Murzynowo Kościelne: Wooden Church and Village History

Murzynowo Kościelne can be explored through its historic architectural forms and recognizable village layout. The parish church of St John the Baptist combines rural Baroque wooden architecture with a building history dating back to the 18th century. The bell tower and chapel are part of the church grounds; a memorial stone north of the church, a manor park, and the preserved oval village layout complete the picture.

The Wooden Church and Its Ensemble

The parish church of St John the Baptist is considered an example of rural Baroque wooden religious architecture in Greater Poland. The present wooden church was built in 1739–1742, after the previous wooden church burned down in 1739.

The church grounds also include a wooden bell tower from the late 18th century, built using an open post-and-beam structure, and a roofed masonry chapel. The tower’s open construction differs markedly from the masonry chapel in its design. The church, which dominates the religious ensemble and dates from the mid-18th century, was extended with a Neo-Gothic section in 1900. The religious site thus brings together Baroque wooden architecture, a later Neo-Gothic addition, and other structures made of wood and masonry.

Memorial Site and Historic Village Layout

The memorial stone with its metal plaque stands in a triangular square north of the parish church. It was erected in 1986 and commemorates the Greater Poland insurgents from Murzynowo and the surrounding area. The religious building and the memorial to the insurgents thus represent two different strands of local history.

The 19th-century manor park is protected by the register and inventory of monuments. As a distinct part of the village’s history, it complements the religious and commemorative sites with a historic landscaped park.

The historic oval village layout has survived to this day and can be discerned in the settlement pattern. It describes the place on a different level from the individual monuments: as a coherent historic village form. The settlement’s historic ownership structure is still evident in three separate groups of buildings. These include a manor farm with a park and manor house belonging to the Ozdowski family, a religious ensemble dominated by the church from the mid-18th century, and an ensemble of rural residential and farm buildings. The oval outline and the three ensembles represent different aspects: the settlement’s form and individual historic groups of buildings. To understand the place, it is worth considering the building history and the layout together: the church points to individual building phases, while the oval form reflects the settlement as a whole.

Cycling and Historic Routes

A local guide from 2015 describes Murzynowo Kościelne as a frequently used cycling route towards Miłosław or Winna Góra. As route conditions may change, check the current route before setting out on a bike ride.

A local road heading south is now of only marginal importance; it was once the main route connecting the village with the seat of the owner of the Winna Góra estate complex. The shift from its former role as the main connection to its marginal importance today illustrates how local routes have changed.

Discover more destinations: Brodowo, Środa Wielkopolska, Koszuty, Chocicza, Pierzchno, Solec, Teresa, Zaniemysl.

Go to the main travel overview: Schroda.