The church chronicles from XIX century tell us about establishing the first shrine in Boronów already in thirteenth century – in 1221 or 1291. The shrine burnt hundred years later being hit by lightning. However these premises seem to be false. In following centuries Boronów was a part of the parish of Lubsza which...

The city of Bytom lies in the middle of Silesian Highland, between rivers Bytomka and Szarlejka. In XI century a settlement was created on the hill of Małgorzatka. It was set up on the trade route between Kraków and Wrocław to protect territories of Lesser Poland. The first document which mentions the town of Bytom comes from 1123. In...

The genesis of the church of the Holy Spirit, probably dates back to the XIII century. According archival records in 1299 the Duke of Bytom Kazimierz granted the request on monks from the village of Chorzów and ordered to build there a hospital with a chapel. This complex has been located next to one of the town gates called Krakowska...

The village of Cieszowa was described for the first time in 1305. The village for centuries was a symbol of symbiosis between Judaism and Christianity. The first Jewish families came to Cieszowa at the end of XVI century. The owners of the village baron Jan Fryderyk von Strachwitz and Gross-Zauche and baroness Zofia Elżbieta von Frankenberg und...

The foundation of the parish of Gliwice date back to times of foundation of the city i. e. third quarter of XIII century. The right of patronage belonged to the prince who governed that area. The fact that local parish priest was also an archpriest made Gliwice one of the more important centers in the eastern part of diocese of Gliwice. Right...

For many ages a wooden church was the most popular type of sacred structure in rural parishes of Upper Silesia. Since the 18 th century the traditional constructions have been replaced with buildings of stone. As a result wooden churches were exposed at risk of demolition and very often removal of the churches to some other places were the only...

Considerable growth of inhabitants of Gliwice in the time of industrialization of Upper Silesia made it necessary to build new sacred buildings. The old church of All Saints, despite its impressive size, was too small at the end of the 19 th century for such a big amount of parishioners. In 1889 a town-hall in Gliwice informed in a letter to...

The need for a new shrine was born under administration of priest Gustaw Hwalitchka (1886-1899). Throughout the years funds were collected till priest Antoni Czajka got a permission for construction of the new church. Due to inflation in 1923 what was left from 50 thousand marks was close to nothing. Finally in 1925 the construction began. The...

Ostropa, from 1975 a district of Gliwice, was mentioned for the first time in a document from 1286 on 24 th of September. On this day prince Kazimierz II gave the village governor a set of privileges connected with reorganization of the village and its relocation according to German law. On 23th of April 1561 the town leased laws from the city...

Karchowice is a small town located next to ‘Via Regia’ a route connecting Karków with Wrocław. It has a bit over 340 inhabitants. The old merchant route is marked here by river Drama which starts at The Black Trout Adit in Repty and flows south-west. The adit is the longest underground waterworks in Poland. The location of the...

The first records on Koszęcin come from 1277 and concern the tithe ordered by Bishop of Kraków Paweł from Przemków to collect money for the church in Kamień. According to historians Slavonic peoples resided in Koszęcin even in the pre-Christian times. One of local legends identifies the legendary prince Gosław Koszewski as the one...

The town of Steblów was mentioned for the first time in 1411. At that time Ruparth Kochcicki gave Jan Lorek land between Lubliniec and Steblów. In the end of XVI century the family of Kochcicki established a manor. In 1830 the population was only 93. After WWI a settlement of detached houses and plants was built. Back then...

The town was established in 1530 as settlement for miners. In the beginning ti was called Żyglińskie Góry. On 23 rd of April 1561 it got its town charter and to commemorate its patron and founder of the town margrave Jerzy Fryderyk Hohenzollern the town was called Georgenberg. For over 100 years the inhabitants of Miasteczko...

The town of Poniszowice was mentioned fir the first time in 1223. At that time it was called Pomniszowice that was given to this town due to being located in the lowlands. According to parich chronicles both the church and parish existed already in 1175. In the beginning it probably was a branch of parish of Ujazd. Until now it has been...

Rachowice was mentioned for the first time in 1305 as one of the villages in the census of local manors, towns and villages. The village, in XIV and XV, belonged to Upper Silesian knight dynasty of Bierawa. In 1475 knight Mikołaj Bierawa sold the manor and village of Rachowice to another knight Christof Dziecko. Since 1571 the family of...

According to researchers the first records on the parish of Sierakowice dates back to 1447, however, it is believed that its history can date back to the first half of XIV century. In the times of reformation the local church became a property of Protestants. In 1668 the whole village of Sierakowice was owned by a Lutheran, Wenzel von Trach...

About 25 km north from Gliwice lies picturesquely situated village of Sieroty being part of the Wielowieś district. The history of the village goes back to 1299. In a document from those days we can read about a priest Adam from Syrota. In 1447 the parish was enlisted by archdeacon Mikołaj Wlof in a census conducted by him.  Out of 21...

The village of Smolnice is situated about 10 km south-west from the center of Gliwice. Its name suggests that it used to be a center for charcoal production. The oldest documents that mention the village come from 1228 which makes Smolnica the second oldest village in the district of Gliwice after  village of Trach – Nowa Wieś (...

The history of Tarnowskie Góry is related to development of ore mining in the end of XV century. In 1526 prince of district of Opole – Racibórz Jan II Dobry and margrave Jerzy von Ansbach gave ‘Gory Tarnowskie’ an act of mining freedom and city charter. The first shrines in Tarnowskie Góry were churches of...

The Church of St. Joseph is unquestionably one of the most outstanding works of XX century sacral architecture in Upper Silesia. It is also a record of completed history of region tormented by conflicts. Since 1922, after partitions of Upper Silesia, refugees of the plebiscite region had chosen Zabrze as their new home. In the south of the city...

Zacharzowice, at present, is a branch of the parish of Sieroty. The town was mentioned for the first time in 1305 in a census of local properties and wealth. In 1447 it was mentioned among 21 parishes of the deanery of Toszek. The town of Zacharzowice includes three hamlets: Gogol, Kolonia and Pustkowie. The contemporary, wooden church...

It is still argued when the parish of Żernica was established. Some historians date this moment back to circa 1278 i. e. the establishment of the village of Żernica. According to another hypothesis the shrine was to be built only after 1335. However, what is beyond doubt is the fact that since the medieval times it had been affiliated with...