Reconstruction of the façade and tower of the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Kostomłoty according to Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s design against the background of his other realizations as an example of rebuilding a Baroque church in the Neo-Gothic spirit

Ewa Maria Netczuk-Pol, Łukasz Karol Netczuk

doi:10.37190/arc250304

Abstract

Kostomłoty is currently a small village in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, near Wrocław. The most valuable monument of the settlement is the parish church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, located in the center, on the western side of the market square. Due to the few preserved iconographic materials of the church from before 1900 and lack of broader research, it is difficult to determine the exact changes occurring in the building’s form. The Gothic body of the church was erected in the mid-14th century. In the mid-16th century, it was renovated and expanded with a Renaissance porch. During the Baroque period, the tower received a new helmet. A query conducted by the authors in foreign archives revealed a plan for the church’s reconstruction from 1818 signed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. In 1818-1819, based on this project in the Neo-Gothic spirit, a new tower was built on the foundations of the old one along with staircase annexes, creating a distinctive westwerk. Detailed comparative analysis of the design and historical iconography of the tower from 1898-1909 shows that the project was realized almost in its entirety.

Reconstruction projects of existing buildings by Schinkel received decidedly less attention than designs for new buildings. This work sheds some light on the Neo-Gothic reconstruction project of a Baroque church and its realization against the background of other Neo-Gothic tower masses realized according to the design of the same architect.

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Ewa Maria Netczuk-Pol*, Łukasz Karol Netczuk**

Reconstruction of the façade and tower of the church

of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Kostomłoty

according to the design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel

against the background of his other projects

as an example of the reconstruction of a Baroque church

in the spirit of Neo-Gothic

DOI: 10.37190/arc250304

Published in open access. CC BY NC ND license

Abstract

Kostomłoty is currently a small village in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship near Wrocław. The most valuable monument of the settlement is the

parish church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, located in the centre on the western side of the market square. Due to the sparse iconographic mate-

rials of the church from before 1900 and the lack of extensive research, it is dicult to determine the exact changes that took place in the building. The

Gothic structure of the church was erected in the mid-14

century. In the mid-16

century, it was renovated and expanded with a Renaissance porch.

In the Baroque period, the tower received a new spire. A query in foreign archives conducted by the authors revealed a plan for the reconstruction of

the church from 1818, signed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. In 1818–1819, based on the design of Schinkel, a new tower with staircase annexes was

built on the foundations of the old one in the spirit of Neo-Gothic, creating a kind of westerwork. A detailed comparative analysis of the design and

iconography of the historical tower from 1898–1909 shows that this project was almost entirely completed.

Schinkel’s designs for the reconstruction of existing buildings received signicantly less attention than his designs for new buildings. This work,

as a contribution to the topic, sheds some light on the project of the Neo-Gothic reconstruction of the baroque church and its implementation in the

context of other Neo-Gothic tower masses designed by the same architect.

Key words: Karl F. Schinkel, Neo-Gothic, reconstruction, church tower, Kostomłoty

Introduction

Kostomłoty is a small village in the Lower Silesian Voi-

vo deship, located near Wrocław. The most valuable his-

torical monument of the settlement is the parish church of

the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, situated in the centre of

the village on the western side of the market square. The

church’s original patron was St. Gotthard (also known as

Gotard or Godehard), Bishop of Hildesheim, who was can

onized in 1131 (Ecke 1927, 19). Kostomłoty was originally

a ducal village before coming under the ownership of the

Monastery of St. Vincent in Wrocław (initially Benedic-

tine, and later – until the secularization of the order in 1810

– Pre monstratensian), serving as their summer residence

(Heyne 1860). In 1214, the village was granted town rights

based on the Środa Śląska model. The town suered sig-

nicant destruction during the Thirty Years’ War; only the

church survived. As a result of the war, in addition to wide-

spread damage, the town lost its municipal rights. These were

restored on May 29, 1692, by Emperor Leopold I, thanks

to the intervention of the Premonstratensian abbot. After

Silesia was annexed by Prussia, the town began to lose its

* ORCID: 0000-0002-2514-8314. Faculty of Architecture, Wro-

cław University of Science and Technology, Poland, e-mail: ewa.pol@

pwr.edu.pl

** ORCID: 0000-0001-9250-860X. Creoproject sp. z o.o., Wro-

cław, Poland.

38 Ewa Maria Netczuk-Pol, Łukasz Karol Netczuk

signicance. Ultimately, Kostomłoty permanently lost its town

status in 1875 (Oszczanowska, Sebzda and Trenkler 2010).

State of research

History of the church

The Gothic parish church of the Exaltation of the Holy

Cross, later expanded in Renaissance and Neo-Gothic forms,

together with the adjoining cemetery, constitutes a signi-

cant architectural and landscape landmark of Kostomłoty.

The church is rst mentioned in a document issued by Pope

Innocent III on August 12, 1201, as ecclesia St. Godardi in

Costomlot (Oszczanowska 2017). It most likely existed ear-

lier,

although there is no direct evidence to conrm this.

The currently preserved structure is predominantly Go-

thic in the core of both the nave and the chancel – it was

erected in the mid-14

century. The church was renovated in

the mid-16

century and expanded between 1582 and 1585

with the addition of a Renaissance-style southern porch.

During the Baroque period, the tower was topped with a sty-

listic helmet-shaped dome, visible in engravings by Fried-

rich Bernhard Werner from the mid-17

century (Fig. 1).

The church retained this form until 1815, when the old tow-

er was dismantled. Subsequently, between 1818 and 1819,

a new tower was constructed on the foundations of the old

one, along with staircase annexes, based on a design by Karl

Friedrich Schinkel. Executed in the spirit of Neo-Gothic, the

design created a distinctive westwerk. The project included

the western façade and was realised almost in its entirety

(Oszczanowska 2017).

In the 19

and 20

centuries, the church underwent nu-

me rous renovations. In 1861, the organ gallery became the

focus of reconstruction eorts, and in 1867, restoration

work was carried out on the tower and the choir loft. In

1879, a previously unrealised design for remodelling the

organ gallery was implemented. In 1880, a design for the

reconstruction and extension of the second storey (a gallery)

of the sacristy was prepared, followed in 1881 by a proj-

ect for a baptismal chapel on the south side of the chancel

and the extension of the eastern choir. Both projects were

realised, as conrmed by plans from 1894. In 1892, an un-

executed expansion design for the church was drawn up

and signed by Willert, the Royal District Building Inspec-

tor from Leśnica. By 1909, the reconstruction of the tower

based on Schinkel’s design had certainly been completed,

including the installation of a cross-bearing ball and likely

some of the architectural decoration. According to research-

ers (and in our opinion), this reconstruction took place in

1909, as evidenced by commemorative photographs of the

church’s façade and interior from that year (Fig. 2). After

1945, regular maintenance work was carried out, namely,

in 1959–1960 the roof covering was replaced, in 1970 the

tower was renovated, and in 1997 the façade was restored.

In 2003, conservation work was undertaken on interior fur-

nishings and decorative elements (Oszczanowska, Sebzda

and Trenkler 2010; Oszczanowska 2017). The most recent

renovation took place in 2024 and was related to the resto-

ration of the church façades (Fig. 3).

The dating of the various stages of the expansion of the

church in Kostomłoty, prepared by Bożena Danielska in

1998 and presented in the Leksykon zabytków architektury

Dolnego Śląska [Lexicon of Architectural Monuments of

Lower Silesia] (Pilch 2005), does not fully align with the

preserved iconographic material. The 19

-century Neo-

Gothic chapel is clearly identied in it as a structure from

the 15

century, while the remnants of the tower in the

western mass, visible in Werner’s mid-18

-century engrav-

ing, are considered – along with the added stairwell annexes

– to be part of a 19

-century reconstruction (Fig. 4).

Fig. 1. The oldest representation of the church in Kostomłoty

in a graphic by Friedrich Bernhard Werner (source: Werner 1751–1800)

Il. 1. Najstarsze przedstawienie kościoła w Kostomłotach

na grafice Friedricha Bernharda Wernera (źródło: Werner 1751–1800)

Fig. 2. Western elevation of the church in Kostomłoty

from the square in front of the cemetery gate, 1909

(source: private collection, made available thanks to the kindness

of the parish priest, Rafał Kupczak PhD)

Il. 2. Elewacja zachodnia kościoła w Kostomłotach

z placu przed bramą cmentarną, 1909

(źródło: kolekcja prywatna, udostępnione dzięki życzliwości

proboszcza parafii ks. dra Rafała Kupczaka)

Reconstruction of the façade and tower of the church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Kostomłoty 39

Description of our own research

Research period and methods

This article synthesizes available historical and icono-

graphic sources depicting the church in Kostomłoty, as well

as the results of stratigraphic research conducted as part of

the preparation for a conservation renovation project of the

church’s interior in Kostomłoty in August 2018 (Netczuk,

Netczuk-Pol and Żmuda 2018).

The research methods employed by the authors of this

article included archival queries (used for the historical and

iconographic analysis of the church) as well as comparative

analysis of churches designed by Schinkel from a similar

period. The collected material, along with correspondence

exchanged with the scientic department of the Berlin State

Museums of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation,

made it possible to conrm the authorship of the church’s

façade design in Kostomłoty, in line with the conclusions

drawn from the comparative analysis.

Historical and iconographic analysis:

preserved iconography

Archival material concerning the church prior to 1900

is rather limited. It consists mainly of postcards depicting

general views of Kostomłoty. The earliest available graphic

Fig. 3. The church in Kostomłoty after renovation of the façade in 2024:

a) view from the west, b) view from the front (photo by R. Kupczak, 2024)

Il. 3. Kościół w Kostomłotach po renowacji fasady w 2024 r.:

a) widok od zachodu, b) widok od frontu (fot. R. Kupczak, 2024)

a b

Fig. 4. Dating of the individual stages of the expansion

of the church in Kostomłoty according to Bożena Danielska

with corrections (source: Pilch 2005)

Il. 4. Datowanie poszczególnych etapów rozbudowy kościoła

w Kostomłotach według Bożeny Danielskiej

z naniesionymi poprawkami (źródło: Pilch 2005)

representation is a city plan by Werner from the mid-18

century. Particular attention should be paid to the appear-

ance of the southern porch, especially its gable, which dif-

fers somewhat from its current form.

The most valuable available material is the church ren-

ovation plan from 1818, signed by Karl Friedrich Schinkel

40 Ewa Maria Netczuk-Pol, Łukasz Karol Netczuk

west axis. The nave was constructed on a rectangular plan

resembling a trapezoid, with a wider western and narrower

eastern end. The chancel (presbytery) is rectangular in plan.

On the north side, it adjoins a sacristy with a gallery on the

second oor; on the south side, there is a baptismal chapel.

Attached to the south side of the main nave is a Renais-

sance porch with a portal and a gable designed in the form

of an attic in the Mannerist style (Fig. 5). It currently serves

as the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the western

part of the nave is a wooden gallery (empora), accessible

from the tower mass. The corners of the chancel and the

southern chapel are reinforced with buttresses. The western

part of the nave includes a tower mass with a four-storey

tower (centrally positioned above the porch), anked sym-

metrically to the north and south by stairwell annexes, each

covered with gabled roofs. The tower’s top storey is octag-

onal and topped with a steep pyramidal spire clad in metal,

a feature characteristic of Schinkel’s Neo-Gothic designs.

The structure is crowned with a ball, a cross, and a weather

vane bearing the date: 1818. The nave, sacristy with gallery,

Fig. 5. The church in Kostomłoty in 1957: a) view from the east, b) view of the southern façade, c) view of the southern porch

(source: Malinowski 1957)

Il. 5. Kościół w Kostomłotach w 1957 r.: a) widok od wschodu, b) widok południowej elewacji, c) widok południowej kruchty

(źródło: Malinowski 1957)

b c

(“Kostenblut [Kostomłoty, formerly Neumarkt County [ehe-

mals Kreis Neumarkt]…”). A comprehensive guide to this

architect’s works is Andreas Bernhard’s book (2006); unfor-

tunately, it contains no mention of the Kostomłoty church

renovation as one of Schinkel’s executed projects. Howev-

er, a detailed comparative analysis of the design with the

earliest available illustrations and photographs of the tower

from 1898–1909 shows that the project was almost fully car-

ried out. The only elements that were not executed include

the tracery decorations in the niches, window tracery, and

arcade friezes. The latter were completed before 1909.

Exterior form – current state

The parish church is situated on an elevation (a hill) in the

western part of the market square, which is elongated along

an east–west axis. The building is surrounded by a cemete ry

of an irregular shape, roughly resembling an oval.

The church is built of brick and rubble stone and is entire-

ly plastered. The building’s layout is oriented along an east–

Reconstruction of the façade and tower of the church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Kostomłoty 41

foundation. This hypothesis requires further verication.

The results may be inconclusive, as remnants of the earlier

walls may have been demolished during renovations. Above

the roof eaves, the tower clearly has two stories. The entire

structure is topped with a two-story onion-shaped dome in

the Baroque style, with a single window. A turret with a Ba-

roque onion-shaped dome was located at the top of the main

roof ridge, closer to the eastern wall.

The southern entrance was preceded by a Renaissance

porch with a characteristic Mannerist attic, preserved to

this day. The southern wall clearly displays windows with

roughly square proportions topped by a semicircular lintel.

To the west of the porch were two windows, likely splayed

or framed, while one to the east was located much higher

than today and was smaller.

The secondary Gothicization of the building, designed

by Schinkel in the 1

half of the 19

century, most likely

led to a change in the shape of the windows by lowering the

height of the sills. The lintels were also transformed, receiv-

ing a Gothic pointed arch (according to an erroneous state-

ment on the white card [Danielska 1998], this shape dates

from the 16

century). The original shape of the windows

is unknown. Werner’s engraving does not show a chapel

on the south side of the chancel, which means it must have

been built in connection with the reconstruction and expan-

sion of the church in the 19

century, not in the 15

century,

as suggested by Danielska’s study (Pilch 2005).

Similar churches designed by Schinkel

A general comparative analysis of Neo-Gothic church-

es designed by Schinkel allows us to identify three build-

ings that are most similar in form and time of construction

to the church in Kostomłoty (Pieske 1994): the tower of

and southern baptismal chapel are all covered with gable

roofs clad in ceramic tiles.

The western façade is tripartite and symmetrical, with

a central tower and two-storey stairwell annexes on either

side. The tower was constructed largely in accordance with

Schinkel’s design (Fig. 6), though not in its entirety – its

rich Neo-Gothic tracery program was omitted. The central

entrance portico is topped with a wimperg (a Gothic or-

namental gable) and features a recessed, pointed arch sur-

round. On either side are uted pedestals, identical to those

anking the second storey of the stairwell annexes. The side

elevations feature irregularly placed pointed-arch windows,

which were added later during the Neo-Gothic renovation.

This theory is supported by the discovery in 2018 of Re-

naissance polychromes dating from the 16

century, which

conict spatially with the current window placement (Wan-

tuch-Jarkiewicz, Jarkiewicz 2018). On the north side, an

early Renaissance sandstone portal from around 1550 has

been bricked up. Fragments of Renaissance diamond-pat-

tern sgrato have also been revealed on the northern eleva-

tion. Centrally located on the southern elevation is a Renais-

sance porch with a sandstone portal featuring an inscription

on the archivolt. The corners are decorated with pseudo-rus-

tication, and the gable is topped with a three-axis, four-tier

Renaissance attic, composed of quarter- and semicircular

elements.

External structure

The oldest illustration depicting the church is a panorama

of Kostomłoty, created by Werner around 1750. The church

tower is square in plan and abuts the western wall of the

nave. Reinforcements in the form of stepped buttresses are

visible on the tower’s western walls, suggesting a medieval

Fig. 6. Design of the tower

reconstruction and the addition of

staircase annexes according to

Schinkel from 1818

(source “Kostenblut (Kostomłoty,

ehemals Kreis Neumarkt)…”)

Il. 6. Projekt przebudowy wieży

i dobudowy aneksów

klatek schodowych

według Schinkla z 1818 r.

(źródło: “Kostenblut (Kostomłoty,

ehemals Kreis Neumarkt)…”)

42 Ewa Maria Netczuk-Pol, Łukasz Karol Netczuk

St. Andrew’s Church in Teltow (Fig. 7a), the Evangelical

Church in Großbeeren (Fig. 7b), and the façade in Zittau

(Fig. 7c).

The rst mention of St. Andrew’s Church in Teltow dates

back to the 13

century. It is described as a eldstone struc -

ture. The building was repeatedly destroyed by res that rav-

aged the city. On August 17, 1801, it burned to the ground,

leaving only the brick walls. The rst reconstruction proj-

ect was prepared by master builder Schwarz, but it was

not accepted for implementation. The church’s nal form

was given in 1810 by Schinkel – he created a Neo-Gothic

design (Fig. 8), which has survived unchanged to this day.

He designed the southern, northern, and western portals,

as well as the wall with the choir. Additionally, the front

façade received a two-story tower mass, designed on an oc-

tagonal plan, topped by a pyramidal helmet-shaped dome

with a crown (tower construction: 1811–1812) (“Die Schin-

kel-Kirche zu Großbeeren” 1998).

Another church with a form similar to the one in Kosto-

młoty is the Evangelical Church in Großbeeren, built be-

tween 1818 and 1820 according to Schinkel’s design

(Fig. 9)

on the ruins of a church burned down during war-

fare in 1760. It was designed in the Neo-Gothic style. The

church’s plan is a Greek cross with a two-story tower on

the northern axis. The rst story of the tower is square, the

second octagonal. The entire structure is topped with an oc-

tagonal pyramidal dome with a bell tower (Große 2016).

The Church of St. John in Zittau (German: Zittau; Czech:

Žitava; Polish: Żytawa) was also rebuilt according to Schin-

kel’s plans. It was rst mentioned in the late 13

century,

when it was a three-nave church with two towers at the

Fig. 7. Schinkel’s church façades’ designs most similar to the design of the church in Kostomłoty:

a) the tower of St. Andrew’s Church in Teltow (source: Wikimedia Commons),

b) the Evangelical Church in Großbeeren (author: Peter Groth, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0),

c) reconstruction of the western façade of St. John’s Church in Zittau (author: Manecke, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

Il. 7. Elewacje kościołów projektu Schinkla, które są najbardziej zbliżone do projektu kościoła w Kostomłotach. Są to:

a) wieża kościoła św. Andrzeja w Teltow (źródło: Wikimedia Commons),

b) kościół ewangelicki w Großbeeren (autor: Peter Groth, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0),

c) przebudowa fasady zachodniej kościoła św. Jana w Żytawie (autor: Manecke, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)

ba c

front. In the 16

century, it was expanded with another nave,

creating a four-nave hall church. The church was destroyed

in 1757 during the Seven Years’ War. In 1766, construction

began on the foundations of the old church in the Baroque

style; it was nally completed in 1804. Unfortunately, the

church was designed incorrectly and suered from serious

structural problems, particularly in the roof structure and

the central part of the front façade and the southern tower.

Schinkel, then head of the Prussian construction delegation,

began the process of repairing the building. The renovation

work was supervised by his student, Carl August Schramm.

The renovation included replacing the barrel vault with

a lighter coered vault (excessive loads on the vault caused

the southern tower to lean) and covering it with a simple

gable roof (Fig. 10). The northern tower received an octag-

onal gable with a pyramidal helmet-shaped dome topped

with a bell turret. For structural reasons, the taller southern

tower could not be given a pointed dome. The entire façade

was constructed in the neoclassical style (Große 2016).

Conclusions

Comparing the oldest available representation of the

church in Kostomłoty with Schinkel’s design allowed us to

determine the changes that occurred in the original known

form of the tower mass, the location and form of windows

and doors. The Gothicization project was carried out al

most

entirely within the form and structure of the tower mass. The

arrangement of window and door openings and their shape,

as well as the arrangement of cornices, re cesses,

pilasters,

and gables, are consistent with the design assumptions.

Reconstruction of the façade and tower of the church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Kostomłoty 43

No costly tracery was performed on the windows and en-

trance portal – in their place simpler doors were installed,

with a transom and stained-glass windows in steel frames.

The arcaded Neo-Gothic frieze under the cornice of all sto-

reys was also abandoned. Furthermore, the window proles

(stepped) were simplied, and sharp pinnacles were omitted

on the pilasters anking the gables of the tower’s “transept”

and the wimperg (gable) of the main portal. The corner

windows of the octagonal tower were also simplied to at

niches. In the plan, the current direction of ascent in the side

staircases is opposite to that planned in the design: original-

ly, the entrance to the porch was supposed to be located on

both sides.

Summary

A general comparative analysis with other Neo-Gothic

churches designed by Schinkel allows us to conclude that

Fig. 8. Design of the façade of St. Andrew’s Church in Teltow

according to Schinkel (source: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin,

Kupferstichkabinett / Wolfram Büttner, https://recherche.smb.museum/

detail/1506073/teltow--st--andreaskirche--turmentwurf-

?language=de&question=teltow&limit=15&sort=relevance

&controls=none&objIdx=5)

Il. 8. Projekt fasady kościoła św. Andrzeja w Teltow według Schinkla

(źródło: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett / Wolfram

Büttner, https://recherche.smb.museum/detail/1506073/teltow--st--an-

dreaskirche--turmentwurf-?language=de&question=teltow

&limit=15&sort=relevance&controls=none&objIdx=5)

Fig. 9. Design of the façade of the Protestant Church in Großbeeren

according to Schinkel

(source: https://smb.museum-digital.de/object/88265)

Il. 9. Projekt fasady kościoła ewangelickiego w Großbeeren

według Schinkla

(źródło: https://smb.museum-digital.de/object/88265)

Fig. 10. Design for the reconstruction of the façade of the church

in Zittau (Polish: Żytawa) according to Schinkel

(source: https://smb.museum-digital.de/object/90224)

Il. 10. Projekt przebudowy fasady kościoła w Zittau (pol. Żytawa)

według Schinkla

(źródło: https://smb.museum-digital.de/object/90224)

44 Ewa Maria Netczuk-Pol, Łukasz Karol Netczuk

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Streszczenie

Przebudowa fasady i wieży kościoła pw. Podwyższenia Krzyża Świętego w Kostomłotach według projektu Karla Friedricha Schinkla

na tle innych jego realizacji jako przykład przebudowy barokowego kościoła w duchu neogotyku

Kostomłoty to obecnie niewielka wieś w województwie dolnośląskim, nieopodal Wrocławia. Najcenniejszym zabytkiem osady jest zlokalizowany

w centrum, po zachodniej stronie placu rynkowego, kościół paraalny pw. Podwyższenia Krzyża Świętego. Ze względu na nieliczne zachowane ma-

teriały ikonograczne kościoła sprzed 1900 r. oraz brak szerszych badań trudno ustalić dokładne zmiany zachodzące w bryle budynku. Gotycką bryłę

kościoła wzniesiono w połowie XIV w. W połowie XVI w. została wyremontowana i rozbudowana o renesansową kruchtę. W okresie baroku wieża

otrzymała nowy hełm. Przeprowadzona przez autorów kwerenda w zagranicznych archiwach ujawniła plan przebudowy kościoła z 1818 r. sygnowany

przez Karla Friedricha Schinkla. W latach 1818–1819 na podstawie tego projektu w duchu neogotyku na zrębach starej wieży wybudowano nową

wraz z aneksami klatek schodowych, tworząc swoisty westerwerk. Szczegółowa analiza porównawcza projektu i ikonograi historycznej wieży z lat

1898–1909 wykazuje, że projekt zrealizowano niemalże w całości.

Projektom przebudów istniejących obiektów autorstwa Schinkla poświęcono zdecydowanie mniej uwagi niż projektom nowych budynków. Niniej-

sza praca rzuca nieco światła na projekt neogotyckiej przebudowy barokowego kościoła i jego realizację na tle innych neogotyckich masywów wieżo-

wych zrealizowanych według projektu tego samego architekta.

Słowa kluczowe: Karl F. Schinkel, neogotyk, przebudowa, wieża kościelna, Kostomłoty

the Kostomłoty church tower’s façade design most close-

ly resembles the design of the Teltow church tower (the

octagonal lantern and dome, cornice friezes, and charac-

teristic pinnacles in the form of spires) and the western

façade of the church in Zittau (the distinctive octagonal

helmet-shaped dome), rebuilt between 1834 and 1837. The

church in Großbeeren, the church tower in Zittau, and the

church tower in Kostomłoty were designed during the same

period (1817–1821). Nevertheless, the western mass of the

Kostomłoty church demonstrates greater stylistic coher-

ence than the other similar Schinkel designs, and it is char-

acterised by good proportions and a rich façade program.

It is an example of a mature work in the Neo-Gothic style.

Translated by

Bogusław Setkowicz