The Church of Saint Mary Magdalene is the oldest Catholic church in Cieszyn and one of the most remarkable sacred sites in the Cieszyn Silesia region. Built around 1263, it shelters over seven centuries of layered history, the remains of the Cieszyn Piast dynasty, and extraordinary Baroque artwork. Step inside and you step through Gothic arches into a world of gilded altars and hushed devotion.

The building presents a fascinating architectural mix: a Gothic core crowned by a late-Baroque and Classicist facade with a tower, added during reconstruction after the great city fire of 1789. The interior is richly Baroque — the altars, pulpit and baptismal font were carved by Silesian sculptor Jan Józef Schubert. The main altar from 1795 is a masterwork by Moravian artist Andreas Kaspar Schweigel, topped with the symbol of Divine Providence. A 17th-century icon of Our Lady of Cieszyn, adorned with crowns of traditional Cieszyn filigree, hangs here since 1997.

• Cieszyn town centre — the church sits in the heart of the old town, easily reachable on foot from the market square or any city car park.

• Since 2002 the church holds the title of Sanctuary of Our Lady of Cieszyn.
• Parish feast days: Sunday after 22 July, first Sunday of September, first Sunday of October.

The only surviving tomb sculpture from the Cieszyn Piasts is the 15th-century Gothic effigy of Przemysław I Noszak — a rare and moving reminder that this quiet church is also a dynastic burial ground.