Blizanów: Wooden Church and Marian Image

• The parish church stands on a small hill in the southwestern part of the village.
• It was probably built in 1532.
• The Chapel of St. Tekla was added on the north side in 1610–1611.
• The wooden bell tower stands next to the church and dates from the second half of the 18th century.
• The Szlak Kościołów Drewnianych Ziemi Kaliskiej (Trail of Wooden Churches of the Kalisz Region) includes the church in Blizanów.

The church is built of wood, oriented east, and constructed using log construction. It also has exterior boarding and a single tower. East-oriented means that the building faces east; log construction describes a method in which layers of timber form the walls. These terms describe different features of the building: its orientation and the way it is constructed. Despite later alterations, the church retains characteristic features of a late Gothic construction scheme. The wooden bell tower stands beside the church. Here, therefore, you can distinguish the construction method, orientation, and a separate tower element, rather than describing the architecture only with the general term “wooden church.”

The dates given refer to different parts of the building. The church was probably built in 1532; the Chapel of St. Tekla was added on the north side later, in 1610–1611. The tower, in turn, dates from the second half of the 18th century. This sequence helps avoid reducing the building to a single date of origin: it distinguishes the church’s presumed beginnings from a later addition and the still later bell tower. The date 1532 remains a probable one. The reference to late Gothic features is also consistent with the later alterations: it means that characteristic features have been retained, not that the building is unchanged.

The main altar contains the image of Our Lady of Blizanów. It is a 17th-century copy of the image of Our Lady of Częstochowa, made by an unknown painter. This identifies both the original model and the image’s date, while the painter remains unknown. Behind the image are numerous votive offerings on red velvet. They add a concrete connection to religious devotion to the story of the image. The cult of Our Lady of Blizanów is considered vibrant to this day. For culture enthusiasts, several aspects come together here: the image in the main altar, its connection to the image of Częstochowa, and the votive offerings behind it.

The Szlak Kościołów Drewnianych Ziemi Kaliskiej (Trail of Wooden Churches of the Kalisz Region) passes through the Blizanów municipality and includes the church in the village. This places the parish church in two contexts: its history and the Marian image relate specifically to Blizanów, while the named trail connects it to the region’s wooden churches. This distinction is useful if you want to consider a destination both for its own cultural features and as part of a wider regional theme. The trail includes the church, linking this individual village with the theme of wooden churches in the region.

Discover more destinations: Wolica, Nowa Plewnia, Dębniałki, Kalisz, Szałe, Tłokinia Kościelna, Żelazków, Staw.

When was the parish church in Blizanów built?

It was probably built in 1532. The Chapel of St. Tekla was added in 1610–1611; the bell tower dates from the second half of the 18th century.

How does the chapel differ from the bell tower?

The Chapel of St. Tekla was added on the north side of the church. The wooden bell tower stands beside the church and is a separate structure.

What is in the main altar?

It contains the image of Our Lady of Blizanów, a 17th-century copy of the image of Our Lady of Częstochowa, made by an unknown painter.

For the wider travel overview: Kalisz.