In 1234, the Duke of Szczecin and Pomerania Barnim I granted the Bansk land to the Templar Order. The first mentions in written sources date back to 1244 and refer to a castle, chapel and other buildings of the Templar commandery in Rurka. Barnim I died in 1278, and his successor Bogusław IV came into conflict with the Templars from Rurka and as a result expelled the Templars from the Duchy of Szczecin. In 1329, the property in Rurka was taken over by the Hospitallers, who in turn came into conflict with the inhabitants of Chojna. The commandery in Rurka was devastated, the chapel desecrated and the commander of the Hospitallers imprisoned. After some time, the conflict was resolved, but the Hospitallers moved the headquarters of the commandery to Swobnica, where they built a castle. From the former estate, only the chapel has survived to this day. However, it is located on private property and visiting it is difficult.
The Templar chapel, consecrated in 1248, is a small single-nave building with a separate, straight-ended presbytery. The church walls were built of precisely processed granite blocks arranged in regular layers.
The original entrance to the temple through the stepped portal has been preserved on the north side. Romanesque windows splayed on both sides and the oculus, now bricked up, have also survived on the west side. Capitals were discovered inside the presbytery, indicating that this part of the building was vaulted.
The Templars received the Bansk land in 1235. In Rurka nad Rurzycą, they quickly built a commandery, an unfortified settlement with a residential manor house, chapel, mill and farm buildings. From the mid-19th century, for almost a hundred years, the Templar chapel served as a distillery. From the entire structure, only the chapel has survived to this day.
Translated by Google •
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