A Gothic pearl of church architecture in the Lubusz region – about a non-existent church in Sułów

Abstract

Chuch architecture in the Lubusz region of Poland is rich and varied, covering many styles and eras. It was influenced by the Lubuskie bishopric, which had been functioning since the 12th century, with Górzyca Odrzańska as its main residence since the 13th century Thanks to the transfer of the episcopal authority to the area, new sacral and curial facilities began to be built. This led to the construction in the 15th century of a Catholic temple in the village of Sułów in the present Rzepin deanery. The Gothic temple, as a result of the religious transformations in the 16th century, was renamed to a church of the Evangelical-Augsburg community and remained so until the end of World War II. During this period it was expanded, rebuilt and eventually acquired a Baroque style and decor unique in the Rzepin deanery. As a result of battles that took place in the area in late January and early February 1945, the temple suffered numerous damages. Its fate was ultimately determined by the anti-church policy of the Polish People's Republic authorities, as well as the looting of plunderers and the local population. Subjected to atmospheric conditions and human activities, it quickly began to fall into ruin. Despite many attempts, both on the part of the church authorities and the residents of Sułów, the state authorities did not want to return the former church to the ownership of the Rzepin parish, to which the town belonged according to the church's administrative division. Eventually, in the mid-1960s, a decision was made to demolish the Sułów church, which, despite numerous protests from the Rzepin parish and a lack of approval from the central division, was carried out by the voivodeship authorities with the help of the army at the turn of November and December 1972. Along with the blowing up of

the church in the 1970s, the church cemetery and the necropolis established in 1817, which was located outside the village, were also liquidated. With the establishment of the parish in Kowalów, the village of Sułów was subordinated to the new church administration unit and efforts to rebuild the church in this location began. Today, in the village of Sułów, located in the Rzepin municipality, Słubice powiat, Lubusz Voivodeship, there is the newly constructed St. Adalbert's Church, which was built in the 1990s. It represents new construction and its form is far different from its Gothic-Baroque predecessor.

The article was written using available literature, numerous archival sources, memoirs, chronicles, etc. To a large extent, the work was based on an attempt to reconstruct the original layout of the church in Sułów, which changed over the years. Due to the non-existence of the building, as well as the lack of a detailed description of its individual elements, local churches in the Rzepin deanery and the Lubusz Voivodeship, as well as sources, plans and photographs available to the author, were used to analyze the original layout.