Editing Churches of Peace (section)

== History ==
Despite the physical and political constraints, three of the churches became the biggest [[timber-framed]] religious buildings in [[Europe]] due to pioneering construction and architectural solutions.

The church in [[Church of Peace in Jawor|Jawor]], dedicated to the [[Holy Ghost]] is {{convert|43.5|m|adj=on}} long, {{convert|14|m|adj=on}} wide and {{convert|15.7|m|adj=on}} high and has capacity of 5,500. It was constructed by architect Albrecht von Saebisch (1610–1688) from Wroclaw (then German ''Breslau'') and was finished a year later in 1655. The 200 paintings inside by were created by [[Georg Flegel]] in 1671–1681. The ornately decorated altar, by Martin Schneider, dates to 1672, the original organ of J. Hoferichter from [[Legnica]] (then German ''Liegnitz'') of 1664 was replaced in 1855–1856 by Adolf Alexander Lummert.

By that time, the town had been part of the majority Protestant [[Kingdom of Prussia]] for about a century. Another 100 years later, in 1945, the town became again part of [[Poland]], as a result of the [[Potsdam Agreement]]. Although most of the Protestant churches taken over by Poland in 1945 became Catholic, the two Peace Churches still serve their [[Lutheranism|Lutheran]] parishes.

The similar church, erected in [[Głogów]] (then German ''Glogau'') burned down in 1758, but the one in [[Holy Trinity Church of Peace in Świdnica|Świdnica]], dedicated to the [[Holy Trinity]], survived like the one in [[Jawor]]. Both were restored by a Polish–German cooperation, and recognized by UNESCO in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|title= Reformation routes - Church of Peace in Świdnica|url= https://reformationroutes.eu/sights/s/the_church_of_peace-14.html|access-date=2023-10-03}}</ref>

<gallery mode="packed" heights="150" caption="The three Churches of Peace (around 1750)">
Friedensk-Glogau.jpg|Glogau (Głogów)
Friedensk-Jauer.jpg|Jauer (Jawor)
Friedensk-Schweidnitz.jpg|Schweidnitz (Świdnica)
</gallery>