The Middle Ages is an era that left a strong presence in the Kaczawskie Mountains and Foothills. It was a time when, thanks to the numerous colonization efforts of rulers, new cities and villages were founded here, and castles were built. One of the results of such development was the emergence of late Romanesque and Gothic churches in rapidly growing villages and towns. These churches, thanks to successive princely and knightly foundations, were adorned with wall paintings – polychromies. Due to the fact that polychromes were primarily created in churches, the vast majority of them had a religious character. They allowed the faithful to ‘see’ the stories and parables described in the Holy Scripture and the lives of saints. An exception to this is the Ducal Tower in Siedlęcin, where paintings were created depicting, among other things one of the Arthurian legends – the story of Lancelot of the Lake and his tragic love for Queen Guinevere.
About 10 years ago, the idea of creating a network and mutual support for medieval monuments in the Kaczawskie Mountains and Foothills, where medieval polychromes are preserved, was born. At first, the collaboration focused on the aforementioned tower in Siedlęcin and church of St. John the Baptist and St. Catherine of Alexandria in Świerzawa. In these joint efforts, including organized hikes, Lubiechowa and its beautiful church of St. Peter and St. Paul. In the following years, the idea of creating a professional trail that would connect all the sites where medieval paintings are located matured.
In 2020 and 2021 – thanks to the financial support from The “Act Locally” Program – Association the “Ducal Tower in Siedlęcin” (along with partners – including
the Regional Museum in Jawor) films about the following were created:
- Ducal Tower in Siedlęcin (among others the presentation of the legend of Lancelot of the Lake),
- church of St. John the Baptist and St. Catherine of Alexandria in Świerzawa (the magnificent cycle of St. Catherine of Alexandria and the unique paintings known as the ‘Tree of Life’),
- church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Pogwizdów (the discovery of numerous medieval polychromes that are still waiting for full unveiling and accessibility).
- church of St. Peter and St. Paul in Lubiechowa
- church of St. George in Kondratów
In 2020, a developing website for the trail was also launched: szlakpolichromii.pl
Text by: Przemysław Nocuń
