The parish church in Dukla |
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The parish church in Dukla |
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under the invocation of Saint Mary Magdalene is
concidered to be a gem of the rococo style in Poland. It was built in the sixties in the
17th century. Its high artistic level is indebted to the patronages: Jerzy Wandalin and
his wife- Maria Amalia from the Bruhl family. They employed the best Polish masters (Jan
Obrocki,Antoni Stroinski, Piotr  Polejowski) to create it. They were eminent artists coming back
from Lvov who contributed considerably to the Polish art. Their works are characterized by
fineness and originality which makes them distinguishable on an European scale. This
rococo Saxonic work of art had been destroyed several times at warfare. World War II did
not spare the church interior- two dropping bombs damaged the roof, vault and organ. The
shrine had been renovated several times but it did not regain its brilliance. After World
War II the parish renovated it at their own expense but the renovation just stopped the
process of devastation. At the moment, the whole church, especially, the chapels, modem
parts and wood-carvings are in a poor state. Most fittings are being
devastated sistematically.The parish got financial help to rescue this priceless Polish work from the Polish-German Cooperation Fund in Warsaw. Thanks to this support we could start the complex conservation of the side chapels i.e. altars, fittings and wall-paintings. The interior needs preservation, renewing the falling off plaster and cleaning the paintings. The whole wooden equipment is in a bad condition. Most of it is ruined by  worms. The gilding needs to be
renovated, too. Both the building frame and the wooden structure of the shrine has to be
restored. Another problem is the preservation of the golden bars and mirrors. These works
require a complex preservation programme.The approximate value of the restoring works is estimated at 3,000,000 Polish zloty. The costs are too high for the local society. The parish comprises only 1,000 families. It is situated in a mountainious agricultural area of high unemployment. Moreover, the church building needs drying the wet walls, and getting rid of the rainwater. We have opened a bank account in which we gather funds from good-willed people for restoring the church building: PKO S.A. Krosno nr What have bin allready made.
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