Church interior

Dębno is a small mountain village in Malopolskie Province in southern Poland. It's sometimes spelled out as Dębno Podhalańskie - the Dębno that's in Podhale region, to distinguish it from the oil town of Dębno in West Pomerania, the tiny Dębno k Lezajska near Rzeszów, and the almost microscopic Dębno near Kielce.

Get in

You need your own wheels. The nearest place with public transport is Nowy Targ 12 km west.

See

Dębno is world-famous for its spectacular medieval wooden church, one of the protected UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The church, dedicated to Archangel Michael, is first mentioned in chronicles from 1335 AD, but the original wooden church is known to have burned down; its present form was rebuilt in the early baroque. The structure was built entirely from wood, without metal nails or fasteners. The architecture and proportions are a great example of a wooden Gothic church, with some elements unique to the Podhale region. Interior walls are covered in Gothic polychrome decoration from around 1500 AD, and decorated with paintings that date as early as 15th century. The main altarpiece is an elaborate triptych from mid-16th century. The oldest piece in the church is a crucifix dated at around 1380, saved from the fire, and now seen hanging from the ceiling. (An even older piece, a late Romanesque painting from 1280, had since been moved to the Museum of the Archdiocese of Kraków.)

Go next

• Niedzica
• Nowy Targ
• Szczawnica-Zdrój