Bielany Monastery in Krakow
Monks of the
Camaldolese order subject themselves to the extremely severe
rules of their order to live simple, peaceful, secluded life
close to God in their beautiful Krakow hermitage atop Srebrna Gora (Silver Mountain). The four-storied crypts of
the 17th-century fine Baroque monastery contain naturally
mummified bodies of many generations of their predecessors.
The dead and the alive seem equally indifferent and almost
equally inaccessible to visitors coming here either by road
(which makes a ten minutes’ drive from the Krakow center) or
by boat up the Vistula river from the port at the foot of
the Royal Castle’s
Wawel Hill.
Limited accessibility of the Bielany Monastery
Male tourists are admitted to the church any day from 8 a.m.
to 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Yet women can visit it
just 12 days in the year, i.e. March 25, Easter, May 3,
Pentecost and following Monday, Sunday after June 19, July’s
2nd and 4th Sundays, August’s 1st Sunday, August 15,
September 8, and December 25. Yet from springtime through
autumn the vast Bielany forest around the monastery is
traditionally Krakow’s favorite picnic destination. It seems
worth visiting for splendid panorama too. And every
Whitsuntide a popular folk feast takes place here.
Pilgrimage sites in Krakow
Pilgrim's guide to Krakow
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Krakow churches
Krakow numerous churches are architectural gems, art
hoards, and spiritual hubs
Wawel Cathedral
Poland's impressive national shrine dates from the 14th
century and shelters plenty of superb church art. The Sigismund Chapel is a masterpiece of the
Renaissance art and architecture. Giant Zygmunt bell of 1520 ranks with the world's largest. Most Polish kings are buried here together with the greatest
national heroes.
Basilica of the Virgin Mary's
Immense Gothic church, the city of Krakow's principal
temple since the 13th century, boasts the world's greatest Gothic sculpture among its many excellent works of art.
Huge stained-glass widows of the chancel date from the 14th
century.
Skalka Sanctuary
Poland’s second holiest shrine at the site of St.
Stanislav’s 1079 martyrdom. Splendid Baroque church and fine
monastery modeled on a Renaissance castle.
Tyniec Abbey
Hilltop monastery-fortress dates from the 11th c.
St. Norbert's Convent
Vast fortified complex on the Vistula river is home to
Krakow’s once powerful Premonstratensian Sisters since the 12th
c.
Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in
Krakow
Humble nun’s visions in the 1930s gave rise to a
world-wide spiritual movement inside the Catholic Church,
ever stronger nowadays, with the center in her Krakow
convent.
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