Jasna Gora September 15, 2025

While watching the Craig's curling game Ed struck up a conversation with the father of the opposing skip. After a lengthy conversation it was recommended that we visit a place called Jasna Gora or "Light Hill". We had a few hours to kill on our way back to Krakow so we decided to stop not knowing what we were going to see other than it was a beautiful church.
It turns out it is not only a Cathedral and monastery but also a fortified shrine to the Virgin Mary. Jasna Gora is one of the biggest and most famous world pilgrimages and shrines after Lourdes and Fatima. It also has the national shrine of the Miraculous Icon of the Black Virgin Mary. Jasna Gora was first built in 1382 and has been under the constant care of the Order of  St Paul (the first hermit) The Pauline fathers. It's construction is unique in style as it has been changed and added on to over the 14-18th centuries. It is 5 acres in a bastion style fort and is 296 m above sea level. It has been a constant place of worship and pilgrimages many arriving on foot. Pope's John Paul II and Benedict XVI were pilgrims.
Icon of our Lady of Czestochowa.
On the way in through the gate was this painting of Michael the Archangel.
One of the largest bell towers in Poland.
The complex has two churches. The Church of the Holy Cross and the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Mass is continual in the Blessed Virgin Mary where the Icon is on display and visitors can go up to it even during mass.
It was absolutely stunning. We didn't have a lot of time here but if I came back to Poland I would make this a stop and have a tour.
The grounds are gorgeous. 
Check out the sundials.
Black Christ statue.
Outdoor mass area.

Pope John Paul. The Polish Pope.
Walking out to one of the Bastions. There are four bastion one in each corner of the square fortification. Each bastion is named after a saint.
The start of the stations of the cross. They are exquisite sculptures.


Wes on a bastion.
Big bell.
Leaving for Prague.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lavacolla to Santiago

Image
Shells even on the man hole covers. LAVACOLLA TO SANTIAGO  Only 10 km to go. A bigger horreo. The little church in Lavacolla that we started our last section on. A colourful horreo to match the house. More and more people as we get closer to Santiago and the path is easy. There are many tree plantations in Galacia. The two most important species are the oak and the chestnut which are linked to traditional village life. The oak, known as a carballo, was a symbol of strength and many trees are over a hundred years old. Oaks are a source of wood and the acorn is food for the pigs. Today the oaks along the Camino provide shade for piligrims. The chestnut or the castineiro, was brought to Galacia by the Romans and were planted just outside the villages. Many are over 500 years old. They are an important food in people's diets. In fact, when they brought potatoes to Europe from North America, they were called earth chestnuts. They still play an important role in the economy as they are u...
Read more

SOS

  SOS the short form for Stubborn, Old and Stupid. The name given to Roz and I by our children as we were contemplating the name of our blog. This journey began with a visit from Roz and Carley at Christmas 2023. Roz and I were in my kitchen discussing each of our travel plans for 2024. Roz leaned on the counter and said "I am doing the Camino do Santiago,  BY MYSELF." Not loudly but with emphasis. "When?" I said. "September," was her reply. Now anyone that knows me, knows that a call to travel always perks my ears up. The Camino has always been one of those things on my possible bucket list options but one I figured I would never do. Now here it was in my lap. They call it "The Call of the Camino." I went to the other room to chat with my oldest daughter who had just announced to us that she was pregnant and due in August. I asked what she thought and she said go for it. One hurdle down. The next person was my husband Ed. After much discussion o...
Read more

And Back

Image
  FINISTERRE AND BACK   We had thought we would originally walk to Finisterre,  otherwise known as the End of The Earth  if we finished the Frances in time. As we started walking it became very apparent that we were going to be pushing it to finish the Frances let alone do another week to walk to Finisterre so the bus it was.   The vast Atlantic beyond the cape. My leg was not allowing me to walk very far so Roz and Jarrod went without me. Roz described the walk as slightly treacherous because the path was on the edge of a sheer cliff with a guard rail between walkers and traffic. Of course there were other walkers too. So a little disconcerting for Roz. Pilgrims statue at Cape Finisterre. Finisterre or the Edge of the World, is the traditional end of the Camino. This Camino predates Christianity as pagans journeyed to the mythical Cape Fisterra. They believed the sun died there bringing the land of the living and the dead closer together. The Romans b...
Read more