Fire and rebuilding
The church is first mentioned in 1534. In 1572 the storm-damaged tower was repaired, and in 1634 a fire destroyed the church along with its tower and Gothic furnishings. It was rebuilt in 1645. In 1681 Joachim Sellin of Wolin painted the interior, in 1694 stained glass was fitted in the windows, and in 1714 the west wall was strengthened with buttresses. In 1750 the church was enlarged to the south and east and a sacristy was added; four years later the interior was painted again.
A major renovation followed in 1913: the walls were raised, the ceiling repaired and a barrel-shaped false vault installed, the interior repainted, the painted decoration of the furnishings restored and the tower given new boarding. Until the end of the Second World War the church served a Lutheran congregation. On 14 October 1945 Father Henryk Kulikowski consecrated it under the dedication of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and on 25 June 1973 a parish was established here.
Exterior and interior
The church is rectangular in plan, with a pitched roof and an oeil-de-boeuf dormer; the windows are round-headed. To the west stands a boarded timber tower on a square base, topped by a pointed octagonal spire. The interior is covered by a painted false barrel vault.
The 17th-century furnishings
The historic furnishings survive almost complete. The high altar and pulpit were made by two craftsmen from Trzebiatów: the joiner Georg Beckmann and the painter Christian Basche. The centre of the altar shows Christ with the crown of thorns carrying the cross, and above it hangs a 15th-century crucifix. The Baroque pulpit has a stair, a sounding board and a back panel.
The paintings on the false vault, the stalls and the pews are by Joachim Sellin, 1681. Each pew has its own small door painted with Pomeranian flowers – they have even attracted botanists, as they show which plants were common in Pomerania in the 17th century. Sellin also painted the pictures, the most impressive of which, the “Last Judgement” of 1680, is the largest painting on wood in Pomerania; the other two show the Annunciation and the Nativity. The most badly damaged works were replaced with copies during the 1913 renovation. One panel of the music gallery depicts the church interior as it looked at the time. The organ of 1885 was built by the Szczecin organ builder Barnim Grüneberg; because of its poor condition it is not used.
Gallery
