Church of Peace in Świdnica — Attraction in Świdnica

Amazing amazing amazing. Did I say that this was one of the most amazing churches in Europe. I am truly amazed by this place. When you walk in the door you will see a counter you have to pay an entrance fee to enter. They give you a piece of paper in your language. The guide they gave me was in English. Unfortunately I had a difficult time reading it as it was not very grammatically correct. Other than that it was just a wonderful place. I can honestly say that I've been to hundreds of churches in Europe in this ranks in the top 10 easily. One of the things that I liked is while you're in the church there are explanations of each different section of the church with descriptions of the passages and what the different paintings mean. The announcements are in different languages to include English which was a lot better than the guide. Please take a look at the pictures because this place is incredible. The grounds around the outside are also very unique and there's several cemeteries around the church itself. I highly highly...

Unremarkable, and certainly not worth the absurd entry fee.

I received recommendations to visit this church from several Polish people (that I “had to” see it), so I decided to make the trip. However, if you spend any time in Europe, you get to see many many churches. Most of them are nicer than this one, and almost all of them are free to enter. Seems the church has all the money in the world when it comes to paying legal fees, but they can’t afford to renovate their own house. And so they need to rummage around in your pocket instead.

Moreover, the main draw of this church — I was told — was that it was constructed without the use of nails, but this too was a letdown. I saw with my own eyes either nails, or evidence of the presence of nails, both inside and outside the church. Furthermore, to get around the whole “no nails” thing, they used… (drum roll) screws! How clever. How novel.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. When the central basis of your organization’s entire existence is a lie — or a half-truth, at best — what’s...

The Churches of Peace in Jawor and Swidnica in Silesia were named after the Peace of Westphalia of 1648.

It permitted the Lutherans 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.

Since 2001, the two remaining churches are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Both of the surviving churches feature multi-tier galleries, thanks to which the capacity of building was extended to about seven thousand people each. The rich décor, which developed over the ensuing decades, integrates exuberant Baroque forms and complex imagery into their architectural framework in a unique way that celebrates the coexistence of Baroque art and Lutheran theology, and reflects the social hierarchy...