Church of St John the Baptist in Smogorzów

The first mentions of the church in Smogorzów date as far back as 1038. According to the famous Medieval Polish chronicler, Jan Długosz, it was one of the first churches in Silesia and was founded by Mieszko I. The original church was supposedly built with larch wood and gave shelter to an unnamed bishop who fled the Breslau Bishopric, which had fallen due to the Pagan Reaction. It was also the burial site of the first Bishops of Silesia.

The current brick Gothic Revival church with a characteristic, soaring steeple was built in the years 1861–63 on the site of an older church which had been destroyed by fire in 1854. A wooden crucifix, which had miraculously survived the flames, was later used to make relics which were blessed by the bishop and usually placed in the coffins of the dead, which is why none have survived to this day. The larch wood beams, believed to have originated from the 9th century, were also saved and then re-used to build the side altar of the Holy Cross in the current church. The mortal remains of the first Bishops of Silesia, which had also survived the fire, were moved to a crypt located behind the current vicarage. You can see a monument there in the form of a cross with the names of the bishops: Godfrey, Urban, Clement, Lucillus, and Leonard.

One of the most valuable items inside the church is the sculpture of the Virgin and Child with Saint Anne.