The Church of Peace in Jawor (''German: Friedenskirche'') - a wooden

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

church of a

wattle and daub Wattle and daub is a composite building method used for making walls and buildings, in which a woven lattice of wooden strips called wattle is daubed with a sticky material usually made of some combination of wet soil, clay, sand, animal dung a ...

structure, located in

Jawor Jawor (german: Jauer) is a town in south-western Poland with 22,890 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship (from 1975 to 1998 it was in the former Legnica Voivodeship). It is the seat of Jawor County, and lies appro ...

. It is a historic sacral building built under the agreements of the

Peace of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (german: Westfälischer Friede, ) is the collective name for two peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought pea ...

concluded in 1648, which ended the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

History

It was built between 1654 and 1655 according to the design of Albrecht von Säbisch, using half-timbered construction. The building was made of perishable materials: wood, straw and clay. The following

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

elements of the interior are noteworthy: the

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in paga ...

, the

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

and the

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

. On the northern and southern sides there are four storeys of galleries, decorated with paintings illustrating the Old and New Testaments, landscapes with castles and heraldic shields. All structural elements are covered with

polychrome Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statu ...

s with motifs of fancifully coiled plant tendrils. The building stands out in the history of European art of the second half of the 17th century due to its uniqueness and high artistic value. It is one of the three so-called Churches of Peace built after the

and one of the two preserved to this day (the other one is in

Świdnica Świdnica (; german: Schweidnitz; cs, Svídnice; szl, Świdńica) is a city in south-western Poland in the region of Silesia. As of 2019, it has a population of 57,014 inhabitants. It lies in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, being the seventh larges ...

). The church, due to its importance to the culture and heritage of mankind, was inscribed on the

UNESCO World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Jawor Peace Concerts

Peace Concerts are organised in

every year from May to September. These events take place in the historic interiors of the Church of Peace.

Chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

performed by artists from Poland, the Czech Republic and Germany combined with the venue of the concerts create a special atmosphere and provide an unforgettable experience. A total of 67 concerts have already taken place in Jawor, including 29 concerts performed by foreign artists. So far the following artists have performed: Poznańskie Słowiki Choir under the direction of Stefan Stuligrosz, Windsbacher Knabenchor, University of Wrocław Choir "Gaudium", "Leopoldinum" Chamber Orchestra, Amadeus Orchestra conducted by Agnieszka Duczmal, Sudecka Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra, Spirituals Singers Band, Wilanów Quartet, Camerata Cracovia, Folk Ensemble "Sierra Manta", Brandenburgischer Kammerchor, Ledl Jazz Quintet and many others.

Organs

Adolph Lummert's instrument, later rebuilt two times by Schlag & Söhne company in 1899 and from 1905 to 1906, subsequently renovated in 1937. The choir holds the remains of Schlag's pneumatic, three-channel playing table. The instrument was reconstructed to its condition as it was in Lummert's time. The reconstruction work was carried out by „Eule of Bautzen” and „Ars organum by Adam Olejnik”. Disposition of the instrument File:Jawor - zbór.jpg, Tower File:Jawor, Kościół Pokoju, wejście do kościoła.jpg, Entrance to the church File:Jawor (0050).jpg, Baptismal font File:Jawor1.jpg, Galleries decorated with paintings

References

{{coord missing, Lower Silesian Voivodeship Jawor Churches in Poland Churches in Poland by city