First published: 01/05/09.

Els Slots 4.0

Churches Of Peace

Churches of Peace (Inscribed)

Churches of Peace by Els Slots

Jawor is a town just off the main road between Berlin and Wroclaw. The location of the Church of Peace is indeed inconspicuous - I drive past it on my first approach, am led to some vegetable gardens by my SatNav and decide to try it again by myself. When I see a tour bus and a cemetery I feel that at least something has got to be there. When I stop my car I notice even a large sign including the Unesco symbol, facing the other way than I came from.

The church itself, although of a large size, is hidden behind trees. When I arrive, members of a music group are unloading their instruments from a van and carrying them inside. I just sneak in between them, fortunate for the chance to see the church interior. The walls and ceiling are totally covered with white and blue ornaments. The scenery reminds me of some of the wooden churches that I visited last year in Slovakia, although those churches are much smaller. The floor of the church in Jawor is completely filled with rows and rows of wooden benches: it has room for 6000 people.

And this church is a Protestant one (not Orthodox or Catholic as in Slovakia), however more exuberant than usual to be able to compete with the Catholic baroque splendour of its neighbours. There are no less than 143 biblical scenes painted on the walls and an ornate high altar. A wonderfully preserved and original site, and still in use.

I had wanted to visit Swidnica too - but I didn't plan very well and just couldn't find the town! Back in my hotel I looked it up on Google Maps and noticed that it is located about 20 km southeast of Jawor. According to the ICOMOS evaluation, the two remaining churches are quite similar, so I don't feel too bad about it.

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