Church of St Simon in Żarki

By the Old Market Square in Żarki stands the parish church built in 1518–1522 at the initiative of Marcin Myszkowski, castellan of Wieluń. Its full dedication reads: church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul and of Sts Simon and Jude Thaddeus; it was consecrated in 1746 by Michał Kunicki, suffragan bishop of Kraków.

Bells and the organ

After the Second World War, which hit the town hard, the church underwent a thorough renovation together with the tower, on which three bells hang — among them a bell from 1757 cast by Jan Wagner. Inside, reconstructed historic 21-stop pipe organ sounds.

Furnishings and surroundings

The interior is adorned with fine late-Baroque altars — the high and side altars. Before the present parish church was built, a masonry church of St Stanislaus stood elsewhere; its ruins survive on Laskowiec hill. Near the church it is also worth seeing the historic complex of barns — a rarity in the middle of a small town.

In practice

The church stands on Kościelna street, a few dozen metres from the market square; 20–30 minutes is enough for a visit, and the trip can be combined with the other monuments of Żarki in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland.