Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Szczawa

The Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Szczawa is a wooden church built after the Second World War but modelled on regional timber building. It is also called the “partisan church”, because next to it stands a small building with a museum devoted to the Home Army partisans who operated in the area.

History and construction

Construction began in 1958, after a vicariate was separated from the parish in Kamienica. The church was consecrated on 16 June 1963 by Bishop Karol Pękala, and the design was prepared by the architect Aleksander Podgórny. The wooden larch interiors were completed in 1969.

Appearance and interior

The building has a log construction, one nave and a polygonal chancel. At the front stands a square post-framed tower with a copper helm in a Baroque form, and above the entrance a wooden figure of the Sacred Heart. Inside are a high altar made entirely of wood, an altar of St Joseph and a partisan altar with elements of former wartime chapels. Baroque Stations of the Cross from the 18th century have survived.

Practical information

• Location: Szczawa in Limanowa County. Next to it stands the Museum of the 1st Podhale Rifles Regiment of the Home Army, and a few hundred metres further the new parish church, described on a separate page.
• No opening hours or rules for visiting the interior were found in the sources; it is worth asking the parish.