Karkonosze


Miejsce: St. Peter and Paul’s Orthodox church
GPS: 50.903109809106 , 15.741929675284
Adres: Jelenia Góra , 1 Maja 40
Telefon: 75 76 78 822
WWW: www.jeleniagora.cerkiew.pl


The church was erected in 1738 on the site of an earlier, Medieval church that burned down during the Thirty Years’ War. Until 1925, it was a Catholic church, afterwards it was closed and its fittings were removed. After the war the church was handed over to the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, which equipped it according to its rite and dedicated the Church to Saint Peter and Saint Paul. The church was built in a Baroque style and topped with an octagonal tower on the west side. The only ornament on the facade and a memento of the old patrons of the church is a portal adorned with the image of the Assumption of the Virgin adored by angels. The icons placed in the temple and the iconostasis date back to the beginning of the 20th century and were brought to the temple from the Orthodox churches from the region of Lublin destroyed during World War II..  The entirety is complemented by modern Byzantine-style frescoes made by Jerzy Nowosielski and Adam Stalona - Dobrzański.
Two reconciliation crosses are set in the northern wall of the church (people call them atonement crosses) with two instruments of crime (a crossbow and a sword) craved in them. They are a testimony of the Medieval judiciary system – criminals were given atonement and they were obliged to compensate the victim’s family. A cross was crowning the whole process of expiating their guilt and reconciliation.
At the end of 1 Maja Street we arrive at yet another noteworthy destination - the Feast of the Holy Cross Church (the Garrison Church), surrounded by a park with a complex of rich sepulchral chapels.