Jasna Gora - the history of the sanctuary and other Czestochowa, Poland Things to Do Tips

The monastery was founded by Piast Prince Wladyslaw Opolczyk, who brought here in 1382 a group of 16 Pauline brothers from Hungary. In 1393 the Polish king Wladyslaw Jagiello took the sanctuary under his protection, and so did the next kings of Poland. The increasing cult of Holy Mother of God made it necessary to build in the 15th century a big church which replaced the first small one. Until the 17th century the monastery did not have proper defence walls. It was during the reigns of King Wladyslaw IV that the sanctuary became also the 'Virgin's Mary fortress'. The most dramatic moments were to come very soon. In 1655 Jasna Gora was attacked by Swedish troops. The siege lasted 40 days. Today it's hard to believe that a group consisting of 160 soldiers and 70 friars commanded by Father Augustyn Kordecki managed to fight back the enemy army of 3 thousand well-trained soldiers. Isn't it a proof of Mary's care? The victory was a turning point in the Polish - Swedish war. In 1656 Virgin Mary was announced by King Jan Kazimierz the Queen and Carer of Poland. Since then Jasna Gora has become the symbol of national and religious freedom.
To express their gratitude, love and dedication to Our Lady, the faithful desired to decorate Her head with a crown, but only Vatican had the right to do it. After years of efforts in 1717 the Miraculous Picture of Our Lady was decorated with papal crowns and thus honoured and recognised all over the world.
The sanctuary has been the stronghold of faith and Polish spiritual life in many hard moments of our history: the times of partitions, Nazi occupation and post-war communistic regime. At present, Jasna Gora may be perceived as the signpost pointing at the right way of life, in which 'The good defeats the evil'.

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Address: Jasna Gora - Czestochowa

The miraculous picture of Our Lady is undoubtedly the heart of Jasna Gora. Without it the monastery would be just another religious place, the complex of church buildings and valuable works of art. It is the image of Virgin Mary that attracts millons of pilgrims to the place.
The origin of the painting has not been fully explained yet. As the legend goes it has been painted on the board of the table at which Holy Family prayed and had their meals. The painting was brought to Jasna Gora by the founder of the monastery - Prince Wladyslaw Opolczyk after his victory over Tartar troops. When one of the Tartar arrows hit the Holy Mother's face , the fog fell all over the place and the Prince, taking advantage of the situation, routed the enemy.
From the moment of its arrival at the sanctuary the image was surrounded by enormous cult and reverence. Unfortunately, this fame also attracted the robbers, who in 1430 broke into the Chapel of Our Lady, robbed the icon of its precious decorations, and scarred the face of Mary. Here again the facts mix with the legend, which tells that the robbers wanted to take the miraculous painting, but when they reached the place of the present church of Saint Barbara, their horses suddenly stopped and didn't want to go any further. One of the robbers then threw the painting furiously on the ground and the spring spurted out of this place.
The present picture was painted in1430-1434 on the original boards and was modelled on the old painting.
The size of the picture is 121,7 cm x 81,5 cm. It is placed in a special brass case which separates the painting from its decorations enabling the air circulation.
Our Lady is 'the owner' of several dresses, the most precious of which are the ruby and the diamond ones. Each of the pieces of old jewellery placed on the dresses is the masterpiece in itself. The custom of decorating the Head of Virgin Mary with crowns dates back to the very beginnings of the sanctuary.

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Address: Jasna Gora - the Chapel of Virgin Mary

The miraculous image of Our Lady attracts millions of pilgrims. They come here to pray, to ask for care and mercy or to thank for favour. For centuries the powerful and wealthy as well as the weak and poor have been coming to confide in Virgin Mary. Most Polish sovereigns left something here: Queen Bona Sforza - her wedding gown and maiden rosary; King Zygmunt the Old - golden monstrance; his son King Zygmunt August - his sceptre. From the latest history: Pope John Paul II gave the Gold Rose and Gold Heart and Lech Walesa his Nobel Prize and the enormous pen that he used while signing August agreements. You can admire most of these valuables in the Treasury. But votive offerings in form of ornamental plates, badges, plaques, heart images displayed everywhere are the true evidence of love and adoration of ordinary people for Holy Mother. It's worth mentioning here that Jasna Gora is the destination for pilgrims who come here from all over the world.The first group pilgrimage was the escort of the Holy Icon from Cracow, where the image was 'cured because of wounds' suffered during the robbery in 1430. Some pilgrims return here many times, like a woman from Warsaw who has come here more than 50 times, each time covering the distance of 200 km on foot. Probably the longest distance on foot is covered by groups of pilgrims from Hel who each year walk 650 km to be on Jasna Gora on August 15th.

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Address: Jasna Gora

It is the first entrance gate leading to the sanctuary. Built in 1723 it was founded by the Lubomirscy family. On the wall there is a picture of Virgin Mary, above the sculpture of Michael Archangel with a sword and at sides the figures of Saint Paul the Hermit and Saint Anthony.
Before entering the sanctuary grounds you may notice the coat of arms of Paulines made of cobblestone of a different colour. It shows a palm tree with a raven on top holding a loaf of bread in its beak. Leaning against the tree are two lions. According to the legend Saint Paul the Hermit lived on a desert feeding himself on palm-tree fruits. Every day a raven brought him half a loaf of bread and when once Saint Anthony paid him a visit, the raven brought the whole loaf. When Saint Paul died two lions dug the the hole in which Saint Anthony buried his friend.

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Address: Jasna Gora

The whole complex is surrounded by fortress embankments and monastery park. At the beginnings of 20th century 14 stations of the Way of the Cross were built in the park. There is a tradition that each pilgrimage group have their service at the stations and some pilgrims even cover the distance between stations on their knees.

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Address: Jasna Gora

The cannons have been made contemporarily to commemorate the defence of Jasna Gora against Swedish troops in 1655. There are three of them, each named after a great defender: Augustyn Kordecki, Piotr Czarnecki and Stefan Zamojski. Each cannon weighs almost half a tone. Occasionally they are used by Pauline brothers to fire the salute.

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Address: Jasna Gora

The castle in Olsztyn was built in the times of Kazimierz the Great - the last of Polish Piast kings. The castle was the scene of political intrigues against the king. The leader of the anti-royal plot, Macko Borkowic, was sentenced to death by starvation in the dungeons of the tower. His ghost can be met in the ruins even today. The castle was destroyed by the Swedish troops, only the characteristic tower has been preserved.

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Directions: about 15 km from Czestochowa

The ruins of Ogrodzieniec castle belong to the most picturesque in the country. In the times of renaissance the castle belonged to the Boner family who had the ambition of making the residence equal to the Wawel Castle in Cracow. Today it's hard to imagine its past splendor. But you can climb the spiral stairs leading to the keep and have a look at white rocks scattered in the neighbourhood. They are very popular with future alpinists who train their rock-climbing skills here.

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Directions: near Zawiercie and Dabrawa Gornicza

These two castles were built in the 14th century to defend Polish kingdom against invasion from Silesia. According to the legend the castles were built by two brothers Mir and Bobol who quarrelled about a beautiful girl. They got wounded fighting for her while she killed herself jumping from the high tower in Bobolice castle. Today you can visit these romantic ruins and from the top admire the beautiful view on Kroczyckie Rocks. In hotel Ostaniec near Kroczyce there is a rock-climbing school and in a shop there you can buy all necessary equipment. Every year in mid-August Polish Rock Climbing Competitions are held here.

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Directions: near Kroczyce