The Sacred Lesser Poland Heritage

History of work

The original church in Biórków was mentioned for the first time in 1383, and then in the episcopal visitation records of 1596. The visitation records of 1783 mentioned the construction of another church where the history of its foundation was described: „wybudowany był od iedeny pobożney Panny, o którey Imieniu y Nazwisku niewiadomo, w Roku 1452” (it was built thanks to the foundation of an unknown woman in 1452."). The church burned down in 1627. In 1633, in its place, a new one was erected at the expense and thanks to the effort of late Parson of Biórków, Marcin Brzeski", who was the parish priest in the years 1633-1657. The Cracovian suffragan bishop, Mikołaj Oborski consecrated the church dedictaed to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on 25 July 1663. The visitation records described a poor condition of the wooden temple "the church (...) under an old, shingle roof that falls down and is dilapidated to a great extent, in the middle of which there is a dome with a ridge turret, covered with white sheet metal. The cross felt from the dome. The whole church is headed for collapse due to rotten wooden base. The wood inside the walls is still in a good condition. On the eastern side of the church, the bell tower supported only by abutments and the one dangerously remaining felt down from the roof (...). The stone floor in the church is uneven and very uncomfortable, both for walking and for kneeling. Visitation recommendations included tearing down the bell tower and replacing it by a new one, taking care of the bells "The bells - take care they will not break during demolition", as well as a thorough renovation of the temple. Another renovation was carried out in 1895, because the church was in danger of collapsing again. The temple, bell tower and ridge turret (crosses on the ridge turret were also replaced) were covered with shigle. At that time, the construction of the bell tower was reinforced and the doors and thresholds of the church were changed, so that "the church was secured for a long time and now it is not in danger of collapsing". The floor in the church was replaced several times. It was made of stone at the beginning, then it was wooden, and in 1908 it was replaced with cement one. In 1933, the nave was extended and in 1935 the interior was extended by including a porch under the tower. In 1938, the interior was covered with polychrome and in 1931 a new bell tower was built. The visitation records of 1747 mentioned four altars: the first one - high altar of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the second one - of the Nativity of Jesus, the third one - of St. Cecilia, a Virgin and Martyr, and the fourth one - of St. Anthony. The visitation records of 1783 mention also three side altars. One of them has preserved and the two remaining altars required the change of paintings. These are the altars from the foundation of Walenty Bańkowski, a parish priest of the parish in 1777-1801.

Abstract

The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Biórków Wielki was built in 1633. Mikołaj Oborski, a Cracovian suffragan, consecrated the temple on July 25, 1663. The tower on the west side of the church was added in the 18th century. The furnishings of the church (high altar and side altars) were funded by father Walenty Bańkowski, a parish priest of the parish in 1777-1801. In the church in Biórków, there are no longer typical solutions for gothic and late gothic churches. According to Marian Kornecki, this is a step back to primitive solutions with less endurance. The church is no longer an example of a wooden late-gothic church, but takes on new forms to suit a taste of the next era.