Wooden Church of Saints Philip and James in Sękowa

The wooden Church of Saints Philip and James in Sękowa is a Gothic Roman Catholic church at the edge of the Low Beskids, near Gorlice. Because of its unusual silhouette and dramatic history it is often called the "Pearl of the Low Beskids". In 2003 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the wooden churches of southern Małopolska, and in 1994 it received a Europa Nostra award for exemplary restoration. Unlike the nearby Lemko tserkvas, it is a Latin-rite church; today it is a filial church.

The main body was built around 1520 (no later than 1522) of hand-hewn larch logs. Later, in the 17th–18th centuries (sources give different dates), a post-and-frame tower with a dome and broad open arcades on posts — the so-called soboty — were added; they wrap around the church and give it its distinctive look. Artists loved the church: it was painted by Stanisław Wyspiański, Józef Mehoffer, Włodzimierz Tetmajer, Teodor Axentowicz and others. Hard times came in the winter of 1914–1915, during the First World War fighting near Gorlice: Austrian trenches ran close by, soldiers took apart the walls, tower and roof for fortifications and firewood, and the interior and most of the furnishings were destroyed. Rebuilding began in 1918 and continued intermittently almost to the end of the 20th century. Earlier, in 1819, the sacristy and the choir gallery had been rebuilt, and before 1888 the interior was covered with neo-Gothic painting. In 1974 Poczta Polska issued a stamp showing the Sękowa church in a series devoted to Polish folk architecture.

What to see

• The tall, steep shingle roof which, together with the soboty, almost reaches the ground, and the tower, open at the bottom so you can see its frame construction.
• Gothic details: three late Gothic portals, including the west one with a trefoil arch, and a chalice-shaped stone font of 1522. Three entrances lead into the church — from the west, from the south and from the sacristy — and paired windows light the nave and chancel.
• The rood beam between the nave and the chancel with a 16th-century wooden crucifix.
• The 17th-century late Renaissance main altar, reconstructed after the war, a fragment of 19th-century painting on the south wall of the chancel, 17th-century folk-Baroque Stations of the Cross, two 18th-century processional feretories and the Europa Nostra medal hanging inside.

Practical information

Address: Sękowa 13, 38-307 Sękowa. Sękowa is right next to Gorlice, so the church is easy to reach by car; parking is free. No hiking is involved, so it suits families with children. Photography is allowed. No official visiting hours or prices are published. The exterior can be seen at any time; to see the interior, arrange a visit in advance using the phone numbers given by the Małopolska tourism portal: +48 609 546 389, +48 576 730 664. Please be respectful during services. Information as of October 2026.

Nearby

A few kilometres away is the UNESCO Lemko church in Owczary, and a little further those in Kwiatoń and in Brunary. North of Gorlice is the medieval town of Biecz, and to the east the oil and gas museum in Bóbrka.

Official website: sekowa.rzeszow.opoka.org.pl

Photos: Henryk Bielamowicz, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Andrzej Otrębski, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Jacek Daczyński, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons; Kroton, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons.