Smolnica, now lying in the district of Gliwice, in the commune of Sośnicowice, as its name suggests (Smoleń means “pitch” in Polish) was a village traditionally inhabited by charcoal and pitch burners. The first mention of the village dates back to the thirteenth century. In the second half of the fourteenth century, a parish was established in the village. We do not know when the first church was erected in Smolnica, or where it was located. The present church of Saint Bartholomew was founded as a Lutheran church at the beginning of the seventeenth century.