St Nicholas Church in Pruchnik

Burned by Wallachian raiders, turned into a Calvinist meeting house, twice ravaged by invasions and rebuilt after fires – St Nicholas Church in Pruchnik has nearly six turbulent centuries behind it. Yet its Gothic stone body, braced by buttresses, has survived in a small town known for wooden houses with arcades. Inside and around the church are several details that are easy to miss.

History: six centuries of rebuilding

The parish was probably founded together with the town; the first document mentioning Bernard, parish priest of Pruchnik, dates from 24 June 1397. The stone Gothic church was built in 1436 by the lord of Pruchnik, Konstanty Rozborski: buttressed, roofed with wooden shingles, with a chapel of Our Lady on the south and of St Anne on the north. Some accounts date the original building to the 14th century – sources differ.

In 1498 Wallachian raiders burned the church and the town. From 1570 to 1607 it served as a Calvinist church, probably losing its original wall paintings. After a fire in 1636, the parish priest Jan Lipowicz rebuilt it the same year, covered the roof with metal sheeting, added a bell tower and bought two bells weighing 600 and 120 kg. Further damage came with the invasions of Rákóczi's army in 1657 and the Tatars in 1672. On 14 May 1684 Bishop Jan Dębski consecrated the church again to St Nicholas; it is still unclear whether this was a new building or the old one restored.

What to see

• The high altar of 1770, with a painting of St Nicholas in a golden cope, mitre and crozier, flanked by four Rococo carvings of the Evangelists. During Lent the painting is covered by an image of the Deposition from the Cross.
• A marble plaque of 1565 by the sacristy, commemorating Marcin Broniowski, a hero of the Battle of Orsha.
• A plaque of 1702 in St Anthony's Chapel above the grave of the Gałecki-Rykowski family.
• The Baroque gate on the town side, built in the 18th century, and the parish granary from the same century.
• The churchyard wall, more than five centuries old and still in excellent condition thanks to regular conservation.

Interesting facts

Beneath the high altar lies the parish priest Tomasz Brzezicki, who died in 1790; coffins from the crypts had already been moved to the churchyard in 1758. The bells had no luck: in 1916 the Austrian authorities took the two smaller ones, and in 1941 the Germans removed both historic bells from 1636. Next to the church is a parish museum with everyday objects from Pruchnik and nearby villages and mementoes of Blessed Bronisław Markiewicz.

In 2024–2025 the church underwent repair and conservation work worth over PLN 1.3 million, funded mainly by a national heritage restoration programme.

Tripto tip

• This is a working parish church. Sunday Masses are at 7:00, 9:00, 11:00 and 16:00 – the best time to look inside is just before or after a service, without disturbing the liturgy.
• Time: 20–30 minutes for the church and a walk along the wall, longer with the parish museum.
• Combine your visit with a stroll around the market square and ul. Kańczudzka, lined with wooden arcaded houses built by merchants and craftsmen from the 17th century onwards.