"Zarnowiec - the monastery" Krokowa Things to Do Tip by evaanna

Zarnowiec is a village situated 4 km west of Krokowa, best known for the planned construction of a nuclear power station, which has now been abandoned partly due to protests from the local, and not only local, people. The current plans speak of a gas power station in the same location.
The village, the first records of which come from the 13th century, boasts a Gothic monastery dating back to the 13th -15th centuries, with a number of 15th-18th century works of art . We visited the place a long time ago but I still remember the unusual icon just above the door. The eyes of the saint in the painting seemed to follow you wherever you went in the church, which was most uncanny. The treasury of the monastery is said to boast a wealth of 17th-19th century embroidered liturgical robes and many other precious works of art. We re-visited the place in 2007 but could only view it through the bars, as the church was locked. There was a cleaning lady inside but she was adamant - the place was closed and no arguments about me needing pictures for the Internet worked. I wish I had tried to contact the vicar... I couldn't take any good pictures of the building either as it was pouring with rain. Just my bad luck!
Update: We re-visited the place again in 2009 on the Saturday just before Easter, hoping to see some celebrations taking place there and especially the consecration of food baskets. The main gate was locked again but we found a small door at the side and, to our great joy, it was open. Inside we could see a number of people praying at Christ's symbolic grave so of course there was no question of going around but Chris did take a few pictures from his pew, having first disabled the flash. And this time it was quite a bright day so I was able to take some better pictures of the outside. But we do find it annoying that there is no information about the opening hours, the services or indeed the chance of visiting the treasury and there is never anyone to ask about it.
4 km south of Zarnowiec you can climb Gora Zamkowa (Castle Mount, 95 m high), the site of an ancient Slavonic castle. But, although the guidebook says you can get a great view of the lake, the dunes and the Baltic from there, we could not see anything: the beech trees obscured it all completely. The nicest part of our expedition there was running down the slope of the hill on the thick pillow of dry beech leaves - as if you were jumping on a springboard. A most exhilarating experience!