From Stowarzyszenie Ochrony Sów (Owl Conservation Association)
A church from Pomerania in Poland had an owl stuck inside for 3 days. It had eluded the people there and even the fire department. Finally the Owl Conservation Association was called in!
When Karol arrived, he was greeted with the Barn owl perched on a cross, I'm assuming the one in the photo. It did not want to be caught though, and despite being weak and hungry, it escaped behind the decorative organ pipes.
Karol and crew used thermal imaging goggles to track the owl behind the pipes, trying to direct it to people waiting to catch it and to keep it from getting stuck in the pipes.
They got it out from behind all that, but it still refused to be caught. The people spread out to block all the hard to access spots, and they moved in to herd the owl to a good place for capture.
Finally it was caught!
It was severely starved, but it was given food, comfort, and supervision, and quickly regained energy and bounced back well enough to be released the next day!
That answers the question what came first. Barn or barn owl. :)
The barn is just the natural evolution of a cave, somewhat improving on the draftiness and humidity, while allowing a broader range of colors and openings, without all those pesky stalagtites and stalagmites to trip on or bang one's head into.
The cave owls let us test them out and upon observation determined hangout out a bit closer to these balding apes was worth the upgrade in amenities.