Sanctuary of Our Lady of Tenczynek — Tenczynek
ul. ks. Mieczysława Mądrzyka 21a, 32-067 Tenczynek
Tourist region: Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska
tel. +48 122824700
The first wooden church was likely built before 1335 and had a painted plank ceiling, three altars and a wooden baptismal bowl. The church, which is located on a small hill called Górka Sieradzka, underwent a major renovation in 1728–1748. It was refashioned into a brick building with a late Baroque interior with brick flooring, and with the choir, confessionals, lectern and pews all in wood. A chapel with a crypt and a sacristy were also added in the 18th century, and the roof was shingled. The Regency altars are decorated with polychromies from the 1990s. Next to the church is a free-standing wooden bell tower with two bells, built on a rectangular plan ca. 1748. It is built out of poles and is finished with boards and a tin roof topped with a cupola. The complex is surrounded by a wall. The sanctuary is famous for the cult of the painting of the Victorious Mother of God of Tenczyn, Patroness of Families, which depicts the Madonna with the Child. This depiction is common in paintings in Poland and Europe – it is based on the Deliverance of the Roman People, an icon from the church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome, called the Church of Our Lady of the Snows.