Interesting places

Two kilometres from the monastery buildings to the north, on a small hill above the Oder River, the parish church of St. Valentine is situated, which is the second architectural accent of Lubiaz next to the monastery. It was built in the years 1734-43, the furnishings and interior decoration were completed in 1745 and it was consecrated in 1749. It took over the rights of the original parish church of the market settlement of Lubiaz.

The author of the design of the church is unknown. With its spatial form, it refers to the architectural trend exemplified by the Church of St. Nicholas in Mala Strana in Prague. The direct model for the Lubiąż church was the Church of St. John in Legnica.

It is an elongated rectangular building with a semi-circular apse to the west and a massive three-storey tower to the east. The spacious single-nave interior with rows of side chapels, above which are interconnecting galleries, is covered by a trough vault. The entire surface of the vaults is covered with paintings by Ignác Axter, a pupil of K.F. Bentum.

The composition in the apse, above the altar, depicts the glorification of St Valentine the Martyr. To the left of the apse is an image of the church with the originally designed form of the church tower finial. On the vault of the nave, the symbol of the Holy Trinity against a background of clouds, surrounded by scenes from the Old Testament, figures of the Church Fathers below, and above the choir a representation of the Last Supper.

The painting of the main altar, depicting the "Miraculous healing of the pagan son of Croton by St Valentine", is the work of Krystian Philipp Bentum. The author of the sculptures depicting Saints: Peter and Paul, Benedict and Bernard and the personifications of the virtues - faith, hope and love - are by Francis Joseph Mangoldt. The two artists are also the authors of the decoration of the Chapel of St John of Nepomuk, located on the right side of the presbytery.

The other chapels have altars decorated with paintings from the school of M.L. Willmann or works by the artist himself. In the first chapels from the entrance, on both the north and south sides, the altars have not been preserved. The pulpit in the nave is decorated with sculptural elements by F.J. Mangoldt, depicting "Christ with the Samaritan woman at the well" and "Christ at Mary and Martha". It is an outstanding work of Baroque woodcarving.

Source: lubiaz.pl