Wooden Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Mikołów-Paniowy

Three Baroque domes above a shingle roof are visible from afar in Paniowy, now a district of Mikołów, which has one of the prettiest wooden churches in Upper Silesia. Work on the log-built Church of Saints Peter and Paul began in 1757, but inside are far older things – an altarpiece from the early 17th century, a stone holy-water stoup probably from the 14th century and a bell from the early 1500s.

History: the third church on the site

Paniowy was first recorded in 1282, and the earliest mention of a church here dates from 1325. That building was destroyed in 1473 when Duke Wacław of Rybnik raided the lands of Duke Przemek of Cieszyn. A new church was built in the early 16th century by the Bujakowski family, who owned the village; in the second half of the 16th and early 17th centuries it was in Protestant hands. By the mid-18th century it was in such poor condition that it was pulled down, and Katarzyna Rozyna Bujakowska funded its replacement.

For a long time the present church was a daughter church of the parish in Bujaków – Paniowy only became a parish on 1 August 1925. Between 1830 and 1835 the church was given a masonry base, and in 2000 its metal roof was replaced with shingles again. Restoration completed in 2010 revealed 18th-century paintings – angels and the Eye of Providence on the chancel vault – that had been painted over in 1934.

What to see

• Three Baroque domes – the post-built tower with an onion dome and lantern, a large roof turret over the nave and the dome of the chapel by the chancel.
• Soboty – the low roofed walkway around the church, once a shelter for worshippers from distant villages.
• High altar from the early 17th century with a painting of the Virgin and Child, St Augustine at the top and statues of Saints Peter and Paul.
• Side altars – one from the late 16th century with Our Lady of Częstochowa, the other from around 1700 with the Holy Family.
• Stone font (most likely 16th century), a sandstone stoup and a Baroque pulpit – some furnishings came from the older church.
• Early 16th-century bell in the tower and a pneumatic organ from 1894.

Good to know

The church fair falls on the feast of its patrons, 29 June – parish priest Jan Gawliczek obtained the special privilege in Rome in 1790. Today it is celebrated on the last Sunday of June. Next to the church is a freestanding wooden bell tower from 2000 with a bell named "Benedykt", and the churchyard has a memorial to villagers who fought in the Silesian Uprisings and those murdered in German concentration camps.

Tripto tip

The church stands on ul. Staromiejska, on the Gliwice side of Mikołów. You can see the outside at any time – 15–20 minutes is enough to walk round the walkway and churchyard. The interior is easiest to see around Mass times; otherwise arrange a visit with the parish. The church is on the Wooden Architecture Route of Silesian Voivodeship, so it pairs well with the wooden Church of St Nicholas in Mikołów-Borowa Wieś.