Krzeszów Abbey: Poland's Baroque pearl
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2024 7:55 am
On our tour of Lower Silesia and the surrounding areas of Wrocław, one of the places that struck us the most was the Krzeszów Abbey . Who would have imagined that there, in the middle of nowhere, we would find this enormous baroque basilica that seems to have fallen from the sky? We got out of the car and were amazed. Well, even before we got out, we could see it from afar. The basilica is almost 30 metres wide and, with the attached chapels and mausoleum, about 120 metres long. And then there is another church and more buildings… But it is not just the size – which is also important – those frescoes and that whatsapp number data baroque decoration! It is clear that the Dukes of Silesia were not short of money.
Krzeszów Abbey Poland Facade Jump
If you have already seen everything there is to see in Wrocław and still have some time left for an excursion, we are going to convince you that it is worth visiting the Krzeszów Abbey.
A little history of Krzeszów Abbey
The history of Krzeszów Abbey dates back to the 13th century, when the first Gothic church dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin was built. Nothing remains of that first church and the buildings that were built around it: the abbey had a rather eventful past. It was sacked and taken by the Hussites in the 15th century and in the 17th century first by the Lisowczycy – a Polish-Lithuanian cavalry unit – then by the armies of Saxony and Brandenburg and finally by the Swedish army.
Krzeszów Abbey Poland Basilica Asuncion Maria Side Nave
After all these raids, the golden age of Krzeszów Abbey began at the end of the 17th century. It was then that it became richer and became the largest spiritual and cultural centre of the Counter-Reformation in Silesia . Various monastic buildings, chapels and two churches were built - the jewels of the Baroque complex . The Church of St. Joseph was consecrated in 1696, and the new Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was consecrated in 1735, after seven years of construction.
Did you know that…?
These seven years were symbolic: they referred to the years of construction of the Temple of Jerusalem. The Cistercians' idea was to turn Krzeszów into a New Jerusalem .
From the mid-18th century to the beginning of the 20th century, another dark period began with the region's transfer to Prussia and the confiscation of the abbey, and ended with its occupation by the Nazis, who used it, among other things, as a transit centre for Jewish prisoners to concentration camps. After the Second World War, a new community of nuns settled in the abbey, restoration work began, and the abbey church was converted into a minor basilica in 1998.
The abbey complex
The complex of the Cistercian abbey in Krzeszów , including churches, chapels, outbuildings for monks and other structures, is huge. We will only tell you about its main buildings, which you will visit.
The Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin
We started with the main building of the complex, officially called the Minor Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary . It was its façade that welcomed us, and what a welcome it was! With that concave-convex shape, those sculptures and those white towers over 70 metres high – 71.1 to be exact – topped by copper domes standing out against the blue sky. We already had our postcard of Krzeszów . And that was just the beginning… The Cistercians had to demonstrate the grandeur of Catholicism to the Protestants, and they weren’t going to stop at the façade.
Krzeszów Abbey Poland Facade Jump
If you have already seen everything there is to see in Wrocław and still have some time left for an excursion, we are going to convince you that it is worth visiting the Krzeszów Abbey.
A little history of Krzeszów Abbey
The history of Krzeszów Abbey dates back to the 13th century, when the first Gothic church dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin was built. Nothing remains of that first church and the buildings that were built around it: the abbey had a rather eventful past. It was sacked and taken by the Hussites in the 15th century and in the 17th century first by the Lisowczycy – a Polish-Lithuanian cavalry unit – then by the armies of Saxony and Brandenburg and finally by the Swedish army.
Krzeszów Abbey Poland Basilica Asuncion Maria Side Nave
After all these raids, the golden age of Krzeszów Abbey began at the end of the 17th century. It was then that it became richer and became the largest spiritual and cultural centre of the Counter-Reformation in Silesia . Various monastic buildings, chapels and two churches were built - the jewels of the Baroque complex . The Church of St. Joseph was consecrated in 1696, and the new Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary was consecrated in 1735, after seven years of construction.
Did you know that…?
These seven years were symbolic: they referred to the years of construction of the Temple of Jerusalem. The Cistercians' idea was to turn Krzeszów into a New Jerusalem .
From the mid-18th century to the beginning of the 20th century, another dark period began with the region's transfer to Prussia and the confiscation of the abbey, and ended with its occupation by the Nazis, who used it, among other things, as a transit centre for Jewish prisoners to concentration camps. After the Second World War, a new community of nuns settled in the abbey, restoration work began, and the abbey church was converted into a minor basilica in 1998.
The abbey complex
The complex of the Cistercian abbey in Krzeszów , including churches, chapels, outbuildings for monks and other structures, is huge. We will only tell you about its main buildings, which you will visit.
The Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin
We started with the main building of the complex, officially called the Minor Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary . It was its façade that welcomed us, and what a welcome it was! With that concave-convex shape, those sculptures and those white towers over 70 metres high – 71.1 to be exact – topped by copper domes standing out against the blue sky. We already had our postcard of Krzeszów . And that was just the beginning… The Cistercians had to demonstrate the grandeur of Catholicism to the Protestants, and they weren’t going to stop at the façade.