Romanesque Church in Giebło

Near Ogrodzieniec, on a hill in the centre of Giebło, stands the oldest sacred monument of this part of the Jura: the single-nave church of St James the Apostle, built of dressed stone in the mid-12th century. It is one of the oldest rural Romanesque churches of the former Lesser Poland and a stop on the Romanesque Trail.

Romanesque substance and a 20th-century extension

In the presbytery and the eastern part of the nave the original Romanesque structure of the 12th century is still legible. In 1900–1912 the church was extended: the nave was lengthened westwards, the walls were raised by about a metre, the original tower was replaced with a new one, and a brick sacristy was added on the eastern side. Even so, the church retained its Romanesque character, including the semicircular portal, visible to this day. Around it stands a stone wall from 1787, and behind it the old churchyard cemetery.

Interior

Inside there are three wooden columned altars: the main one with a figure of St James, and side altars dedicated to the Virgin Mary and St Anthony. The tower holds a bell with an inscription from 1825. The church stands at 72 Częstochowska Street, a few kilometres from Ogrodzieniec Castle — it can be combined into one trip with the white rocks and ruins of the Jura.