Tucked away in the Mikuszowice Krakowskie district of Bielsko-Biała stands a wooden church that has survived over three centuries, charming visitors with its simplicity and remarkable interior. It's a highlight of the Wooden Architecture Trail of the Silesian Voivodeship — well worth a stop, whether for the history or simply for a moment of calm.

The Church of St Barbara is surrounded by an old cemetery dating from the mid-18th century and stone roadside crosses, creating an atmospheric, almost fairy-tale setting. In summer the wooden structure and steep shingle roofs blend beautifully with the greenery, while in autumn and winter the place takes on a wonderfully picturesque, sleepy character. It makes a lovely stop while wandering through Mikuszowice Krakowskie, a quiet district on the edge of Bielsko-Biała, at the doorstep of the Silesian and Little Beskids.

• Bielsko-Biała centre — by car or local bus to ul. Cyprysowa in the Mikuszowice Krakowskie district, easy
• The church lies directly on the main route of the Wooden Architecture Trail of the Silesian Voivodeship

• Wooden church built in 1690 from larch wood in the Silesian-Lesser Poland style
• Baroque polychrome interior from 1723 by painter Johann Mentil, depicting scenes from the legend of St Barbara
• A copy of the Gothic Mikuszowice Triptych (the original, c. 1470, is in the National Museum in Kraków)
• Gothic figure of the Madonna and Child from around 1430 in the side altar
• Old cemetery with a wooden fence from 1748 and a stone roadside statue from 1846

Fun fact: the painter Mentil's signature still survives on the ceiling beam beneath the choir loft — a small, hidden mark beneath his great work.