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ID: POL-002091-P

Parish Church of St. Stanislaus and St. Christopher in Hussakov

Hussaków | Ukraine
ukr. Husakiw (Гусаків)
ID: POL-002091-P

Parish Church of St. Stanislaus and St. Christopher in Hussakov

Hussaków | Ukraine
ukr. Husakiw (Гусаків)

Historical outline
The history of Hussakov is quite intricate and at times also dramatic. The town was repeatedly invaded by the Tartars and at the same time frequently changed owners. The first recorded ruler of the town was Jan Boratyński of the Topór coat of arms. Later, Hussakovo passed through the hands of, among others, Konstantin Korniakt and his heirs. At the end of the 17th century it belonged to Jan Karol Charczewski. Later it belonged to the Ustrzyckis, the Mniszeks and finally to the Stadnickis, who ruled the village from the 19th century until 1939.

Hussakov parish is older than the village itself. Its beginning took place in Bojowice. However, the church was destroyed by the Tatars. In 1528 Mikolaj Okszyc endowed the parish in Bojovice with the Lutkov estate. In 1542, with the permission of the Bishop of Przemyśl, Jan Boratyński moved the parish to Hussakov. In 1543, the consecration of the first (wooden) church in the village took place. Almost a century later, a second (also wooden) church, dedicated to St. Stanislaus, was erected in Hussakow, which, however, was consumed by a dramatic fire in 1678. The structure was rebuilt in 1694 on the initiative of Teodor Siemianowski (countryman of Wieluń, Sandomierz ensign and his wife Anna Siemianowska, née Unichowa, and Jan Karol Charczewski).

The first brick building started to be erected in 1719 on the initiative of Franciszek Charczewski (Podcziej Sanocki, heir of Balice) and the parish priest Jan Musikiewicz. The work was completed 5 years later. In 1726, the Brotherhood of the Holy Trinity (functioning until the end of the 19th century) and the Brotherhood of the Abstinence and Apostolate of the Sacred Heart of Jesus were established at the church. A note made during Alexander Antoni Fredro's visitation in 1728 describes the building as "fully equipped". The building was repaired and rebuilt between 1777 and 1780, and re-consecrated in 1828. Eight years later, a cemetery chapel was erected. Further repairs were carried out in 1881 and 1913-1914.

The First World War brought serious damage. In 1915, the roof over the chancel and the frescoes in the interior were destroyed. The roof was repaired a year later, but the Austrian authorities confiscated the bells in 1916-1917. The Polish-Ukrainian War of 1919 brought further damage. Further repairs and modernisation work took place in the following years. The most important of these included repairing the bell turret, erecting a new fence in front of the façade (1927), restoring the tabernacle (1933) and plastering the church and fence (1937).

In 1948, the building was closed and the last parish priest was probably deported to Siberia. From 1951 to 1989 the building was used as a grain warehouse for the local kolkhoz. Fortunately, it is now back in the hands of Catholics. Many renovations have been carried out over the last 30 years. The most recent in 2020, during which the most damaged part of the paintings were protected and research work was carried out. A conservation work programme has also been prepared for the remaining paintings in the church.

It is worth noting that within the Hussakov parish, for some time, there was another religious building. In 1623, a Carmelite church was built here, which functioned until 1781, when it was demolished as a result of the suppression. A school was set up in the monastery building.

Architecture
The building is situated in the centre of the village. It was built of brick and plastered. It consists of a three-bay nave and a narrower, lower chancel. The nave is preceded by a rectangular porch. A rectangular vestry adjoins the chancel. There is a crypt under the chancel.

The façade is single-storey and tripartite. At the top is a decorative gable consisting of an attic with a panel on the axis and a triangular abutment. On the sides of the attic are pedestals with stone statues of St. John the Evangelist and St. Matthew. The vertical divisions of the façade are carried out by Tuscan pilasters. The dominant element is a large rectangular window opening (rounded at the top) located above the porch in the central field. The remaining windows in the building are mainly rectangular, closed with a segmental arch.

The side elevations of the nave are in turn articulated with lisens. They are joined at the top. There is frame articulation on the elevations of the sacristy and the annex. The roofs of the nave, chancel and porch are gabled, while those of the apse, vestry and annex are multi-pitched. All are covered with sheet metal. Just in front of the presbytery is a square-shaped, sheet-roofed bell turret.

The interior of the church is rather unarticulated. The exceptions are the extensive recesses in the eastern walls and in the middle bay of the nave. The apse features a fragment of an elaborate beam. The rainbow arcade, a ceiling element separating the nave from the chancel, has a circular cross-section.

The building is dominated by barrel vaults with lunettes (nave and presbytery). The sacristy is cross-vaulted. The other parts are covered with ceilings. The brick-built choir is supported by two pillars and wall-mounted half-pillars in the Tuscan order. Three semicircular arcades were spanned between them. The central one is wider than the side ones.

Some of the most important elements related to the decoration, furnishings and surroundings of the church include:
. - 18th century main altar consisting of a stone mensa and wooden case,
- Neo-Gothic altar of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the rainbow arcade originally with the painting "Sacred Heart of Jesus" now with the painting "St. Joseph",
- Neo-Gothic altar of the Virgin Mary with the image "Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception",
- Holy Trinity Altar with the painting "Holy Trinity", according to Rubens, painted by Maria Artvinska in 1929,
. - Altar of St John the Baptist with the painting "St John the Baptist" (18th century),
. - Altar of St Kajetan with the painting "St Kajetan", (18th century),
. - Wall paintings which are a very important element not only in terms of the object's ornamentation, but also of historical value, most probably by Stanislaw Stroinski,
. - Pulpit (ca. 1780),
- Feretrons, Confessionals, stalls and supper benches,
- 19th century paintings: 1. Baptism of Christ, 2. Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci,
- 19th century sculptures: 1. Christ Crucified, 2. Christ Risen,
- 18th century bell tower.

Related persons:
Time of origin:
1724
Creator:
Maria Artwińska (malarka; Przemyśl)(preview)
Bibliography:
  • Andrzej Betlej „Kościół parafialny p.w. śś. Stanisława i Krzysztofa w Hussakowie.” W: „Materiały do dziejów sztuki sakralnej na ziemiach wschodnich dawnej Rzeczypospolitej. Cz. 1: Kościoły i klasztory rzymskokatolickie dawnego województwa ruskiego” T. 7. Kraków: Międzynarodowe Centrum Kultury w Krakowie, 1999, s. 49-67.
Publikacja:
21.07.2024
Ostatnia aktualizacja:
21.07.2024
Author:
Michał Dziadosz
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