Church of the Good Shepherd, Świerklaniec

In the northern part of the park in Świerklaniec, away from where the Donnersmarcks' "little Versailles" once stood, rises a neo-Gothic church linked by a cloister to the family mausoleum. The tomb's roof is crowned by an angel of beaten copper, and beneath it lies Count Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck, who built the palace, together with both of his wives. It is one of the few surviving traces of the great residence that burned down in 1945.

History: a palace chapel for the family and local Protestants

Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck founded the church as a Protestant palace chapel for his family and the local Lutheran community. It was built in 1895/1896–1897 to a design by Julius Carl Raschdorff, architect of Berlin Cathedral, with the help of his son Otto. The model was the chapel of Monbijou Palace in Berlin. In 1903–1905 the family mausoleum was built to the north and linked to the church by an open L-shaped cloister.

After the Second World War both buildings were looted and the burial chambers broken open. In 1957 the church was handed to the Catholic parish, but two years later the communist authorities banned services there and it stood unused for two decades. Only in 1981 did the parish of Christ the King begin repairs, and on 28 August 1983 Bishop Herbert Bednorz consecrated it as the Church of the Good Shepherd.

What to see

• The neo-Gothic exterior of brick and sandstone, inspired by English Decorated Gothic, with a tower capped by a pyramid spire and tracery windows.
• The count's family's private entrance on the south side, with a covered carriage porch.
• An open timber roof resting on corbels and a wooden gallery along the north wall, once reserved for the owners.
• Stained glass from 1998 designed by Werner Lubos, with lines of the Lord's Prayer in several languages.
• The mausoleum on a Greek-cross plan, with the copper angel on its roof, star vaults and a surviving relief of the Entombment of Christ.

Interesting facts

The mausoleum holds Guido Henckel von Donnersmarck and his wives: Blanche de Païva and Katharina von Slepzow. Being Orthodox, Katharina was buried in the ground outside the burial chambers. The palace itself, built in 1870–1873 to a design by Hector Lefuel, burned down in 1945 in unexplained circumstances, and its ruins were demolished in the early 1960s.

Tripto tip

Look at the complex from the cloister – it shows best how the church and mausoleum form a single composition. The church is on Parkowa Street. Twenty to thirty minutes are enough to see the church and mausoleum from outside, but plan a longer walk: the park still has the Cavalier's Palace, remains of the Old Castle and fragments of the Donnersmarck palace, and to the east it borders Lake Świerklaniec. The interior of the church, a filial church of the Christ the King parish, is easiest to see around service times.