DĘBIE

Dębie is the oldest village in the Chrząstowice district, founded shortly after the Opole tribe adopted Christianity. It is said in Dobre Dambe (Rychenwald), as early as

1070, a wooden church have stood. An old board with the above date carved on it was preserved there for a long time. The oldest church seal of the Dębie parish includes this as the date of the church's construction. Legend has it that this is where the Blessed Virgin Mary saved a peasant drowning in a swamp. For centuries, Dębie was one of the most important places of Marian devotion and pilgrimage in the Opole region. In 1618, thanks to the generosity of local residents and pilgrims, a brick church was built here using local raw materials: basalt and fieldstones. The devastation wrought by the Swedes and the almost complete extinction of the inhabitants led to Dębie losing its parish rights, and from that time on, the inhabitants of Dębie once again belonged to the parish of Raszowa. Only in 1867 did the Dębska parish begin to revive. The church's pride was a miraculous painting of Our Lady of Częstochowa, and on the other side, Jesus Christ, painted on a metal plate and found centuries ago in an oak tree. During the great fire of 1906, the painting burned along with the entire church, but a 400-year-old linden wood figurine depicting Our Lady and Child survived. The current church was built after the fire in 1909-1910 in the neo-Baroque style. For centuries, the cult of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Roch has been worshipped there.

In the fields between Dębie and Dębska Kuźnia, on the "Kamionka" hill, there are deposits of formerly mined basalt, as well as a cornerstone. Today, Kamionka is an interesting destination for tourists who appreciate nature – educational and nature trails have been created there, describing the plant species found there.