ARCHITECTURAL GEMS

The Kleszczewo commune may boast architectural gems of long history. The most precious include one of the oldest brick churches in Wielkopolska – church of St. Mary’s Birth in Tulce. The church dating from the first half of the 13th century enjoys immense popularity among visitors and its annual fair attracts thousands of pilgrims. It is one of the oldest parishes of Poznań Archdiocese. The church interior includes a medieval statue of Madonna holding the infant Jesus which was made about 1500. In the first half of the 16th century the church was renovated, in 1784 the nave was extended and the tower was added. The sacristy and porch were built already in the 20th century. Next to the church there is a two-storey belfry which was erected in 1860 and a presbytery. Visitors who come to the parish can come across a 16th-century roadside statue in the shape of column topped with a quadrilateral shrine presenting Passion scenes and a pair of its founders – Jan and Elżbieta Winkler. In the past the shrine was used as  a border post and was situated on the border between former Poznań and Kalisz regions. 

A 16th-century St. John the Baptist’s church in Krerowo is equally beautiful. Its altar is decorated with 5 scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist. The first parish in Krerowo was established between 1324 and 1330. During the Nazi occupation the church was turned into a warehouse and on 22 January 1945 it was burnt. Its reconstruction was completed in 1960. Next to the church there is a belfry from the second half of the 19th century. Between the church and the presbytery in 1985 a religious education building was built and all the buildings were combined into one complex by a pseudo cloister.  

A wooden All Saints’ church in Kleszczewo with a rococo pulpit was raised in the 18th century. Next to the church there is a belfry entirely made of wood. 
All three churches are worth seeing not only during a day but also by night due to their illuminations, for which the Kleszczewo commune was awarded in 2007 the first prize as “the Best Illuminated Building or Space” in the all-Poland contest for “the Best Illuminated Commune”.