Orchowo: Wooden Architecture, Church History and the Piast Trail

The present-day All Saints Church was built between 1789 and 1792 through the endowment of Petronela z Gałczyńskich Mlicka. The timber building has a log construction, is clad on the outside and is covered with shingles. Inside are four altars with figures of saints, a Rococo crucifix on the chancel beam, and a pulpit and baptismal font arranged symmetrically on either side of the nave. Another trace of the past is a railway arch viaduct dating from 1907.

The church combines a distinctive construction with notable furnishings: it is a log-built timber structure, clad on the outside and covered with shingles. The dates 1789–1792 refer to the construction of the present-day church. It therefore belongs to a different period from the first wooden church, which already stood around 1369 on Lake Orchowskie, on the site of today’s cemetery.

The furnishings can also be described through specific details. Four altars bear figures of saints, and a Rococo crucifix is mounted on the chancel beam. The pulpit and baptismal font are arranged symmetrically on either side of the nave. Those interested in sacred architecture will find not only a wooden structure here, but also a clearly defined arrangement of its furnishings.

The former wooden church on Lake Orchowskie was founded and furnished around 1369 by Mikołaj, a standard-bearer of Gniezno. Its site is now part of the cemetery. The present-day All Saints Church was built more than four centuries later, at a different location.

The history of the former Protestant church includes an epitaph in its vestibule to the priest Marian Lapis (1906–1942), who was murdered in the Dachau concentration camp. After 1945, the Catholic community took over the former Protestant church. There is also a soldier’s grave from the January Uprising by the All Saints Church. These memorial sites refer to different historical contexts and should not be conflated.

The tourist Piast Trail runs from Strzelno and Kruszwica via Orchowo and Trzemeszno to Gniezno; its route passes through the municipality of Orchowo. If you are planning a trip along this route, Orchowo is one of the places explicitly named on the trail. The All Saints Church offers a different thematic perspective, focusing on timber construction, furnishings and the history of churches in the area.

Another structure with its own historical date is the railway arch viaduct from 1907. Together with the churches, it gives the area a character whose points of interest are not limited to a single period. When looking for a hotel in Orchowo, you can first consider whether your trip will focus mainly on church history, historical remembrance or the route of the Piast Trail.

Other places on the same parent page: Zagórów, Siernicze Małe, Ostrowite, Żelazków, Szydlowiec, Słupca, Wólka, Polanowo.

When was the present-day All Saints Church built?

It was built between 1789 and 1792 through the endowment of Petronela z Gałczyńskich Mlicka.

What is inside the All Saints Church?

It has four altars with figures of saints, a Rococo crucifix on the chancel beam, and a pulpit and baptismal font arranged symmetrically.

Which places does the Piast Trail connect via Orchowo?

The tourist trail runs from Strzelno and Kruszwica via Orchowo and Trzemeszno to Gniezno.

To the main travel overview: Słupca County.