Church of St Nicholas and St Francis Xavier in Otmuchów

Above the market square of Otmuchów rises the twin-towered façade of the Church of St Nicholas and St Francis Xavier, built in 1690–1693 and funded by a Bishop of Wrocław. Inside is a coherent early Baroque interior with wall paintings by Karl Dankwart, court painter to King John III Sobieski, and canvases by Michael Willmann, known as the Silesian Rembrandt. The description of a restoration project backed by the Opole region calls the church the pearl of the Opole Baroque.

History: a bishop's foundation in a bishop's town

A church on this site was first recorded in 1235. Destroyed during the Hussite wars, it was rebuilt in 1466. The foundation stone of the present church was laid in 1690 and construction was completed in 1693 to a design by Johann Peter Tobler. The founder was Franz Ludwig, Bishop of Wrocław: his coat of arms flanked by lions crowns the main portal, and a Latin inscription beneath it records the foundation. For centuries Otmuchów belonged to the Bishops of Wrocław, who resided in the nearby castle.

What to see

• The façade with two towers, statues of six apostles in niches and St Nicholas at the top.
• Karl Dankwart's wall paintings with scenes from the lives of both patron saints, the Virgin and other saints. Dankwart, Swedish by birth, worked in Nysa, Otmuchów and Kłodzko and later at Jasna Góra, among other places.
• The high altar by Johann Weinmann of Ellwangen with Willmann's painting "St Nicholas Blessing the Shipwrecked". The painter placed an inscription with the date on the stern of the painted ship.
• More Willmann canvases: "The Beheading of St John the Baptist" and the death of St Francis Xavier in an altar of 1696.
• The pulpit with reliefs of the four Evangelists and figures of the Church Fathers on the canopy, choir stalls of 1694–1695 and a font of 1624.
• A Gothic statue of the Virgin from the late 15th century in the Marian altar.

Did you know?

The organ heard at today's regular concerts was built by the Nysa organ builder Carl Berschdorf; the new instrument first sounded at Easter 1935 but sits behind a case from the second half of the 18th century. A major restoration has been under way since 2017: the high altar, several side altars, the stalls, pulpit, font and Stations of the Cross have already been renewed. The regional government allocated nearly PLN 1.2 million to conservation work.

Tripto tips

Allow 30–45 minutes for the interior and try to come outside service times. Binoculars or a camera with a zoom help, as Dankwart's paintings and the altar details are best seen up close. The church fits easily into a walk around Otmuchów: the former castle of the Bishops of Wrocław with its famous "horse stairs", the 16th-century town hall and the Sparrow Tower from the town's coat of arms. In early July the town hosts the "Summer of Flowers" festival.