KWERENDA HISTORYCZNA DO KOŚCIOŁA PARAFIALNEGO PW. WNIEBOWZIĘCIA NAJŚWIĘTSZEJ MARII PANNY i ŚW. JAKUBA APOSTOŁA W SZADKU

The church under the invocation of the Holy Virgin Mary and St James the Apostle, destroyed by the Teutonic Knights in 1331, was soon reconstructed, most likely in a wooden version. Consecrated in 1335, the church existed in this form for over a century, until it was replaced in 1438–1448 by a church built of brick. In 1451 it was decorated with paintings by Jan of Wrocław. In 1551, Rev. Rafał Wargawsk covered the church with roof at his own expense. The 17th century was a period when Szadek was governed by starosts of the Wierzbowski family (coat of arms Jastrzębiec), who treated the church as family necropolis. Lack of repair and conservation caused considerable destruction of the church building. Restoration work was undertaken by Rev. Michał Zdzieniecki in 1788. The year 1802 brought a disaster – a fire destroyed the roof and the tower, only the walls and vaulting remained. A temporary shingle roof prevented a complete destruction of the building. The restoration which took place in 1868 changed the architectural appearance of the church building. Successive repair and restoration works were carried out in 1923–1924 and 1969–1971, but they did not change the outer appearance of the church.