Church of St Lawrence in Gorysławice

The August church fair held in front of this church made it into a song – the folk band Wolna Grupa Bukowina immortalised it in "Nuta z Ponidzia". The Church of St Lawrence itself is older than any ballad: the stone church on the hill at Gorysławice was completed in 1535, and a wooden predecessor stood here as early as the 14th century. Gorysławice was once a suburb of Wiślica, lying below the town's Busko Gate.

History: from parish to chapel of ease

A wooden parish church is recorded around 1326 and again in 1430. The stone church was funded by the parish priest of the time, Fr Józef Dałowicz, and completed in 1535. In 1676 Wojciech and Anna Żelazowski added a Baroque chapel on the west side, crowned with a dome and lantern. From 1799 no parish priest lived here, and in 1810 the parish was abolished – since then the church has been a chapel of ease of the Wiślica parish. It was damaged during the First World War and restored afterwards.

What to see

• The net vault in the chancel with stone bosses bearing the coats of arms Abdank, Odrowąż and Janina. The nave, now with a flat ceiling, originally had a similar vault.
• The sacristy portal, which combines Gothic and Renaissance forms – according to the Wiślica municipality it was modelled on the doorways of Wawel Castle.
• The rood beam with late Gothic figures of the Virgin Mary and St John the Evangelist from the early 16th century and a later, Baroque figure of Christ.
• Fragments of late Gothic wall paintings from the early 16th century, including St Christopher.
• The early Baroque high altar with a painting of Saints Stephen and Lawrence, and two Baroque side altars, the southern one with a late Gothic Madonna and Child.
• The small churchyard with several 19th-century gravestones, and a relief on the church wall.

Interesting facts

The church is built of stone and supported by external buttresses. Before the Second World War the roof was covered with wooden shingles; today it is clad in copper sheet. The interior furnishings were cleaned and conserved as part of the Skarbiec Świętokrzyski ("Treasury of the Świętokrzyskie Region") programme.

Tripto tip

The church lies on the Lesser Poland Way of St James from Sandomierz to Tyniec and on the blue trail from Pińczów to Wiślica, so it makes a good stop on a walking or cycling trip around the Ponidzie region. Allow 20–30 minutes for the church and churchyard. As a chapel of ease it is often closed outside services – the best opportunity to see inside is the August feast of St Lawrence. From Gorysławice it is a short trip to the collegiate church and other sights of Wiślica.