The Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul in Duszniki-Zdrój is a Roman Catholic parish church that belongs to the Kudowa-Zdrój Decanate in the Świdnica diocese. It is a place with a rich history and fascinating architecture that hides many unique sacred elements, one of the most exceptional being the fish-shaped Baroque pulpit. This unusual piece of church equipment attracts the attention of many people, being one of the most important monuments of the church.
The brick church was built in the middle of the 16th century on the site of a former wooden church. At the beginning of the 17th century, the building was destroyed by fire and was not rebuilt until 1629. The church was then taken over by the Catholics and remains in their hands to this day. At the end of the 17th century, it was decided that a new place of worship needed to be built.
Church of St. Peter and St. Paul on a graphic by Otto von Pompejus from 1862. Source: Silesian Digital Library
In 1708 the cornerstone for the construction of a new church, situated perpendicular to the original structure, was consecrated. The design of the Baroque temple was prepared by Lorens Meyser of Kłodzko. Construction was completed in 1730. In 1771, the vaulting of the presbytery was rebuilt, and in 1780 a new music choir was built and polychromes were made by the painter Grund from Duszniki-Zdrój. The present bell tower was built in 1816 and the north chapel in 1817. Between 1845 and 1847, the church was rebuilt after the great fire in the town, transforming the baroque façade design in the spirit of neoclassicism.
The interior of the church was renovated in 1900, and the façade in 1919. Further renovations were carried out in 1934 and in the second half of the 20th century. The most recent took place a few years ago. The church organ, built by the Carl Berschdorf company in 1939, is housed in an old cabinet probably dating from the 18th century. The instrument was in a tragic state until 2010, when it was renovated by Arkadiusz Poplawski’s company Vox Coelestis.
The interior of the church in the 1930s and today. Photo: Mariusz Brzeziński/photopolska.eu and cracusiac/photopolska.eu
The interior of the single-nave church is decorated with rich and decorative polychromy, and its furnishings – mostly Baroque – were mostly made by Michael Kössler. This includes the impressive main altar with a painting by Peter Brandl, two side altars, the altar of the Fourteen Helpers in the Chapel of the Souls of Purgatory, the sculptural group with St. John of Nepomuk, the organ prospectus, the Renaissance baptismal font and the most famous piece of equipment, which is the unique pulpit in the shape of a fish (also often referred to as a whale, but the animal has scales and teeth) with an open mouth.
The pulpit was created in 1730 by Michael Kössler, a well-known sculptor from Klodzko, who made it on commission from the then parish priest, J. Heinel. Kössler was the creator of many Baroque works of sacred art, but the fish-shaped pulpit stands out from his other works because of its originality and symbolic meaning. The sculptor’s famous work is in the form of a sea creature with its jaws open, a reference to the biblical story of Jonah, who was swallowed by a huge fish and washed ashore after three days. The story symbolises redemption, repentance and God’s mercy. The fish with its mouth open also symbolises the power of nature and God’s power over it.
The pulpit is further decorated with numerous sculptural details typical of the Baroque style, including ornaments and figures of Evangelists, which are also the work of Michael Kössler. These figures are executed with extreme precision and form an integral part of the work, emphasising its religious and artistic value. It is one of the few examples of such a bold and original concept in church art of that period.
Source: visitduszniki.pl, parafiaduszniki.pl
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