THE WOODEN CHURCH OF ST NICHOLAS AND ST LAWRENCE IN DŁUŻEC

The first mentions of the Dłużec parish come from the years 1325 to 1327. The original church was built with stone and mortar, while the current one hails from 1780. In 1921, the main nave was extended to join the tower, which had been erected in 1825 as a standalone bell tower. The church was renovated in the 1970s, and the interior was restored in the 1980s.

Inside, there is an early 17th-century Mannerist main altar with a painting of Our Lady of the Snows (which can be covered with the painting of St Lawrence), culminating with a late Gothic sculpture of St Nicholas. The most valuable part of the interior is the western side altar, a triptych with a late 15th-century sculpture of the Enthroned Virgin Mary. The side panels sport paintings of Saints Nicholas, Catherine, Stanislaus (patron saint of the Skałka Pauline church in Krakow) and Barbara. The triptych is a composite of the other altars and was allegedly a gift from King Jan III Sobieski as thanks for the warm welcome he received in Dłużec. The other side altar (early 17th century) is devoted to the patron saint of the church, St Nicholas.

Opposite the church, on the blue tourist trail, there is a mound with a shrine to St Joseph. According to legend, the shrine was founded by a woman whose husband, a knight, had left to fight a war and gone missing. She found another mate, and when her husband returned he challenged his rival to a fight – in which they both died. The desolate widow buried them both in one grave. The men were said to be brothers, one of whom was called Józef (Joseph). Another tale is that the mound is the final resting place of three Austrian generals from the times of the partitions of Poland.