CHURCH OF ST. MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL IN PRUDNIK

The first wooden church in Prudnik was probably built as early as in 1279, but the first written record about the Prudnik parish comes from the 14th century. Between 1554 and 1627 based on historical events the church belonged to the Lutherans. The construction of the current Late Baroque form of the church, designed by Johann Töpper, located in the southern part of the Old Town, was begun in 1730. However, just 5 years later, a fire destroyed the nearly finished building. Among the things lost in the fire were frescoes by Felix Anton Scheffler which, judging by the painter’s body of work, would undoubtedly have beautifully complemented the interior. Due to the fire, the church was consecrated only in 1752, by the bishop of Wrocław Philipp Gotthard von Schaffgotsch. The three-nave church, on the inside surrounded by a gallery and connected to the choir and the tower, features Baroque furnishings, including an extraordinary altar with two cherubs and a sculpture of Christ in the finial. The church suffered only minor damage during World War II. Between 1946 and 1999 the parish was managed by the Dominicans. It is interesting to note that it is from this parish that one of the most known Dominican Fathers in contemporary Poland came from: Father Jan Góra, founder of the Lednica Movement and the annual Poland-wide Youth Meeting

in Lednica.