Church of Peace

The Church of Peace in Jawor (German: Friedenskirche) - a wooden Evangelical church of a wattle and daub structure, located in Jawor. It is a historic sacral building built under the agreements of the Peace of Westphalia concluded in 1648, which ended the Thirty Years' War.

History

It was built between 1654 and 1655 according to the design of Albrecht von Säbisch, using half-timbered construction. The building was made of perishable materials: wood, straw and clay. The following Baroque elements of the interior are noteworthy: the altar, the pulpit and the baptismal font. On the northern and southern sides there are four storeys of galleries, decorated with paintings illustrating the Old and New Testaments, landscapes with castles and heraldic shields. All structural elements are covered with polychromes with motifs of fancifully coiled plant tendrils. The building stands out in the history of European art of the second half of the 17th century due to ist uniqueness and high artistic value. It is one of the three so-called Churches of Peace built after the Thirty Years' War and one of the two preserved to this day (the other one is in Świdnica).

The church, due to ist importance to the culture and heritage of mankind, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

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