Polski
Szewna, a small village in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, has a long history, which is confirmed in the works of the well-known 15th-century historian, Jan Długosz.
In the book of endowments of the diocese of Kraków, he writes that Szewna belonged to the bishops of Kraków in the 15th century and had a wooden church erected in honor of Saint Nicholas.
It is known that a new brick temple was built in 1652. A few years later, in 1657, the church was plundered and destroyed by the Swedish army. Almost 100 years later, the building was demolished and the material was used to build a new house of God. The architect who supervised the works was a Jesuit, Józef Karsznicki, whose works can be found in many places around Sandomierz. Although in the 18th century classical forms were gaining in popularity in the Republic of Poland, the style of the temple in Szewno strongly refers to the spirit of the late Baroque style, favored by this architect.
The somewhat squat western façade is dominated by two towers with a choir between them. An interesting feature of the body of the church is the octagonal, tall chapel resembling the third tower, located in the place of the presbytery.
While walking around the church, your attention was certainly drawn to the openwork steel gate contrasting strongly with the Baroque temple. This structure was not originally created for the church in Szewno, it was made in Zakłady Ostrowieckie for the fair exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod in the 1980s. At the exhibition it was presented as a neo-gothic, glass kiosk. Today, crowned with a cross, it is a kind of showcase of the parish of St. Santa.
