All Saints' Church in Łososina Górna

In the tower of the wooden church in Łososina Górna hangs the bell "Andrzej", cast in 1520, the same age as the famous Zygmunt bell in Kraków's Wawel Cathedral. It survived both world wars, as neither the Austrians nor the Germans took it away because of its historical value. The All Saints' Church itself, which now lies within the town of Limanowa, has also turned out to be older than guidebooks claimed for years.

Older than it looked

The present church is dated to 1778 and was built on the site of an earlier late Gothic church. During conservation work, however, researchers found that a large part of the walls, including most of the chancel, dates from the mid-15th century. Later centuries brought alterations, but some elements have stood here continuously since the Middle Ages.

The parish is older still: it was first recorded in 1320, and its 700th anniversary fell in 2025. In 1543 the estate owner, Andrzej Rupniewski, handed the church over to the Polish Brethren, a radical Protestant community also known as Arians. Catholics recovered the damaged church only in the early 17th century. In 1891 two chapels were added to the chancel.

What to see inside

• Wall paintings from 1882 by Antoni Miklasiński, restored in 1958. The chancel vault shows the Assumption of the Virgin, and the nave the Last Judgement and the Coronation of the Virgin. A charming detail is St Isidore dressed in the traditional costume of the Limanowa area, adoring the Virgin and Child.
• The high altar from 1873, with an 18th-century painting of the Virgin and Child that can be covered by a painting of All Saints adoring the Holy Trinity.
• A Gothic stone font, regarded as the most valuable furnishing, together with a holy water stoup. Some sources date it to 1535, while the VisitMałopolska portal gives the 15th century.
• Rococo side altars and pulpit.
• The "Andrzej" bell from 1520, weighing 178 kg, restored and blessed again in 2022.

A major restoration

Conservation work began in 2015. The wall paintings, pictures, all the altars, the sacristy and the cellars were restored, and the pipe organ can be played again. Bishop Andrzej Jeż of Tarnów consecrated the renovated church on 27 October 2024. Limanowa County contributed a total of PLN 213,000 in grants towards the work.

Tripto tip

The church stands on ulica Koszarska in Limanowa, in the Łososina Górna district, and is part of the Wooden Architecture Route in Małopolska. It is a working parish church, so you can see the interior around services or by contacting the parish in advance. Photography is allowed. Half an hour is enough for a visit, and in good weather take a look at the old parish cemetery with the graves of former parish priests and patrons of the church.