The Church of Archangel Michael, Binarowa
The Church of Archangel Michael in Binarowa is often said to be one of the most beautiful in the whole of southern Poland. It owes its fame primarily to its antique furnishings and beautiful painted interiors. The history of Binarowa dates back to the 14th century. The first parish church was built here about a hundred years later. At the turn of the 16th century, it was replaced by the building which, in enlarged and embellished form, survives to this day. The nave, where the congregation gathers, and adjoining chancel with the main altar were built first.
The chancel – the area of the church reserved for the priest and other members of the clergy, are oriented towards the east, in the traditional manner. A small sacristy was connected to the chancel. At the end of the 16th century, a high tower was added to the nave from the west. The church’s pews, or benches, and confessionals were built 300 years ago and have been decorated with paintings all over. Slightly after this time, the nave itself was enlarged from the north with the addition of the Guardian Angels’ Chapel. The wooden construction of the oldest parts of the church is called log or tie beam. This means that the walls were built of massive logs, stacked one on top of the other, connected to each other in the corners by special notches.
In Binarowa, the builders used mainly fir logs. A particularly striking architectural feature of this church are the wooden arcade arches visible in the nave. These arches and their posts support the wooden ceiling structure. The tower is built using a post-frame construction consisting of vertical posts and horizontal beams forming a frame. The decoration and furnishings of the church mostly date back to the 16th through to the 18th century.
The multicoloured ‘polychrome’ murals covering the walls make an instant and dazzling impression. The oldest of these paintings have been preserved on the ceiling. Botanical and geometrical motifs were made in the 16th century using stencils known as “patrony”. The 17th century polychrome painting adorning the walls, the pulpit and the ballustrades of the choir represent a great example of a “Biblia pauperum“, that is, a “Bible of the poor”. Extensive scenes depicting moral lessons from the bible and scenes from the Holy Scriptures conveyed a clear message to the faithful, most of whom could neither read nor write. The pews and confessional have also been adorned with paintings. 17th century altars also dazzle with the richness of their decoration. The main altar is home to a 15th century Gothic statue of the Virgin Mary.
Application – a virtual walk around the church
The church is made of fir wood and is situated on a stone and concrete foundation. The building comprises a few distinct elements: the chancel with adjoining sacristy; the nave with its side chapel (the chapel of the guardian angels) and porch; and the tower. The whole footprint of the building runs to about 30 metres in length, with a width of around 15 metres. The nave and the narrower chancel are covered by a gable roof with its own slender steeple containing the church bell. The quadrilateral tower above the vestibule forms a kind of truncated pyramid with an abruptly cube-shaped upper section, which houses a small chamber known as an izbica, which is then topped with a pointed roof.
Once inside the church, visitors are surrounded by countless depictions of angels and saints painted on the walls, choirs, confessionals and other furnishings. The stripes of paintings on the flat ceiling are astonishing in their contrast of colours. Rows of green, red, and white diamond shapes interplay with dynamic zigzags to create a vivid pattern that wouldn’t look out of place on an exotic carpet. The pews are also intricately carved and decorated with ornate paintwork, featuring multi-coloured columns and patterns imitating slabs of marble. The pulpit – the rostrum for the priest – is decorated with standing figures of the Evangelists with their attributes, symbolised in the form of an ox, an eagle, a lion, and a man. The nave, chapel and chancel all feature square windows to provide lighting. In the nave, the Last Judgment with the divine judge standing on the Earth is painted on the north wall.
Angels are depicted at his sides, while to his left, a dove flutters upwards bathed in a ray of light. The face of God the Father emerges from behind the clouds. To the left of Christ stands a crowd of saints. These human faces appear to be rather schematic and similar to each other; however, the faces of the horned devils below, with their bat-like wings are quite expressive, with all their movements well-rendered, as they furiously drag naked sinners off to eternal damnation.
The southern wall depicts, among other things, a scene known as an ars moriendi – meaning ‘the Art of Dying’ intended to offer instruction on how to deal with death. The scene depicts a man on his death bed, surrounded by a priest, an angel, and John the Baptist. The Virgin Mary confers a blessing upon them from above, with her image forming the centre of the piece. A group of Christians surround her, with the Holy Trinity depicted above- God the Father and Christ sit upon thrones, while the holy spirit is represented in the shape of a dove, soaring amongst the clouds. Sentences written in Latin appear in the spaces between the various figures. The chancel walls include a set of 21 Passion scenes in two rows. The individual paintings are separated by painted grey semi-columns decorated with plant vines. The work features a colour scheme of white, grey, green and red. The figures of Jesus, the Roman soldiers, apostles and other protagonists have a certain dynamism about them. The anonymous artists who created the scene have even carefully rendered the blocks of houses, the high priest’s palace, and the streets in the background.
