The temple was built on the site of a wooden church from 1660. Surrounded by a cemetery and a retaining wall, it is situated on the edge of Żerkowskiego Rampart and dominates over the valley of the Lutynia River. Together with the late-classical rectory it creates a view opening towards the palace-park-farm complex in Śmiełów.

History of the structure

The Brzóstków village dates back to the Middle Ages. In the 13th-14th centuries it was the property of the Zaremba family, who took the surname Brzostkowski. In 1505 the village became the property of Stanisław Konarski. In the following decades it was the property of the Domiechowski, Potarzycki and Poniński families of the Łodzia coat of arms. Antoni Poniński, the starost of Kopanice, was buried in the local cemetery. Then the estate in Brzóstków was taken over by Antoni Czarnecki, Carver of the Crown, founder of the present church. Around 1880 A. Grabski was the heir, and in the 1890s Maks Engelhardt. In the early 19th century Brzóstków was taken over by the Hebanowski family, who owned it until the outbreak of World War II.

The first mentions of the parish date back to 1419. The original church, founded by the Brzostkowski family, was wooden and bore the name of St. John the Baptist and St. Dorothy. The first church was burnt down and the next one, also wooden, was consecrated in 1660 by Wojciech Tolibowski, the bishop of Poznań. The present brick church was erected in 1839-40 on the site of the wooden church.

The current church of St. John the Baptist was built from the foundation of Antoni Czarnecki, the Carver of the Crown, probably according to the design of the Poznań architect Hoffman (his name is mentioned in connection with the erection of the rectory and farm buildings). The church stands on a slope, which is not the highest point of the hill, yet it towers over the surrounding area. No wonder that on 8 August 1913 it was struck by lightning, causing a massive fire. During the reconstruction, carried out under the direction of architect Marian Jerzy Andrzejewski (later professor of the Poznań University of Technology), its external appearance was slightly changed. To gain space for the temple, the plane was levelled on the slope of the hill, and to overcome the difference in height, brick retaining walls were built. Sepulchral chapels were located in the corners of the wall. One of them, on the northwestern side, has not survived to the present day.

The rectory was built in 1836, which is earlier than the brick church was built. The late classical rectory has retained its form to the present day.

Description of the structure

Brzóstków is a village situated on the Lutynia River, at the foot of the Żerkowskie Hills, 4 km north of the seat of the Żerków Commune. It is 14 km northeast of the district capital Jarocin. The church with the rectory was built on the slope of a considerable hill, on the southern side of the road from Lgów to Raszewy. The complex is located on a rectangular plot of land with a church in the west and a rectory with outbuildings and a garden in the east. The buildings form a viewing axis with the palace, park and farm complex in Śmiełów located in the valley. The area around the church is surrounded by a retaining wall. Monumental stairs lead to the church from the west. From the east, a gate leads to the presbytery.

The church is a brick building with a stone foundation and plastered walls on the outside. The temple is single-nave, referring to the Greek temple of the “prostylos” type. The nave is rectangular, five-span, with a narrower, square-shaped chancel separated from the east, surrounded by a symmetrically arranged sacristy and a utility room. To the west, on the extension of the nave, there is a pillared portico covering the ground floor of a square tower with a porch. The body of the church is cuboidal in shape, with a low gable roof covered with sheet metal. A pillared portico supporting a triangular tympanum is located to the west. The second storey of the tower dominates over the western part of the body. The tower is covered with a terrace roof, topped with a tholobate with a spire, sphere and a cross. The original tower finial had the form of a semicircular topped gloriette supported by eight columns. At the southern elevation there is a low annex containing the entrance to the crypt. The church’s elevations are plastered, with a tall, stepped, two-zone plinth. Above it, rhythmically articulated with Ionian pilasters and semicircular closed blind arcades with semicircular window openings at the tops. The windows are covered with wide, profiled surrounds fastened with a modillion keystone. The capitals of the pilasters are supported by a massive entablature with a separate part of the architrave, smooth frieze and cornice decorated with dentils and Ionic cymatium. A string course runs between the pilasters, which also serves as a window sill. Side elevations are five-axial, the eastern elevation is three-axial. Facade with an Ionic portico with eight columns. The ground floor of the tower is hidden inside. Richly decorated portico crowned by entablature with an inscription in the frieze part: “Mortal to the Immortal” and a triangular tympanum. The upper part of the tower is framed by composite pilasters at the corners. Under the string course there are panels with a clock. The brightly painted church is visible from many places in the so-called Szwajcaria Żerkowska.

The interior of the church is single-spaced, with a narrower chancel. The walls of the nave and the chancel with a separate plinth, articulated with pilasters supported on profiled bases, with marbleised shafts and Corinthian capitals. Between them - semicircular arcades with window openings. The capitals are supported by a rich entablature with an architrave decorated with pearling and acanthus ornamentation, palmette frieze, dentils and Ionic cymatium and a projecting cornice. The entablature runs around the entire interior. A flat ceiling with a crown moulding on one level. On the west side across the entire width of the nave is a choir gallery supported by six Tuscan columns. A stucco pulpit from the north. In the west side of the nave there is a magnificent stucco portal. White and marbleised interior detail, additionally highlighted with gilding. The interior of the church is mostly classicist, stucco from the time of the construction of the church, homogeneous in terms of colour and interior design.

The rectangular rectory building with its shorter sides aligned east-west and a rectangular front porch. A one-story building with a partial basement, topped with a gable roof. The elevations are smoothly plastered, erected on a high plinth, clad with broken stone, articulated with windows and blind windows topped with a semi-circular arch. Window headers in the form of wide semicircular surrounds. The elevations are topped with a simple under eaves cornice. The interior staircase, part of the door woodwork and two tile stoves have survived from the chancel furnishing.

Visitor access. The site is accessible to the public. Visiting the building is possible by prior arrangement. More information on the parish and the Holy Mass schedule can be found on the parish website.

Compiled by: Teresa Palacz, Regional Branch of the National Institute of Cultural Heritage in Poznań, 21.11.2017

Bibliography

• Łęcki Wł., Wielkopolska – słownik krajoznawczy, Poznań 2002.
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• Łukaszewicz J., Krótki opis historyczny kościołów parochialnych w dawnej decyzji poznańskiej, Vol. II, pp. 209-211.
• Callier E., Powiat pyzdrski w XVI stuleciu. Szkic geograficzno-historyczny, p. 35, Poznań 1888.
• Słownik Geograficzny Królestwa Polskiego i innych krajów słowiańskich, Vol. I, Warsaw 1880, pp. 421-2.
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