Church of Saints Simon and Jude Thaddeus in Żarki

At first glance the parish church in Żarki looks like a 19th-century building – and in part it is. Beneath its eclectic exterior, however, stand the walls of a church built in 1518–1522 and funded by Marcin Myszkowski, castellan of Wieluń. The Church of the Apostles Simon and Jude Thaddeus stands in the centre of Żarki, a small town in the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland (the Jura region).

History: three rebuilds in four centuries

In the 16th century Żarki belonged to the Myszkowski family, later to the Koryciński family and from the 17th century to the Męciński family. It was the Męcińskis who rebuilt the church after a fire in 1702, giving it a slightly altered shape. The church took on its final form only in 1846–1847, when it was remodelled again. The parish itself is much older than today's church – it was founded between 1325 and 1382.

What to see

• The tower above the west portal, square in plan and topped with a two-tier Baroque cupola – best seen from the market square.
• Two side chapels – St Adalbert's and the Holy Cross – added to the wide nave on the south and north.
• Late Baroque altars, including the high altar with a painting of the Transfiguration and figures of the church's patron saints.
• Memorials to Blessed Ludwik Roch Gietyngier, a priest born in Żarki who died in the German camp at Dachau. He is especially venerated here.

Interesting facts

Among the memorial plaques is one dedicated to Piotr Steinkeller, a Kraków entrepreneur who turned Żarki into an industrial centre after 1829. His forge, machine factory and workshops operated here, producing mail coaches known as "steinkellerki". The plaque was set into the wall in 1894, on the 40th anniversary of his death.

Tripto tip

This is a working parish church, so the easiest time to see the interior is just before or after Mass. Allow 20–30 minutes for the church itself. Combine it with a walk up Laskowiec Hill, where the conserved ruins of the stone Church of St Stanislaus stand – according to tradition, this is where the first Żarki was located. The town also has stone barns from the turn of the 20th century, a synagogue from 1870 and two Jewish cemeteries, and the Marian sanctuary in the Leśniów district is close by.