Hebdów is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the administrative district of

Gmina Nowe Brzesko __NOTOC__ Gmina Nowe Brzesko is an urban-rural gmina (administrative district) in Proszowice County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. Its seat is the town of Nowe Brzesko, which lies approximately south-east of Proszowice and east ...

, within

Proszowice County __NOTOC__ Proszowice County () 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 government reforms passed in ...

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship in southern Poland. It has an area of , and a population of 3,404,863 (2019). Its capital and largest city is Kraków. The province's name recalls the traditional name of a h ...

, 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 regional ...

, 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 tow ...

, and east of the regional capital

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

. 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 in 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 (), abbreviated SchP, is a religious order of clerics regular of the Catholic Church founded in 1617 by Spanish priest Joseph Calasanz ...

. 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 Royal elections in Poland, free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electab ...

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 in 1173. Early life Bolesław was the third son of Duke Bolesław III Wrymouth ...

, invited here Premonstratensian monks from

Strahov Monastery Strahov Monastery () is a Premonstratensian abbey founded in 1143 by Jindřich Zdík, Bishop John of Prague, and Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia. It is located in Strahov, Prague, Czech Republic. History The founding of a monastery After his p ...

in the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

. 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 () 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 park comprises some of the last remaining s ...

, which now is a district of

. In 1279,

wójt A wójt is the highest administrative officer of a Polish ''rural gmina'', i.e., of a commune (''gmina'') comprising only villages. (The head of a town or city is called, respectively, the ''burmistrz'' or "president".) History and etymology T ...

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 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

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

Nowy Sącz Nowy Sącz (; ; ; ; ) 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. With a population of 83,116 as of 2021, it is the largest city in the Beskid S ...

, Zwierzyniec, Imbramowice,

Busko Zdrój __NOTOC__ Busko () is a unit of territorial administration and local government (powiat) in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, south-central Poland. It came into being on January 1, 1999, as a result of the Polish local government reforms passed in 1998 ...

Płock Płock (pronounced ), officially the Ducal Capital City of Płock, is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by Central Statistical Office (Poland), GUS on 31 December 2021, the ...

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

Protestant Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

. 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 (, ; ) is a city on the Smotrych River in western Ukraine, western Ukraine, to the north-east of Chernivtsi. Formerly the administrative center of Khmelnytskyi Oblast, the city is now the administrative center of Kamianets ...

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

Oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

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 partition (politics), partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that took place between 1772 and 1795, toward the end of the 18th century. They ended the existence of the state, resulting in the eli ...

Hebdów briefly belonged to the

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

, and in 1815 it became part of Russian-controlled

Congress Poland Congress Poland or Congress Kingdom of 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 was established w ...

, in which it remained until

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. 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.

References

Hebdow Abbey, history and photos
{{Authority control Villages in Proszowice County