The Provincial Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments in Katowice informed about its contents. The time capsule was pulled out during the renovation of the finials of the spires of the towers of the Divine Providence Church in Bielsko-Biała. The time capsule was placed there at the end of the 19th century.
The renovation was caused by a problem with the stability of the iron crosses. Their condition raised concerns about their strength in case of strong gusts of wind. The crosses were dismantled using mountaineering methods. Work was then carried out to strengthen the structure of the helmets and spires, and the helmets were covered with copper sheeting. The crosses that were removed date back to the 1970s and were submitted for reconstruction.
A curiosity is the time capsule taken out during the works. It dates back to the end of the 19th century and was probably placed in connection with the church being rebuilt twice. Firstly, in 1886-1887, work was carried out on a project by Emanuel Rost senior, during which the towers were raised in the neo-Baroque spirit, the choir loft was extended and the façade changed its appearance. It was at this time that the clock, funded by the City Council, appeared on the tower.
What does the time capsule contain? A document was found inside that describes the rebuilding of the church at the time and mentions the founder of the work, Maria Hetwert. According to the Provincial Office for the Preservation of Monuments in Katowice, the signatures at the end of the document included: Josef Hamerlok (parish priest) with his vicars, the mayor of Biala – Franz Nahowski, the members of the Parish Council and Committee, and the people responsible for the project: Venzal Lepićek (engineer, master builder) and the architects: Karl and Emanuel Rost. The letter was accompanied by a list of coins.
There was also another time capsule in the tower, much younger as it contains documents from 1978. The documents were placed by the then parish priest, Father Jozef Sanak. Another time capsule was placed during the recent renovation.
The oldest time capsule contained a document stating:
“In the year of our Lord 1886, during the pontificate of Leo XIII and the government of the imperial-royal apostolic majesty of the emperor Francis Joseph I, revered by all, under his excellency Albin Sas Dunajewski, bishop of Krakow and his excellency Filip von Zalewski governor of Galicia, this Catholic church inside and outside was thoroughly renovated. Both towers were raised, 4 new bells and one new clock on the tower were purchased from voluntary donations of the parishioners of the Biala church. In order to speed up this renovation, Maria Hetwert contributed a great deal by the fact that, at the request of Mr Franz Wencelis, she bequeathed one third of her (monetary) estate, i.e. about 9000 guilders of Austrian currency, for this purpose in her will. At that time, Robert Feoedrich was the royal district starost, Josef Hamerlak the parish priest, Franz Nahowski the mayor, Anton Stigler, Johann Markuzel and Johann Labay the vicars. The church committee consisted of the members: Anton Zagorski (chairman), Ferdinand Czyzek and Franz Wenzelis. The construction was led, by the highly respected master builder Emmanuel Rost with his two sons Emmanuel and Karl and his brother-in-law Wenzeslaw Lepićki. At that time the town of Biala had a population of 7251 inhabitants of which 5291 were Catholics (Latin rite), 10 Catholics of Eastern rite (Greek Catholics), 1160 Protestants, 754 Jews and 10 irreligious. It happened on 20 September”.
[translation: S. Kulpa; compiled by M. Dąbrowska]
photographs: M. Dąbrowska
source: Voivodeship Office for Monuments Protection in Katowice
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