Saint Michael Archangel church in Domachowo, Roman Catholic parish church in Domachowo, Greater Poland Voivodeship, Poland
Saint Michael Archangel Church in Domachowo is a wooden, shingled, three-nave church on a brick foundation, with a low west tower topped by an onion dome and lantern. A bas-relief of the Madonna and Child sits above the main entrance. Conservation work in 2019 revealed a double wall structure dated by dendrochronology to the 14th century.
The first church in Domachowo, built at the end of the 13th century, collapsed in the 16th century. The present wooden church was erected between 1560 and 1568 on the initiative of Adam Konarski, bishop of Poznań. A chapel was added in 1586, and a thorough renovation in 1775 included a new sacristy. In 1930 it was enlarged to a design by Lucjan Michałowski. Dendrochronology in 2019 dated a double wall structure to the 14th century, making it Poland's oldest wooden church.
The church keeps Biskupian folk traditions alive, and it was the only one in the Biskupizna region that the German occupiers left open throughout World War II, serving the faithful without interruption. Inside, a Gothic Pietà from around 1430 stands in the Rococo main altar, and Gothic sculptures from before the mid-16th century sit on the rood beam.
The church stands in Domachowo in Gostyń County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, within the Biskupizna region. It is a parish church still in use, so visits should be timed around services. The building is entered from the west through a low tower topped with an onion-shaped helm and lantern.
Scientific research determined this structure to be over 200 years older than previously thought, making it the oldest wooden church in Poland. This discovery has reshaped our understanding of medieval wooden architecture in the country.
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