Next to the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help at 2–3 Castle Square stands a beautifully restored parish building. Its history is very rich. The house was built in 1767 and served as an Evangelical vicarage until the Second World War.
This vicarage was not taken over by the Catholic Church when the former Evangelical church was acquired in 1791. The house remained in the possession of the state authorities. Evangelical sister Emilia Ott and three Catholic families lived there. In addition, the building housed: the Lower Silesian Linen Industry Works, the “Czystość” Laundry Cooperative, an Ice Cream Production and Sales Establishment, and a Household Appliance Repair Establishment. Two congregations also had premises there: the Evangelical-Augsburg Congregation and the Evangelical Church Congregation.
Thanks to the efforts of Dean Edward Bober, the provincial authorities in Jelenia Góra agreed to transfer the above-mentioned building to the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help; this took place on 25 January 1981. The then head of the city of Bolesławiec, Mr Piotr Bojko, MSc, promised that all service establishments would be relocated to other premises and that the families would receive apartments in new state-owned blocks of flats. The Evangelical congregations were to receive substitute premises.
The house taken over by the parish required a major renovation. It was severely affected by damp and mould. To dry it out, the ground had to be excavated down to the foundations. Many beams in the roof truss required replacement. The roof covering, windows, doors and floors all had to be completely replaced. However, it was still a long time before this work could begin, because the aforementioned occupants were still using the house.
In 1985, the parish made renewed efforts to have the outside users vacate the building. It was not an easy matter, so help was sought as far away as Jelenia Góra, from the provincial director for religious affairs. After the death of Sister Emilia Ott (died 16 November 1985), access to all the rooms was obtained and renovation began.
In 1986, the area around the building was excavated down to the foundations. The foundations were supplemented, particularly on the church side, plastered and insulated twice with bitumen. The gas pipes were replaced on Partyzantów Street. The vitrified clay sewer pipes were replaced on both sides of the house, and water was brought to the building from Castle Square. The excavations were then backfilled.
Parishioners, mostly working as volunteers, carried out the excavation work, dismantling of partition walls and removal of all ceilings. The foundations were excavated with the help of bulldozers, while shovels were used in places inaccessible to them. It is worth emphasizing that Mr Zygmunt Burdzy worked for several days with his own bulldozer. Special recognition is due to Mr Alfred Kwarciak, who made available a bulldozer, a crawler tractor, a loader, vehicles for hauling away rubble and tractors. Mr Andrzej Skaczyło and Mr Gudaj most often worked on removing the rubble. The manager of all the work carried out at this parish house was the brother of Dean Mieczysław Bober; mostly men from the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Bolesławiec helped with the work. About twenty men worked each day. Work on the house continued without interruption from 8 a.m. until late evening.
On 21 July 1986, work began on pouring the ceiling slabs, starting from the ground floor and moving upward. Dean Edward Bober very often appealed from the pulpit for more workers to pour the ceilings. When there were too few, he went from house to house inviting men to work. As a rule, this method produced the desired result. About 250 people worked on the renovation that year.
On 11 May 1987, work began on removing the roof tiles; the work was supervised by the dean’s brother. The large turnout of men for this work could indicate the parishioners’ goodwill toward their parish priest, whom they wanted to help with this difficult and extensive renovation. Those who could not come to work willingly made donations themselves. Those working on the renovation of the parish house also made donations. During the work, a bond developed between the parishioners and Reverend Edward Bober. More than one parishioner was drawn closer to the Church through this work and began attending Mass on Sundays and holidays. Work then proceeded to dismantle the old roof structure and erect a new one.
In July 1987, steel I-beams for the ceilings of the parish house were purchased. In the following months of that year, chimneys were built, while work also began on adding a second floor. Work on the roof truss continued as well. Toward the end of 1987, the entire roof was boarded and then covered with aluminum metal roofing tiles. This work was carried out very solidly by Mr Muniak.
In 1988, cast-iron pipes for central heating and granite slabs for the exterior stairs were purchased. The stairs were built in May. Mr Tadeusz Gliniecki and others worked on them. Also that year, the carpenter Wójcik used the provided material and machinery to process 13 metres of floorboards.
The doors for the parish house were made by a carpenter in Zabłocie from 9 January 1989. On 19 March of that year, Fr Bober asked the parishioners for financial assistance, wishing to fulfil his obligations to the carpenter; the faithful responded positively, and the required amount was collected within a week. Work on the parish house naturally continued. In June, the rooms were plastered. Messrs Marian and Kazimierz Posaccy and Mr Tereniuk were employed for this work. Window sills were also installed and the windows glazed. By the end of October, all the rooms on the second floor and three quarters of the first floor had been plastered. The ground-floor rooms still required alteration and plastering.