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The Jasna Góra Monastery ( , ''Luminous or Light Mountain'', ) in
Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...
,
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, is a shrine dedicated to the
Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
and one of the country's places of
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...
. The image of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, also known as Our Lady of Częstochowa, to which miraculous powers are attributed, is one of Jasna Góra's most precious treasures.' The site is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments ('' Pomnik historii'') and is tracked by the National Heritage Board of Poland.


History

Jasna Góra Monastery was founded in 1382 by Pauline monks who came from Hungary at the invitation of Vladislaus II of Opole. The new monastery was entrusted with the icon, depicting the Mother of God with the Christ Child, known as the Black Madonna of Częstochowa or Our Lady of Częstochowa. On April 14, 1430, Jasna Góra was sacked by the Hussites. It was originally a single-nave church, which was enlarged around 1463 to become a three-nave hall church in the Gothic style. In the winter of 1655, the monastery was unsuccessfully besieged by the Swedish army during the
Second Northern War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of ...
, or The Deluge (as the Swedish invasion of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...
is known). The event stimulated the Polish resistance and shortly thereafter, in the cathedral of Lwów (
Lviv Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...
), on April 1, 1656, Jan Kazimierz, the
King 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 ...
, solemnly pronounced his vow to consecrate the country to the protection of the Mother of God and proclaimed Her the Patron and
Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...
of the lands in his kingdom. On March 16, 1657, he visited Jasna Góra and prayed there. Reconstruction in the
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
style was carried out between 1690 and 1693. Between 1693 and 1696 the walls of the nave and chancel were raised, thus changing the spatial arrangement of the church from a hall to a basilica. The monastery was again unsuccessfully besieged by the Swedes in 1702, 1705 and 1709 during the Third Northern War. In 1717 the icon of the Virgin Mary was crowned by the decision of Pope Clement XI. Between 1760 and 1772 in the monastery was imprisoned Jacob Frank, Polish-Jewish religious leader, founder of the Frankist sect, who considered himself a messiah. In 1770-1772 Jasna Góra was besiged by Russians during the Bar Confederation. In 1909, during the
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 ...
period, thieves broke into the monastery and stole millions in
rubles The ruble or rouble (; rus, рубль, p=rublʲ) is a currency unit. Currently, currencies named ''ruble'' in circulation include the Russian ruble (RUB, ₽) in Russia and the Belarusian ruble (BYN, Rbl) in Belarus. These currencies are su ...
worth of jewels, pearls, and other valuables. The icon itself was not damaged. Crowds of praying and weeping people gathered at the closed monastery when the theft was discovered.
Pope Pius X Pope Pius X (; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing Modernism in the Catholic Church, modern ...
himself offered to replace the crown that was stolen, and the coronation occurred in 1910. The coronation attracted Poles from both the Russian and Austrian partitions. Special trains brought people from Warsaw, and the crowds numbered up to 60,000. A monk named Damazy Macoch confessed to the crime in 1910. Among the monastery's most important exhibits is the medal from the 1983
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...
received by
Lech Wałęsa Lech Wałęsa (; ; born 29 September 1943) is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who served as the president of Poland between 1990 and 1995. After winning the 1990 Polish presidential election, 1990 election, Wałę ...
, the former Polish president and trade-union organizer.


Walking pilgrimages

Every year since 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 ...
, thousands of Poles go in pilgrim groups to visit Jasna Góra. In 2011, it was estimated that 3.2 million pilgrims from 80 countries around the world went to the shrine. Around 830,000 pilgrims took part in 228 pilgrimages organized in different places across Poland, 143, 983 of which reached the monastery on foot. The average distance for a pilgrim group to travel is about , made in 11 days.


Monastic etiquette

There are typically numerous pilgrims and tourists at Jasna Góra Monastery, and the volume of excited voices can be high. However, upon entering the Monastery, it is expected etiquette for visitors to be silent or as quiet as possible out of respect. Often, there is a long line of people who wait to approach the shrine of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa. Upon arriving at the place of the shrine at which one would pass in front of the icon of Our Lady, it is expected and a sign of respect for pilgrims to drop to their knees, and traverse the anterior of the shrine on their knees.


Gallery

File:A-1278 Jasna Góra Rafał Peplinski 15.JPG, Jasna Góra Monastery File:Czestochowa-bazylika.jpg, The main nave of the basilica File:JasnaGóra UroczystościWniebowzięciaMatkiBoskiej2005 2.JPG, Pilgrims arriving for the Feast of the Assumption File:B16 Jasna Góra 2006.JPG,
Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...
on Jasna Góra in 2006 File:Tschenstochau-2.jpg, View of the tower File:Częstochowa - Jasna Góra - Kaplica MB Częstochowskiej.JPG, Interior of the monastery File:Częstochowa - Jasna Góra, Sala Rycerska AL01.JPG, Knights' Chamber File:Ołtarz główny Bazyliki Jasnogórskiej.jpg, Main Altar File:Basilica Jasna Góra.jpg, Organs inside the main building File:Częstochowa, Brama Lubomirskich - fotopolska.eu (276210).jpg, Lubomirski Gate File:Czestochowa (PL) 90.JPG, Statues in the monastery File:A-1278 Jasna Góra Rafał Peplinski 3.JPG, Pilgrims visiting the monastery in 2012 File:A-1278 Jasna Góra Rafał Peplinski 6.JPG, Monastery building File:Częstochowa - Jasna Góra, Park AL04.JPG, View of the park


See also

* Shrines to the Virgin Mary * Black Madonna of Częstochowa * National Shrine of Our Lady of Częstochowa


References


Bibliography

* * * *


Notes


External links


Jasna Góra website


{{DEFAULTSORT:Jasna Gora Monastery Buildings and structures in Częstochowa Christian monasteries in Poland Shrines to the Virgin Mary Black Madonna of Częstochowa Basilica churches in Poland Pauline monasteries Churches in Silesian Voivodeship History of Częstochowa Black Madonnas