All Saints Church in Górki Wielkie

The attic of All Saints Church in Górki Wielkie is home to one of the most valuable bat colonies in the region, and behind the church, in the cemetery on the Kępka Prochaskowa hillock, lies the writer Zofia Kossak. The church itself is one of the oldest in Cieszyn Silesia – a Gothic building from the 15th century on the right bank of the Brennica, in the municipality of Brenna. It is a place where the history of the village's former lords meets literature and nature.

History: from chapel to Gothic church

The parish of Górki is recorded in a Peter's Pence register of 1417. The Gothic church was built in the 15th century on the site of an earlier wooden chapel, probably from the 13th century. It was remodelled in 1662, with further changes in the 19th century. In 1779, under the Marklowski family, the church was restored; that family left behind the tombstone of Erdman Marklowski from 1765. After the Second World War the interior was thoroughly renovated, and in 1980 the Morawiec brothers painted the wall decoration.

What to see

• The late Gothic stone portal of the sacristy with the coat of arms of the Górecki family, former owners of the village.
• The old baptismal font funded by Jan Górecki, now used as a holy-water stoup, with a cross from 1888 beside it.
• The Baroque pulpit from the 18th century, and the high altar and furnishings from the 19th century.
• The tombstone of Henryk Górecki, who died in 1682, set into the masonry gate leading into the churchyard.

Protected bats

Bats live in the church attic, which is why the church and its immediate surroundings form the Natura 2000 site "Kościół w Górkach Wielkich" (PLH240008). It is one of the most important bat roosts in the region: in August the colony of greater mouse-eared bats numbers about 190 animals and that of lesser horseshoe bats about 75.

In the footsteps of the Kossaks

The Catholic cemetery was laid out in 1858 on a small rise behind the church known as Kępka Prochaskowa; it has a stone cross from 1900. Buried here are the writer Zofia Kossak and her husband Zygmunt Szatkowski, their son Juliusz, the writer's father Tadeusz and the folk writer Walenty Krząszcz. The Kossak family settled in Górki Wielkie in 1922, and it was here that she wrote novels such as "The Crusaders" (Krzyżowcy) and "Bez oręża". A plaque on the church wall commemorates the writer.

Tripto tip

Allow 30–45 minutes for the church and cemetery. A trail to Zebrzydka starts at the church (2.9 km, about 1 h 10 min): first on tarmac, then up a steep, stony path through the forest. Nearby are the Zofia Kossak-Szatkowska Museum (under renovation in 2026, with its exhibits moved to the restored manor of the Zofia Kossak Foundation) and the "U Kossaków" centre in the ruins of a 17th-century granary. The short "Kamyk Trail" (2 km) also starts in the centre of Górki Wielkie and runs along the park of a former scout camp.