Church of the Nativity of St John the Baptist in Korzkiew

On the high altar stands a small Gothic reliquary which, according to its inscription, holds a splinter of the True Cross and a piece of the table from the Last Supper. The Church of the Nativity of St John the Baptist in Korzkiew was built in 1620–1630, when Baroque churches were already going up in Poland, yet it still has a Gothic silhouette with buttresses. It stands on a hill above the Prądnik valley, just 200 m from Korzkiew Castle, and fits neatly into a day trip from Kraków towards Ojców.

History: the church that was closed

There was a parish in Korzkiew by the second half of the 14th century, and the first, wooden church is recorded in 1445. In 1598 church inspectors described it as ruined and abandoned. The new brick church was built by the owner of the village and castle, Aleksander Ługowski (1589–1651); an inspection report of 1630 notes that it had been under construction for the past ten years and still had no altars. It was consecrated on 23 September 1640 by Bishop Tomasz Oborski.

By the 19th century the building was in poor condition, and fires in 1853 and 1858 added to the damage. In July 1853 the church was closed for fear of collapse, which sparked protests among the villagers. A renovation designed by the architect Felicjan Frankowski in 1855–1858 gave it a new neo-Gothic tower roof, a choir gallery on four pillars and a brick boundary wall.

What to see

• The cartouche above the entrance with Ługowski's coat of arms and the date 1623. Researchers suspect a digit was altered during earlier restoration and that it originally read 1629.
• The Mannerist pulpit and four altars from the second quarter of the 17th century, plus a fifth from the mid-17th century, brought in from a former chapel of the Transfiguration by the cemetery.
• The patron's loge above the sacristy – where the founders sat during services.
• Two 16th-century reliquary busts on the high altar and the Gothic reliquary from the earlier church.
• The black-and-white chequered marble floor of 1869, a stone font from the first half of the 17th century and stained glass from the 1940s.
• The boundary wall with chapels, listed as a historic monument together with the church.

Interesting facts

The church stands about 13 m higher than the castle. The researcher Piotr Szlezynger found bricked-up gun loops in its roof space, which led to the theory that the church may also have served a defensive purpose.

Tripto tip

This is a working parish church with no set visiting hours. The easiest way in is just before or after Mass – on weekdays at 8:00 and 18:00, on Sundays at 8:00, 9:30, 11:00, 12:30 and 16:00 (as of October 2026). Entry is free; groups should phone the parish office in advance on +48 12 419 42 28. Allow 20–30 minutes for the church. Korzkiew lies about 15 km north of Kraków on the road to Ojców. Right next door rises Korzkiew Castle on the Trail of the Eagles' Nests, and a few kilometres further on begins Ojców National Park.