The Protestant Church of the Redeemer in Wałbrzych (Lower Silesia)

I recently visited Wałbrzych, Poland - a city located in the region of Lower Silesia. It is roughly the same size as Trier (the birthplace of Karl Marx). Following the Second World War, the town - formerly known as Waldenburg - was renamed Wałbrzych [1]. At first glance, there appears to be little connection between the two names; however, a link does exist: the Polish name is derived from the term “Walbrich” (or “Walmbrich”), which belongs to a dialect of the Silesian language (Moutain Silesian) [2] once spoken in the area around Waldenburg and Hirschberg (Jelenia Góra), as well as in parts of Bohemia and Moravia.

Just a few steps from the market square, I came across the Church of the Redeemer (Kościół Zbawiciela) [3]. Organ music drifted from within, as preparations were underway for an organ recital. I was able to enter the church and was surprised to discover that it was a Protestant place of worship. In 1742, Prussia - under Frederick the Great - conquered Lower Silesia, taking it from the Habsburgs (Austria). After the Second World War, Lower Silesia became Polish; however, its status was not formally recognized under international law until 1990 - a period falling between the reunification of Germany and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Before 1945, Silesia had a significantly larger Protestant population than it does today, as the vast majority of the Polish population is Roman Catholic [4]. For this reason, I was initially surprised to find a Protestant church - one that had been built between 1785 and 1788. The church is part of the Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland, within the Diocese of Wrocław (formerly Breslau). 

Not the Bethaus, but a model of the church before renovation

Before the current church, there was a smaller church (a prayer house [Bethaus]), which was demolished in 1785. The organ built by Johann Georg Neßling (1746) was transferred to the new church. The present church building has a rectangular floor plan (39 × 22 m) and features a square bell tower on the western facade; the tower was reconstructed between 1862 and 1865, a period during which the church itself also underwent extensive renovation. The roof and tower were restored in 2000, and the interior was renovated in 2001. However, further restoration work is now required.

As is the case with most Protestant churches, the interior does not offer a great deal to look at - aside from the organ, the altar, and a few exhibits related to Protestantism, such as a bust or an image of D. Martin Luther.

The organ was installed between 1912 and 1913 by the firm Schlag & Söhne [5]. It was placed within an existing organ case - the original Baroque facade created by Johann Georg Neßling in 1746 - which had itself been relocated from one church to another between 1785 and 1788. This instrument is cataloged as Opus 924. I recently mentioned the organ-building firm Schlag & Söhne in a German-language blog post about the Church of the Sacred Heart (Herz-Jesu-Kirche) in Poniatów [6]. With its 47 stops (distributed across three manuals and a pedal), the organ in the Church of the Redeemer (Erlöserkirche) ranks among the largest surviving instruments built by Schlag & Söhne. During this organ reconstruction (1912–1913), Albert Schweitzer - who would later received the Nobel Peace Prize - served as a musical consultant; at the time, he was considered one of the foremost authorities on the conceptual design of an organ’s specification (disposition). Notably, this original specification has been preserved in its entirety to this day. In 1996, Antoni Szydłowski from Wrocław (Breslau) carried out a comprehensive restoration, which ensured the preservation of this very feature [7].

I hope that the necessary funds for the preservation of this church will be made available.

Links and Annotations:
[1] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wa%C5%82brzych
[2] Mountain Silesian (Gebirgsschlesisch)
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gebirgsschlesischer_Dialekt
Unfortunately, there is no English entry, but one of the examples has been translated in the Esperanto section of Wikipedia:
https://eo.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montara_silezia_dialekto
It also features an image of Fürstenstein Castle (Ferschtensteen in the Mountain Silesian dialect).
[3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erl%C3%B6serkirche_(Wa%C5%82brzych)
https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko%C5%9Bci%C3%B3%C5%82_Zbawiciela_w_Wa%C5%82brzychu
Texts available only in German or Polish.
[4] The Evangelical-Augsburg Church in Poland has approximately 65,000 members (0.3%), while the Roman Catholic Church accounts for about 71% of the population.
[5] Schlag & Söhne was an organ-building firm based in Schweidnitz, Silesia. 
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlag_&_S%C3%B6hne
[6] The Roman Catholic Church of the Sacred Heart in Poniatów, Wałbrzych
https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2026/10/die-romisch-katholische-herz-jesu.html
[7] I don't have a good picture of the organ facade, but [7a] has good pictures including the manuals.
[7a] https://musicamsacram.pl/instrumenty/2738-walbrzych-kosciol-ewangelicko-augsburski-zbawiciela
[7b] https://luteranie.wroc.pl/parafia-w-walbrzychu/?lang=en

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