Holy Trinity Church in Witaszyce

Locals in Witaszyce simply call it "the Little Church". The white Neoclassical Holy Trinity Church dates from 1808 and stands on a site where a church already existed in the 14th century; on its outer walls hang memorial plaques to the Gorzeński family, once the owners of the village. For half a century it was not even used as a church: it served as a furniture store and as rooms for religious classes.

History: from St Michael to the Holy Trinity

The first record of a church in Witaszyce dates from 1389, when it was dedicated to St Michael. In 1566 Magdalena Jasołecka, née Opalińska, built a new wooden church here, and around 1683, when it was renovated, it was rededicated to the Holy Trinity. At the same time the parish of nearby Słupia was merged with Witaszyce. The present brick church – Neoclassical, single-naved, with a later extension on the east side – was funded in 1808 by Archbishop Tymoteusz Gorzeński, who later became Primate of Poland.

Forgotten and restored

When the village built a new, larger Church of the Assumption in the 20th century (in use in its unfinished state from 1931, about 100 m away), the old church served only as an auxiliary chapel, until 1939. During the German occupation it was turned into a furniture store, and after the war the interior was split into two catechism rooms. Efforts to restore it as a place of worship, and repairs, began in 1996. On 1 October 2000 Bishop Stanisław Napierała consecrated the renovated church, and weekday Masses have been held here again ever since.

What to look out for

The highlight is the epitaphs and inscriptions on the outer walls. They commemorate, among others, Felicjan Walknowski of Zakrzew (d. 1813), Leokadia Gorzeńska (d. 1821), Feliks and Anna Gorzeński, Nicefor and Konstancja Gorzeński of Witaszyce, and Amalia Courmond de Valdec (d. 1847). Together they form a stone chronicle of the family that owned the Witaszyce estate – it was Franciszek Gorzeński who built the late Baroque manor house nearby. Note, too, the plain white body of the church with a small bell turret on the roof, typical of rural Neoclassicism.

Tripto tip

This is an auxiliary church of the Assumption parish, so the easiest way to see the interior is during a weekday Mass or the adoration the parish holds here in the "Little Church"; current times are on the parish website witaszyce.pl. You can look at the epitaphs on the walls at any time. 15–20 minutes is enough. Witaszyce lies on national road 11 near Jarocin, and the same village has a neo-Baroque palace of 1899 with its park and museums – the Napoleonic Museum and the Star Wars Museum.