The Old Church in Zakopane

A few steps from the Krupówki promenade, on Kościeliska street, stands the small wooden church of Our Lady of Częstochowa and St Clement. It is the oldest wooden sacral building in Zakopane, known simply as the old church. The temple was erected between 1847 and 1851 thanks to Józef Stolarczyk, the first parish priest of Zakopane, and built by local carpenters.

Interior and decoration

Inside, the main altar holds a copy of the painting of Our Lady of Częstochowa, and the walls are covered with folk paintings and sculptures. The wooden architecture and simple details let you imagine parish life in Zakopane in the mid-19th century, when a summer village was only beginning to grow at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. The church belongs to the Wooden Architecture Trail of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship.

The chapel and Pęksowy Brzyzek

Next to the church rises the brick chapel of St Andrew and St Benedict. According to local legend it was built by Paweł Gąsienica to redeem his sins. A path leads from the church to the old cemetery of Pęksowy Brzyzek, one of the best-known memorial sites in the Polish mountains, where artists and creators of the Podhale culture are buried. A combined visit to the church and the cemetery takes about an hour.

Practical information

The church is open Monday to Saturday from 7:30 to 18:30 and on Sundays from 8:00 to 19:00. It takes only a few minutes to walk here from the centre of Zakopane, which makes the old church a natural stop combined with a stroll along the Krupówki promenade. It is worth visiting on a weekday morning, when the surroundings are quiet and the light highlights the wooden walls and shingle roof.