Foundation and history of St. Joseph's Church in Podhorce St. Joseph Church in Podhorce
. The first projects to erect a church in Podhorce date back to 1745. Prior to that, a chapel existed on the site, incorporated into the castle foundation built for Aleksander Koniecpolski. Construction of the structure began several years later, and the church was built in 1752-1766, thanks to the foundation of Hetman Wacław Rzewuski. This is commemorated by a commemorative marble plaque located in the church.

Particularly in the 1760s, the furnishings of St Joseph's Church were actively carried out. This was the time when painting decorations, further sculptures, as well as carpentry and woodcarving were created. The church was consecrated in 1766, and the inventory known to us from 1769 indicates that the church was already fully equipped at that time.

From the time of its foundation, St Joseph's Church would serve as a castle church rather than a parish church for almost a century. The parish in Podhorce was not established until 1861. It was then that plans were made to extend the church by adding a new nave. However, this extension only ended with the addition of a first floor annex on the south side of the church. In the 1880s, many of the church's features were renovated; in 1880, the church received new windows and an organ, a year later the façade was renovated, and in the following years the pulpit, altar and roof were renovated. A wall surrounding the area next to the church was also erected.

At the beginning of the 20th century, the church in Podhorce was subjected to a conservation expert opinion of Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz, who described the condition of the temple as good and advised against the conservation of the wall paintings.

Despite the fact that Podhorce was repeatedly in the front line during World War I and the war of 1920, the church itself did not suffer much. However, the situation was different during World War II, when in 1944 the covering of the dome and the sculpture on the attic were damaged by artillery shelling. The church in Podhorce was looted by soldiers of the Soviet army. After these events, the church furnishings were destroyed and dispersed.

The church was repaired after the Second World War and in 1976-1979, with further renovation work undertaken in 1993. Currently, the church serves as an Orthodox church.

Architecture:
The parish church in Podhorce is a brick church with stone parts. It was built in the form of a rotunda topped by a cupola with a lantern, to which a column portico was added, consisting of composite columns. The portico reaches halfway up the rotunda, but is wider and serves as a façade. The portico's attic is crowned with eight statues, six of which were made by Sebastian Fesinger in 1762.

On the south side, the church has a two-storey extension housing the sacristy, vault and staircase. The vault and sacristy are cross-vaulted, while the central room containing the staircase has a barrel vault.

Church equipment:
In the church we find a very rich painting decoration, done by many artists. The parts near the altar were executed by Lukas Smuglevicz and his son Antoni in 1765-1766. Following their example, the paintings were continued by artists from Zhovkva and Lviv. Illusionistically painted architectural elements (portals and pilasters, painted columns and a triangular pediment above the altar niche) and ornamental figural representations, including busts of the Virgin Mary, St Joseph, a representation of the Eye of Providence and personifications of virtues, appear. Inside the dome we find medallions with representations of the figures of Abraham, Jacob, Jesse, David, Solomon, Menasses, Joseph and Isaac. The wall paintings replace the architectural divisions in the interior of the temple.

At the end of the Second World War, the painting in the main altar in the church was destroyed. It was then replaced by a painting from the castle, depicting St Anthony.

When the last parish priest, Fr Władysław Manasterski, left the church in Podhorce, the furnishings were dispersed. Some items were taken to Chmielenie near Lwówek in Lower Silesia. Most of the furnishings have not been found today; the pulpit and stoup remains in situ, and the portrait of the founder Wacław Rzewuski, once located in the church, has been preserved in the Olesko branch of the Lviv Picture Gallery.