudnik

In 1735 Prudnik's new church was almost finished — the Blessed Sacrament was already kept there — when a fire in the town destroyed it along with the freshly painted frescoes by Felix Anton Scheffler. The builder Johann Innozenz Töpper rebuilt it within three years. According to historians, the model for the late Baroque Church of St Michael the Archangel was the Church of St Nicholas in Prague's Malá Strana — the plain exterior hides a huge, barrel-vaulted interior.

History: from a wooden parish church to Baroque

Parish tradition dates the parish to 1279, when Henry of Rosenberg granted Prudnik its town charter under German law. The first written records of the church date from 1321 and 1331 and name the first parish priest, Milotha. From 1554 the church belonged to the Lutherans. After Catholics regained it, they began building a new Renaissance church in 1612, but a fire in 1627 destroyed the tower, organ, bells and roof.

The present church was built from 1730 to a design by Johann Innozenz Töpper, who came from the Sudetes. After the 1735 fire, work was completed in 1738, and on 2 July 1752 Philipp Gotthard von Schaffgotsch, Bishop of Wrocław, consecrated it. In 1803 the tower was raised, and in 1898 stained-glass windows with Old Testament scenes were installed in the chancel. From 1946 to 1999 the parish was run by Dominican friars.

What to see

• The high altar with two cherubs and a figure of Christ at the top, and a life-size statue of the Sacred Heart by the sculptor Thamm of Nysa, surrounded by the four Doctors of the Church.
• The coat of arms of Prudnik set in the chancel arch beneath the vast vault.
• The gallery linked to the organ loft and tower, with the organ, and a Baroque painting of the Assumption on the back wall of the chancel.
• The pulpit with allegorical carvings, and opposite it a statue of St John of Nepomuk.
• The Divine Mercy Chapel, formerly the Weidinger family chapel of 1691.

Good to know

The church has no fewer than 9 side altars. The sacristy holds a painting of Our Lady of Prudnik from the Capuchin friary demolished in 1907, and Capuchin friars are buried in the main crypt. In April 1945, during the fighting for Prudnik, an aerial bomb destroyed the north porch. Opposite the church stands a 2010 monument by Marian Molenda to John Paul II and Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński, the former Primate of Poland.

Tripto tips

The church stands on Plac Farny in the southern part of the Old Town, whose grid of streets dates from the 13th century. Twenty to thirty minutes is enough for the interior; visit outside service times and do not take photos during the liturgy. The parish website lists current Mass times. Extend your walk to the market square and the surviving fragments of the old town fortifications.