The best walks and hikes around gmina Toszek

Just because of the hotel restaurant RG, which is located on the Rynek.

Very nice but little shade

St. Catherine of Alexandria in Toszek was built in the 15th century, but its present appearance is the result of the reconstruction carried out at the beginning of the 18th century. Interestingly, it was built on the ruins of an earlier temple, perhaps erected in the 12th century. The building is decorated in a baroque style, as is the interior. Richly decorated altars and a nice pulpit attract attention. A miraculous image of Our Lady of Toszecka hangs in the church. Church of st. Catherine of Alexandria consists of a tower on a square plan, topped with a tin, pyramidal cupola, the nave and narrow aisles, and a chancel closed on three sides. The collector's box was placed above the sacristy. Above the roof there is a neat bell in the form of a lantern with an onion-shaped cupola mounted on it. Inside, the richly decorated baroque altars and the pulpit - the work of Matthias Weissmann from Frydek, deserve special attention. In the side altar, located in the left aisle, we find the painting of Our Lady of Toszecka, considered to be a miraculous one. It is a copy of the 16th-century work of Luke Cranach the Elder. In the church in Toszek, the Brotherhood of the Blessed Sacrament was established in the 15th century, and in the 18th century - the Brotherhood of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. https://www.slaskie.travel/poi/3442/kosciol-pw-sw-katarzyny-aleksandryjskiej-w-toszku https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzNf-Q6MPNI

In the Middle Ages, an important trade route ran through Toszek from Krakow to Wroclaw, hence many houses in the city were situated along this road. In the 17th century, Toszek belonged to the few towns of the Opole-Racibórz principality, which had preserved defensive walls. Two town gates led to the town: eastern - Pyskowicka and southern - Strzelecka. The gates were of great importance in the fortification system, acting as an entrance to the city, they had to ensure its defense at the same time. We can assume that their shape did not differ significantly from the type of city gate characteristic for the 16th century - "a rectangular gate tower". Part of the defensive walls along with the gates was pulled down in 1767, and the stone was used to build a new, brick town hall. The town had wooden buildings, back in 1787: out of 137 houses, only 5 were covered with tiles, and the rest with shingles. The central square of the city was the market square, which initially had a commercial function, and then, along with the development of the independence of the city council, it gained more and more importance. There were benches and stalls - stalls where craftsmen and merchants displayed their goods. In Toszek, there were certainly baker's, butcher's, shoemaker's, tailor, blacksmith and salt benches on the market, because representatives of these crafts lived and worked in the city, e.g. in 1534 there were 26 shoemakers. The most important building on the market square was the town hall as the seat of the municipal authorities. Silesian town halls were distinguished by their shape - the building was usually built on a rectangular plan, and the most important feature of the building was a tall tower on a square plan, adjacent as a separate fragment. A similar building was located in the Toszek market square, although we have information about the two-story brick town hall only from 1767. https://turystyka.toszek.pl/2734/toszecki-rynek.html https://www.slaskie.travel/poi/15878/zabytkowy-uklad-urbanistyczny-toszka https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGuW3AVQjcU

Figure: At the top of the column, a figure of St. John of Nepomuk in a strong counterpoint. He holds the crucifix almost horizontally in both hands, but looks rather beyond the cross. Above Nepomuk's head a halo with five stars. The saint stands in the clouds, three putti at his feet. Characteristically, the figure is directed slightly to the side of the column. Pedestal: The base, made of stone blocks arranged in two steps, has the form of a rectangle with semicircular blocks added on the sides. The concave profile of the base connects to the lower part of the plinth. The plinth is two-story, the lower floor is slightly wider. The lower part of the plinth consists of three blocks. The middle block is rectangular, with rounded planes added to it on both sides. On the sides of the volutes decorated with a strip of inflorescences. This part of the plinth has two separate parts. The lower panel is occupied by a panel with semicircular corners. The front wall is covered with a Latin inscription with a chronostic: "SanCto IoannI / nipomVCeno pro / ConserVato ConfessI / onIs sIqILLO e pon / te praqeuenssI praCI / pItato LaVs et / gLorIa". [Saint John of Nepomuk thrown from a bridge in Prague for keeping the secret of confession. Fame and Glory]. The panel on the back wall is empty. A profiled strip forms a cornice dividing this part of the plinth into two halves. There is an oval hole in the top half that cuts through the column. On both sides of the plinth, it creates a window closed with a decorative grille. The pattern of the lattice with its decorative border topped with a crown forms the crest of the founder. The lower part of the plinth is topped with a rather protruding, two-panel cornice. The upper, narrower part of the plinth stands on a base with an outline similar to the shape of the lower part of the plinth. The base is decorated with a floral motif on both sides. The decoration of the upper part of the plinth is the equivalent of the decoration of the lower part, but on a slightly smaller scale. Similarly, the cornice of the upper part of the plinth is a smaller version of the cornice of the lower part. Surroundings: The figure stands in the square, set high, on six plates arranged in a series of steps. https://odtur.pl/uwiecje/toszek-kolumna-sw-jana-nepomucena-w-toszku-4972.html