c-friedenskirche

Kościół Pokoju w Świdnicy (Friedenskirche in Schweidnitz)

The history of this church is interesting. After the area was taken over by Habsburgs after the Thirty Years' War, all the churches that were previously Catholic and were taken over by the Protestants were given back to the Catholic community. The Swedish king was however pressured the Catholic Roman Emperor Ferdinand III to let the Lutherans build their own churches. It was therefore agreed that Silesian Lutherans (who were able to freely exercise their beliefs before the war) can build three churches, in Jauer (Jawor), Glogau (Głogów) and Schweidnitz (Świdnica), but these churches had to be build from impermanent materials like wood, straw, clay and sand; they could be located outside the city walls, but close enough that a cannonball can reach them; there couldn't be any towers, bells and they couldn't be shaped as a regular church (although they got the permission 50 years later); they had to be finished in a span of one year; they had to be financed only by Protestants and there couldn't be any adjacent schools.

Pretty tough, right? But they did it, almost all Protestants in the region of Silesia supported the cause and they were able to construct three massive wattle and daub churches (currently only two of them exist, the one in Głogów was destroyed by a storm in 1654). These churches are beautiful from the outside and from the inside (unfortunately, I was not able to visit it, because it was already closed, although it shouldn't be according to the opening hours). And I really love the fact that they were able to fight and win with the oppresive state using the voluntary methods. A really nice example of the human action.