Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Tworków

In September 1993, during renovation of the Baroque church in Tworków, builders found a walled-up entrance to a crypt beneath the pews in the south side of the nave. Inside, under sand and rubble, lay 11 painted metal sarcophagi of the Reiswitz family from the 17th century – nine of them for children. Today they are displayed in a side chapel, and the clothes found in the coffins are among the very few children's garments in Poland surviving from before the end of the 17th century.

History: a church rebuilt after a fire

The parish in Tworków is recorded from 1339. On 2 May 1676 a fire destroyed the church, the presbytery and part of the village, and for years services were held in a temporary wooden church. Work on the present building began on 6 April 1691; master Graffenrenter led it until 1692, and Jan Zeller of Opava completed it in 1694. It was consecrated in 1697 by the auxiliary bishop of Wrocław, Johann Brunetti. The Krzyżanowice municipality describes it as one of the finest Baroque works in the Racibórz area. In 1945 fighting destroyed the tower and roof; they were repaired in 1946–1948, when much of the illusionistic wall painting of 1749 was plastered over.

The Reiswitz sarcophagi

In 1651 Tworków was bought by Ewa née Wilczek, widow of Wilhelm Borek and by then wife of Wenzel von Reiswitz. She died in 1655 and he in 1669 – and, as his will requested, he was buried in the crypt. His tin-and-lead coffin survives only in fragments, while Ewa's sarcophagus is partly gilded. According to the municipality, the Reiswitz family needed permission from Emperors Ferdinand III and Leopold I to be buried in a Catholic church. The crypt was sealed in 1839, after the death of Countess Philippine Cappy, and forgotten for more than 150 years. After the discovery the sarcophagi were listed as monuments in 1994 and conserved in 1996–1998. The coffins contained a child's kontusz coat with sash, a baby's shirt, a little dress, small wreaths and the remains of a doll.

What to see

• The sarcophagus display in the former charnel chapel – the children's coffins are painted with flowers drawn from nature, and Johanna Henrietta's has tulips, roses and chubby little angels.
• The high altar of the 17th/18th century with paintings of the Feeding of the Multitude and Christ Giving the Keys to St Peter.
• The Reiswitz coat of arms on the keystone of the chancel arch and the wooden patron's gallery.
• The altar of St John of Nepomuk from before 1719, the pulpit and the font.
• Statues of Saints Peter and Paul in niches on the south wall and a Baroque figure of St Florian of 1751 by the gate.
• The grave of Fr Augustin Weltzel (1817–1879), parish priest and historian of Upper Silesia, opposite the entrance.

Tripto tip

The church stands on a rise in the middle of the village at ul. Główna 19. It is an active parish church, so ask at the parish about seeing the sarcophagus display, or come just before or after a service. Allow 30–45 minutes for the church and churchyard. In the same village are the ruins of the Reiswitz castle, rebuilt in neo-Renaissance style in 1872 and destroyed during the Second World War – together a good half-day plan near the Czech border.