Historical outline

Today's Nizankovice is an urban-type settlement. This does not change the fact that this status has been in place since the 1930s. Earlier, for many centuries, Nizankowice was a fully-fledged town and historically very important. Unfortunately, it was also on the trail of many invasions, criminal attacks and other historical turmoil. At that time, however, the name of the town sounded completely different from what it does today. The first mention of 'Krasnopol', as it was once called, dates back to the 14th century. In 1448, the first Roman Catholic parish was established there, and the Holy Trinity Church has been functioning since 1461. We often hear the term 'Niżankowice near Przemyśl'. Indeed, the village is located right on the present-day border with Poland - less than 12 km from Przemyśl (as the crow flies) and ... a few hundred metres from the Polish border.

The church was built between 1448 and 1451, and with the completion of its construction a parish was established there. The beginning of the 16th century was not very kind to Nizankowice. Tartar invasions, which the town suffered in 1498, 1502 and 1524, reportedly did not spare the town. During the latter, the church was severely damaged. However, it was rebuilt. The next (and most important) reconstruction took place in the 18th century. On 17 September 1730, the building was consecrated by Bishop Andrew of Prussia.

The city was repeatedly caught up in historical turbulence, and Holy Trinity Church was not left out of the various destructive acts. From 1772, Nizankowice became part of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria.

A brick belfry was added in 1910. The first years of World War I saw raids and robberies by Cossacks. During the Second World War Nizankowice passed from the hands of the Soviets into the hands of the Germans, eventually ending up on the Soviet side. After the global conflict, the parish continued to function for three more years. In 1948, the building was seized by the authorities and turned into a kolkhoz warehouse for grain, fertilisers and stables for horses. After the warehouses were moved, it was abandoned.

In 1989, the building was returned to the faithful and two years later it was re-consecrated. According to some sources, a miracle took place in the church in 2005-2006. A statue of Our Lady of Fatima shed tears. Therefore, the site became surrounded by a cult. In mid-2007, it was declared the Shrine of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Divine Providence. It is worth noting that the church attracts not only Roman Catholic, but also Greek Catholic and Orthodox pilgrimages.

Architecture

The church is situated between the road to Dobromil and the Wiar river flowing through the village, a few hundred metres from the Polish border. The style of the church is described as Gothic. This is not, however, the typical Gothic style we have in mind when we hear the word, and which is represented, for example, by the French cathedral in Reims. The body of the church in Nizankowice is not characterised by soaring, but more by massiveness. However, this does not change the fact that a lot of light enters the interior through slender, high windows, and all other features classify it as a Gothic church, although not devoid of modernising elements.

The basis of the building is the body based on a three-bay nave on a short rectangular plan. It is accompanied by two rectangular vestibules to the west and south. The chancel also has three bays. It is separated from the nave by a pointed-arched arcade. The exterior elevation was reinforced with buttresses marking the boundary of the bays and reinforcing the corners. In the chancel, the elevations have been divided by Tuscan-style pilasters that support sections of the beam.

The nave and presbytery have barrel vaults with wide lunettes, while the west porch, the vestibule next to the sacristy and the upstairs room have cross vaults. The doorways in the sanctuary are mainly rectangular, but some are closed with a semicircle. There is an inscription on the west wall of the defence room: A[NNO] D[OMINI] 1618 | BARTOLOMEUS | RESKO | [...] PIUS | OBIVIT. Inside, it is also worth noting the polychrome from the 1930s by Juliusz Komperda and Michał Wójcik and the golden stars on a blue background on the vaults.

The most important elements associated with the decoration, furnishings and surroundings of the church also include:

- The main altar (pseudo-Baroque, 1910),

- The exterior bell tower, neo-Renaissance (c. 1905-1910),

- Historic pulpit basket (1910),

- Wooden music choir (1910),

- Pheretrons with wooden sculptures: "Our Lady Immaculate", "Heart of the Virgin Mary",

- 'Holy Trinity' painting,

- Drawing "Christ and the Virgin Mary" (second half of the 19th century),

- Commemorative plaque of the consecration of the church,

- Medallions embedded in the east elevation (probably vault supports).