Świdnica

The Peace Church at Svidnice is an extraordinary place. This was built as part of the Treaty of Westphalia that ended the 30 Years War between Protestants and Catholics of Europe. The Catholic Hapsburg monarch was required to allow 3 Protestant churches to be built. He agreed but put some heavy requirements on them, such as it could not look like a church; it couldn't use materials that would last; no towers, etc.
The 1st picture is of the outside made to look like a large barn. Inside is baroque in the extreme. The 2nd picture is of the nave, showing the main altar and some of the decoration. The 3rd picture shows more of the decoration of the space including the private gallery of the main donor family in the center. The 4th picture is of a section of ceiling, and the 5th is the baptismal font. The last is the bell tower (through the trees) built about 50 meters away from the main building, beating the no towers on the church rule.
Everything you see is made of wood or straw or mud, not even nails were allowed. Yet they were able to be creative with paint to make a lot of things look like stone.
Please take a minute to Google the Peace Church. It's history is extraordinary. Even the Dalai Lama prayed here.Read more