Hebdów is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the administrative district of Gmina Nowe Brzesko, within

Proszowice County __NOTOC__ Proszowice County ( pl, powiat proszowicki) is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local govern ...

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship or Lesser Poland Province (in pl, województwo małopolskie ), also known as Małopolska, is a voivodeship (province), in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). It was created on 1 ...

, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north-east of

Nowe Brzesko Nowe Brzesko is a town in Proszowice County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Nowe Brzesko. It lies approximately south-east of Proszowice and east of the regiona ...

, south-east of

Proszowice Proszowice is a town in southern Poland, situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Kraków Voivodeship (1975–1998). Its population numbers 6,206 inhabitants (2004). It is the capital of Proszowice County, and the t ...

, and east of the regional capital

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

. Hebdów is famous across the region for its

Norbertine The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

Abbey, which was founded in the first half of the 12th century (one of the bells at the abbey bears the date 1108). The historic complex (the abbey together with a church) currently belongs to the

Piarists The Piarists (), officially named the Order of Poor Clerics Regular of the Mother of God of the Pious Schools ( la, Ordo Clericorum Regularium pauperum Matris Dei Scholarum Piarum), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the ...

. It is home to a sanctuary of ''Our Lady of Hebdów'' (''Matka Boska Hebdowska''), and the 45-meter tall towers of the church are visible from a large distance. 20170501 Klasztor w Hebdowie 6276

The history of the abbey dates back to the year 1146, when two knights of

High Duke of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16t ...

Bolesław IV the Curly Bolesław IV the Curly (; 1122 – 5 January 1173), a member of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Masovia from 1138 and High Duke of Poland from 1146 until his death. Early life Bolesław was the third son of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth of Poland b ...

, invited here Premonstratensian monks from

Strahov Monastery Strahov Monastery ( cs, Strahovský klášter) is a Premonstratensians, Premonstratensian abbey founded in 1143 by Jindřich Zdík, Bishop John of Prague, and Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia. It is located in Strahov (district of Prague), Strahov, P ...

in the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

. The abbey at Hebdów became a branch of the Czech monastery, with first monks having been of Czech origin, and the first abbot a German man named Wosolanus, who died in 1179. Originally, both monks and nuns lived at Hebdów. After some time however, Norbertine nuns moved to the village of

Zwierzyniec Zwierzyniec (; uk, Звежинець, Zvezhynetsʹ) is a town on the Wieprz river in the Zamość County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland. It has 3,324 inhabitants (2004). Zwierzyniec is the northernmost town of the Roztocze National Park. The par ...

, which now is a district of

. In 1279,

wójt Wójt is a Polish senior civil administrative officer and the highest representative of the government of a ''rural gmina'', i.e., of a commune (''gmina'') comprising only villages. (Heads of towns and cities are called "burgomaster" (Polish: ''bur ...

Gotfryd of Ślezino founded the town of

, located only three kilometers from Hebdów. The town remained property of the monastery until the 19th century. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, Hebdów Abbey emerged as a regional center of the Norbertines. It controlled other abbeys, at Witów,

Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; hu, Újszandec; yi, Tzanz, צאַנז; sk, Nový Sonč; german: Neu-Sandez) is a city in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship of southern Poland. It is the district capital of Nowy Sącz County as a separate administrative unit. It has ...

, Zwierzyniec, Imbramowice, Busko Zdrój,

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to the ...

and Krzyżanowice. The decline of the abbey was brought about by the

Protestant Reformation The Reformation (alternatively named the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation) was a major movement within Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the Catholic Church and in ...

. Furthermore, the abbots at Hebdów were selected by Polish Kings, which had negative consequences, as they were more interested in profits than in spiritual discipline of their monks. In the mid-17th century, the church was expanded by abbot Ludwik Stępkowski, who later became the Bishop of

Kamieniec Podolski Kamianets-Podilskyi ( uk, Ка́м'яне́ць-Поді́льський, russian: Каменец-Подольский, Kamenets-Podolskiy, pl, Kamieniec Podolski, ro, Camenița, yi, קאַמענעץ־פּאָדאָלסק / קאַמעניץ, ...

. Several new ornaments, altars and paintings were added to the church at that time, including the so-called ''

Oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

Chapel''. The new, remodelled church was blessed by Bishop Mikołaj Oborski on May 31, 1678. After the

Partitions of Poland The Partitions of Poland were three partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place toward the end of the 18th century and ended the existence of the state, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland and Lithuania for 12 ...

Hebdów briefly belonged to the

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

, and in 1815 it became part of Russian-controlled

Congress Poland Congress Poland, Congress Kingdom of Poland, or Russian Poland, formally known as the Kingdom of Poland, was a polity created in 1815 by the Congress of Vienna as a semi-autonomous Polish state, a successor to Napoleon's Duchy of Warsaw. It w ...

, in which it remained until

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In 1819, Russians took control over the complex, taking away the abbey’s library, with its precious collection of ancient prints and books. In 1859 the church burned, and services were temporarily moved to Nowe Brzesko. Since 1949, the complex has been administered by the

. Arguably, the most famous of the Hebdów abbots was

Józef Andrzej Załuski Józef Andrzej Załuski (12 January 17029 January 1774) was a Polish Catholic priest, Bishop of Kiev, a sponsor of learning and culture, and a renowned bibliophile. A member of the Polish nobility (''szlachta''), bearing the hereditary Junosza ...

References

Hebdow Abbey, history and photos

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hebdow Villages in Proszowice County