Warsaw's Belweder in Bolesławiec

The parish priest of Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish and dean of the Bolesławiec West deanery welcomed the faithful who had come to the Mass during which the façades were blessed by the bishop.

– We have beautifully renovated façades, and there is also a wonderful monument of Jesus who loves children; it looks excellent. I say that it is like Warsaw's Belweder in Bolesławiec – the parish priest addressed the faithful, Stanisław Kusik.

The parish priest surely did not mean that the two buildings were identical, but rather the aesthetics, which changed after the renovation of the façades, now harmonizing with the white Carrara marble of the Jesus monument.

The church walls were blessed by the Bishop of Legnica, who had come for the occasion, Andrzej Siemieniewski; he also administered confirmations in Bolesławiec and later in Kruszyn.

The renovated façades are the result of the efforts of the Polish state, which used tax revenue to subsidize the historic building in Bolesławiec with more than one million złoty. Parishioners raised PLN 80,000, which was used to replace the windows in the parish buildings.

The history of Castle Square and the church

At present-day Castle Square, a castle—the seat of Duke Bolko II—stood in the first half of the 14th century. As Mariusz Olczak describes it, the castle was a multi-storey building with basements, built on a rectangular plan with an inner courtyard, surrounded by ponds to the south and a moat to the north. It had a richly equipped armoury.

Unfortunately, the castle's fate was sealed during the Thirty Years' War. A fire in 1642 dealt it the final blow, while demolition on the orders of the Swedes sealed its downfall. Today, only fragments of the defensive walls and the stone belvedere preserved in part recall its former glory, standing as silent witnesses to the history of this place. The memory of Bolko II's castle has survived in the square's name and in local history.

In 1752, King Frederick II the Great gave the Protestant congregation the former castle grounds together with the square, initiating the construction of an Evangelical church. Work lasted from the laying of the foundation stone in June 1752 until the completion of the church in 1756. A rectangular, single-space building with galleries was erected.

In 1835, the architect Friedrich Engelhardt Gansel, known for his designs in Bolesławiec, added a Neo-Gothic tower, on which three bells cast by B. Pűhler were installed in 1935. In 1927, the Geittner Sőhne company made three new bells, naming them Martin Luther, Pastor Ernst Gotlieb Woltersdorff and Children's. During World War II, these bells were confiscated and melted down for military use.

After 1945, the church remained in the hands of the Evangelicals; however, a lack of funds for maintenance led to its deterioration. Its furnishings were looted, and in 1966 the city authorities took over the building and set up a vial warehouse there. After the roof and balconies collapsed, the warehouse was moved, while the building continued to deteriorate.

The reconstruction of the church and the establishment of the parish of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Bolesławiec are an example of the generosity of the local community. After permission to lease the building was obtained in 1968, intensive renovation work began through the efforts of the Archdiocesan Curia and Canon Edward Bober. In December 1969, it was possible to prepare for the first Holy Mass, marking the culmination of the Bolesławiec community's work.

In recognition of these efforts, a new parish was established on 1 May 1970. A valuable feature of the church's surroundings became the statue “Jesus, Friend of Children,” created in 1902 by Peter Breuer. It had previously adorned the Orphanage in Bunzlau and was later moved to the municipal cemetery. Thanks to Father Bober's initiative and the authorities' support, the statue was moved to Castle Square, enriching the area in front of the church.