Wang Church

Wang Church in Karpacz is a wooden stave church, built in Norway at the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries and moved to the slopes of Śnieżka in 1841-1842. Today it is the parish church of the Evangelical-Augsburg Parish and one of the most frequently visited buildings in the Karkonosze.

The journey from Norwegian Vang

The church was built of pine logs in the village of Vang on Lake Vangsmjøsa in southern Norway. It belongs to the group of so-called stave churches, wooden temples typical of Norwegian medieval architecture, of which only a few dozen survive to this day. In the 19th century the building proved too small for the residents of Vang, who decided to build a new church and sell the old one.

Purchase and move to Silesia

The Norwegian painter Johan Christian Dahl, living in Dresden, persuaded the Prussian king Frederick William IV to buy the church for a Berlin museum. However, Countess Friederike von Reden of Bukowiec convinced the king to have the temple moved to Silesia instead. The dismantled building was transported via Szczecin and Berlin, then down the Oder to Malczyce, and from there overland to Upper Karpacz, where it arrived in 1842. Only a small part of the original elements from Norway reached the new location; the rest of the structure was completed on site according to surviving drawings.

Construction without nails

The church is 19 metres long and 9 metres wide, with a main nave 7.5 metres across. The wooden elements were joined with carpentry joints, without using nails. Surviving from the original Norwegian building are, among other things, four wooden columns in the centre of the interior, richly carved portals, and lion sculptures in the Nordic style. During the rebuilding in Silesia, cloisters were added, along with a tall stone bell tower shielding the temple from the wind off Śnieżka, and windows, which the original church did not have. In 1846 the sculptor Jakub of Janowice made a crucifix from a single oak trunk.

Renovation and today's function

Between 1963 and 1965 a thorough renovation was carried out: the paintings on wood were restored, the roof covering was replaced from slate to shingles cut according to Norwegian patterns, and electrical wiring and heating were installed. The interior holds an altar, a font and an organ, and three bells hang in the tower. Since 1844 the temple has served as the parish church of the Evangelical-Augsburg community and still does so today.

The cemetery by the church

Around the temple lies a cemetery where members of the local parish and people who died in the mountains are buried. Among those interred here are the director Henryk Tomaszewski and the poet Tadeusz Różewicz. On the site of a former monument to the victims of the First World War stands a sculpture depicting the raising of Lazarus.

Nearby

Wang Church lies at the foot of Śnieżka, on routes leading into the Karkonosze. Nearby, less than five kilometres away, you can climb Śnieżka or head down to the Dziki Wodospad waterfall. Close by, in Karpacz, there are also family attractions, for example Świat Kolejek model railway, and for those wanting to learn the legends of the Karkonosze there is the Karkonoskie Tajemnice exhibition.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Na Śnieżkę 8, Karpacz
• The temple stands on a slope by the route leading towards Śnieżka
• The church is open for visiting outside service hours, which take place on Sundays and most holidays; check the exact viewing schedule and opening hours on the parish website before visiting