Kostel svatého Vavřince (Těrlicko) Church

On Kostelec hill in Těrlicko stands the Church of Saint Lawrence. The site has long been significant: according to tradition, a pagan shrine stood here as early as the 11th century and was converted into a Christian church of solid materials in the 13th century. We have no detailed information about the church’s early history. It is thought to have been built during the Reformation, but exactly when and in what circumstances remains uncertain. In 1654, when the last Protestant pastor, Jakub Sandaly, was forced to leave, he destroyed all the church records. Without these documents the facts cannot be verified.

The best-known moment of its early modern history dates from 1683. According to local tradition, during the pilgrimage to Saint Lawrence, the church’s patron, the armies of the Polish king Jan Sobieski marched past Kostelec on their way to relieve besieged Vienna. The following period, however, brought decline. The building was repeatedly robbed and its condition steadily worsened. First a separate bell tower had to be built to house the bells. Later this bell tower was brought down by a storm.

Renewal came only in the 19th century. After lengthy negotiations, the construction of a new church was commissioned in 1889 from the builder Johnisch of Těšín. The total cost rose to 13,000 gulden. The money came both from parishioners and from prominent figures – Emperor Franz Joseph I, Archduke Albrecht, Cardinal Kopp, Count Larisch and the priests Onderek and Potiorek. The building was completed and solemnly consecrated on 16 August 1891. The church holds a painting of Saint Lawrence from 1659.

The most valuable work of art associated with the church is the Madonna of Těrlicko, a painting brought here in 1962 from the demolished Church of the Holy Trinity. During restoration, a late Gothic panel painting from around 1500 was found beneath the overpainting and decorations. According to stylistic analysis, its painter probably came from the circle of the Wrocław master Jakob Beinhart. In the end, two separate works were created – the original Gothic panel painting and a copy of the votive picture in its 19th-century form with the original appliqués. It was this copy that returned to the church.

The fate of Těrlicko also left its mark on the church. In the 1960s, when the Těrlicko reservoir was being built, part of the Stonávka valley with the centre of Horní Těrlicko was flooded. The parish Church of the Holy Trinity also stood there. The last services were held in it on 11 February 1962, and on 30 May 1962 the church was blown up. Some of its valuable objects were moved to the Church of Saint Lawrence, which thus became the new parish church for local worshippers.

Today the church is a place of living tradition. In 1991 the 100th anniversary of its consecration was celebrated here. Every year a pilgrimage is held on the feast of Saint Lawrence, when local worshippers and visitors from further afield gather to honour the church’s patron and its rich history.