Where brick and faith intertwine stands Kościół pw. Świętego Szczepana i Świętej Anny. This church has stood for centuries. It has seen fires wars and rebirths. The story of Kościół pw. Świętego Szczepana i Świętej Anny is a testament to resilience.
Kościół pw. Świętego Szczepana i Świętej Anny was built after the town’s relocation in 1364. Bishop Jan II Stryprock ordered the construction. This followed the destruction of the first settlement by Lithuanians in 1354-1355. The parish was endowed with six free voloks of land. A voloka is an old land measurement unit.
Construction of the brick church began relatively soon after the relocation. Work on the nave likely started in the last quarter of the 14th century. Around 1420-1450 the two lowest floors of the tower were built. The tower’s construction began after the nave was complete. The upper floors of the tower may have dragged on until the early 16th century.
Kościół pw. Świętego Szczepana i Świętej Anny suffered damage from fires. These occurred in 1414 during the Thirteen Years’ War and in 1544. After the last fire reconstruction included elaborate late-Gothic net and crystal vaults over the naves. Renovations also took place after fires in the 17th and late 18th centuries.
In 1894 the church expanded with a neo-Gothic presbytery. The sacristy also got bigger. The church suffered damage during World War II. Renovation work was completed by 1962. The interior of Kościół pw. Świętego Szczepana i Świętej Anny was renovated in 1988-1989.
The Kościół pw. Świętego Szczepana i Świętej Anny is a Gothic structure. It is made of brick with a Gothic bond on a stone plinth. The building is oriented to the cardinal directions. Originally it consisted of a rectangular nave 49.1 x 20.7 meters. It features three naves in a hall layout and five spans in length. A shallow two-bay southern porch complements the structure. There is also a two-story sacristy on the north side. A high quadrilateral tower stands on the west side measuring 10 x 11.4 meters.
The body of the Kościół pw. Świętego Szczepana i Świętej Anny is supported by buttresses. These are located diagonally in three corners. The northeast corner lacks a buttress due to the sacristy’s location. The buttresses end below the plastered frieze. Higher buttresses adorned with small niches mark the corners. Narrow high pointed-arch windows pierce the smooth spaces. A dripstone cornice runs beneath them. A wider window once lit the main altar on the east axis. Above it a triangular gable divided by continuous blind panels.
The tower resembles the Kościół pw. Świętego Szczepana i Świętej Anny body. It is supported by high buttresses. Two western buttresses are placed diagonally. Single buttresses are unusually placed on the north and south. This suggests later addition to strengthen the structure. The tower’s external elevations divide into seven levels by plastered friezes. The ground floor except for the entrance portal remains austere. Upper levels are richly decorated with rows of pointed-arch blind panels.
Inside the three-nave interior features several types of vaults. These include net vaults with domed bays and crystal vaults in the 6.6-meter-wide main nave and 3.9-meter-wide side naves. A stellar vault adorns the sacristy. The nave is supported by four pairs of octagonal pillars. Arches spring directly from the pillars. Upper floors of the sacristy open to the church interior as galleries.
Kościół pw. Świętego Szczepana i Świętej Anny retains its original spatial layout. This includes a hall-type body with octagonal inter-nave pillars. There is also a western richly articulated tower a sacristy and a porch. Sadly the neo-Gothic presbytery partly obscures the eastern elevation. The tower’s helmet and roof turret are modern additions. Inside late-Gothic net and crystal vaults remain.
Today Kościół pw. Świętego Szczepana i Świętej Anny stands as a historical landmark. It is a testament to Barczewo’s rich heritage. Its walls echo with centuries of prayers. They also echo stories of destruction and renewal.