Jelenia Gora, Dolnośląskie ,Poland -The Saints Peter and Paul Orthodox Church (the former chapel of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

The first mention of the church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary comes from 1453. Further information concerns the demolition of the building in 1634. The fact that the ruins of the church were situated outside the city walls discouraged worshippers from rebuilding the structure for many years. Not until 1738 did the construction of the Baroque church start. It was built on a rectangular plan consisting of a two-bay nave. There is no separate chancel. Above the main entrance there is a tower, octagonal higher up and topped with an onion spire. On the north elevation there are two medieval, stone Conciliation Crosses built into the wall. A crime tool – a crossbow – has been carved on one of them. In 1925 the church was deconsecrated and converted into the city gallery. Since 1952 the church has belonged to the Orthodox parish. The chancel is decorated with murals by Jerzy Nowosielski and Adam Stalony-Dobrzański. The need to create an Orthodox Church was the result of the settlement of the Regained Territories after World War II by the population of the Eastern Borderlands. In this way, Orthodoxy appeared in areas which had previously not known this branch of Christianity.

The building can accommodate about a hundred worshippers. Inside there is the iconostasis and some icons moved from the damaged Orthodox churches in the Land of Lublin, which makes for an interesting combination of the Baroque interior with the elements of Orthodox art. <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.szlakikulturowe.dolnyslask.pl/en/">http://www.szlakikulturowe.dolnyslask.pl/en/</a>