Gmina Łobżenica

This interesting church was connected to Nancy’s ancestors. When the rain began to come down, I took shelter under the eaves of the church while the more hardy among us searched the cemetery for a sign of Nancy’s ancestors.

https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kościół_św._Jakub…

History
The first mention of the Sławianów parish comes from 1511. In 1617 a baroque church of larch and oak wood was built here (from 1621 the seat of the parish). In 1701, priest Tomasz Barankiewicz (then a parish priest) won a significant sum of money at races, some of which he allocated to the altar with the image of St. Barbara, along with dresses and the purchase of three bells. In 1744 the temple had three towers. At the time when the temple was used by Protestants (late 18th century), the church fell into ruin .

The current one-nave , half-timbered [4] building with a narrowed presbytery was erected in 1806 by priest Wojciech Sucharski, and its founder was Marianna Guzowska - the Nakiel regent . The roof was covered with slate [4] . Initially, he bore the call of St. Barbara. Poles have always dominated the parish. In the interwar period, every fourth Sunday masses were celebrated in German , while the others were in Polish. In the years 1984-1985 [3] the building was renovated. In November 2006 it was closed for security reasons (the storm broke the bolt structure at that time) [3] . From 2008 to 2012 [4]it was again renovated, in stages, [5] , and during these activities the floral decoration of 1806 was unveiled .

Equipment
The equipment is mainly eighteenth-century. In the main altar there is a picture of St. James the Apostle , and there are statues of Saint. Peter and Paul and Christ crucified . In the southern altar hangs a picture of St. Barbara from 1706, and in the north a picture of Madonna and Child from the 18th century. On the rainbow beam there is the Baroque Crucifixion Group . A plaque commemorating the inhabitants of the parish who died during World War I was placed on the wall.

Bells
Until World War II , five bells hung on the wooden belfry next to the church: one (the smallest) from 1621 and four from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In 1942, the Germans robbed the bells to melt them (only the smallest remained). In 2000 one of the bells was found in the parish in Vaihingen . In 2005, this bell returned to the mother belfry. The bell has the inscription "Sit nomen Domini benedictum me fete Michael Wittwerk Gedani Anno 1715" ( Let the Lord's name be praised - Michał Wittwerk in Gdańsk in 1715 made me happy ). On the bell body there is an image of the Risen Christ with a flag in his hand. On the other hand, there is a picture of the Mother of God with the Child. The bell has a diameter of 73 cm and a height of 58 cm[5] . The wooden belfry, covered with a gable roof, dates from 1858 .

Environment
There is a cemetery next to the church . By the belfry there is a symbolic grave decorated in 1975, dedicated to those who died for righteousness, justice and freedom.Read more