View source for Churches of Peace

{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
|WHS         = Churches of Peace in Jawor and Świdnica
|Image       = Swidnica- Kosciol Pokoju 01.jpg
| image_size  = 275px
|Caption     = Church of Peace in Świdnica
|ID          = 1054
|Year        = 2001
|Criteria    = Cultural: iii, iv, vi
|Location    = [[Lower Silesian Voivodeship]], Poland
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[[File:Churches of Peace - Jawor, Poland.jpg|thumb|The belfry of the Peace Church in Jawor framed between trees in Park Pokoju.]]
'''The Churches of Peace''' ({{langx|pl|Kościoły Pokoju}}, {{langx|de|Friedenskirchen}}) in [[Jawor]] and [[Świdnica]] in [[Lower Silesia]]. [[Poland]], are 17th-century churches, named after the [[Peace of Westphalia]] of 1648.

The treaty granted the [[Lutheran]]s of [[Silesia]] to build three churches from wood, loam and straw outside the city walls, without steeples and church bells. The construction time was limited to one year. The third Peace church, erected in [[Głogów]], burned down in 1758.
The exterior of the churches look austere due to the religious restrictions of the time, while their interiors are ornately decorated in [[Baroque]] style.
The interior of the Jawor church is decorated with 180 paintings, depicting Biblical scenes from the Old and the [[New Testament]], while the church in Świdnica features [[Apocalypticism|apocalyptic visions]] as well as the panorama of surrounding area.<ref>{{Cite web|title= Poland's most beautiful churches|url= https://culture.pl/en/article/polands-most-beautiful-churches|access-date=2023-10-03}}</ref>

Since 2001, the two remaining churches are listed as [[UNESCO]] [[World Heritage Site]]s:
* [[Holy Trinity Church of Peace in Świdnica]]
* [[Church of Peace in Jawor]]<ref>{{Cite web|title= UNESCO World Heritage List - Churches of Peace in Jawor and Świdnica|url= https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1054/|access-date=2023-10-03}}</ref>

== History ==
Despite the physical and political constraints, three of the churches became the biggest [[timber-framed]] religious buildings in [[Europe]] due to pioneering construction and architectural solutions.

The church in [[Church of Peace in Jawor|Jawor]], dedicated to the [[Holy Ghost]] is {{convert|43.5|m|adj=on}} long, {{convert|14|m|adj=on}} wide and {{convert|15.7|m|adj=on}} high and has capacity of 5,500. It was constructed by architect Albrecht von Saebisch (1610–1688) from Wroclaw (then German ''Breslau'') and was finished a year later in 1655. The 200 paintings inside by were created by [[Georg Flegel]] in 1671–1681. The ornately decorated altar, by Martin Schneider, dates to 1672, the original organ of J. Hoferichter from [[Legnica]] (then German ''Liegnitz'') of 1664 was replaced in 1855–1856 by Adolf Alexander Lummert.

By that time, the town had been part of the majority Protestant [[Kingdom of Prussia]] for about a century. Another 100 years later, in 1945, the town became again part of [[Poland]], as a result of the [[Potsdam Agreement]]. Although most of the Protestant churches taken over by Poland in 1945 became Catholic, the two Peace Churches still serve their [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] parishes.

The similar church, erected in [[Głogów]] (then German ''Glogau'') burned down in 1758, but the one in [[Holy Trinity Church of Peace in Świdnica|Świdnica]], dedicated to the [[Holy Trinity]], survived like the one in [[Jawor]]. Both were restored by a Polish–German cooperation, and recognized by UNESCO in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|title= Reformation routes - Church of Peace in Świdnica|url= https://reformationroutes.eu/sights/s/the_church_of_peace-14.html|access-date=2023-10-03}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="150" caption="The three Churches of Peace (around 1750)">
Friedensk-Glogau.jpg|Glogau (Głogów)
Friedensk-Jauer.jpg|Jauer (Jawor)
Friedensk-Schweidnitz.jpg|Schweidnitz (Świdnica)
</gallery>

== Gallery ==
=== Świdnica ===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150" >
File:Swidnica- Kosciol Pokoju 02.jpg|
Image:Swidnica-kosc-pokoju1.jpg|Main altar
File:Swidnica - Kosciol Pokoju- wnetrze 01.jpg|
Swidnica - Kosciol Pokoju- wnetrze 05.jpg|
</gallery>

=== Jawor ===
<gallery mode="packed" heights="150" >
Swiątynia Pokoju w Jaworze - 191.jpg
Image:Jawor2.jpg|Organ
File:Wnętrze z ołtarzem głównym Świątyni Pokoju w Jaworze, woj. dolnośląskie, pow. jaworski A1905990 z 4.09.1963 -Magkrys.JPG|Main altar
File:ChurchOfPeace Jawor Wiki.png|
</gallery>

== Surroundings ==
* [[Gola Dzierżoniowska Castle]]
* Medieval town of [[Niemcza]]
* Cistercian monastery at [[Henryków, Lower Silesian Voivodeship|Henryków]]
* [[Wojsławice Arboretum]]

== Bibliography ==
* Worthmann, Ludwig, ''Führer durch die Friedenskirche zu Schweidnitz''. Breslau 1929.
* Kalinowski, Konstanty, ''Barock in Schlesien''. München 1990. {{ISBN|3-422-06047-2}}.
* Gruk, Wojciech, ''Silesian Churches of Peace and the Royal Hungarian Articular Churches. Possible Legal and Architectural Relations.'' In: Protestantischer Kirchenbau der Frühen Neuzeit in Europa. Grundlagen und neue Forschungskonzepte. — Protestant Church Architecture in Early Modern Europe. Fundamentals and New Research Approaches. Regensburg 2015, p.&nbsp;333-343. {{ISBN|978-3-7954-2942-3}}.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Churches of Peace in Poland}}
* [https://artsandculture.google.com/story/5wWxbhPVlie0bw Churches of Peace in Jawor and Świdnica] UNESCO Collection on Google Arts and Culture
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170922112632/http://www.jawor.pl/index.php?strona=galeria_kat&kat=3 Church Of Peace in Jawor – photo gallery]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170429123213/http://kosciolpokoju.pl/ Church of Peace in Świdnica] {{in lang|pl}}

{{World Heritage Sites in Poland}}

[[Category:17th-century churches in Poland]]
[[Category:17th-century Lutheran churches]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Świdnica]]
[[Category:Churches in Lower Silesian Voivodeship]]
[[Category:Christianity in the Holy Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Silesia under Habsburg rule]]
[[Category:Lutheran churches in Poland]]
[[Category:Lutheran art]]
[[Category:Jawor]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in Poland]]