Day 13: Jasna Góra Monastery at Częstachowa, and on to Kraków

[Thursday, June 20]

[Click on any photo for a bigger view]

We departed Wrocław early this morning for Częstachowa and then eventually Kraków. We had to get on the road earlier than usual because the icon of the Black Madonna at the Jasna Góra monastery in Częstachowa would be covered from noon until 1:30 and we wanted to get their before the covering.

Częstachowa is a city about 2 hours northeast of Kraków in south central Poland. The Pauline monastery at Jasna Góra ('luminous hill') sits on a hill in town and is home to the shrine of the Black Madonna of Częstachowa. The monastery is one of the most popular religious pilgrimage sites in the world, receiving 4 to 5 million visitors a year. The Black Madonna is an icon believed by art historians to have been painted in Byzantium between the 6th and 9th centuries. Its history before its arrival in Poland in the 14th century is shrouded in mystery. The original Byzantine icon was painted over after it was severely damaged by Hussite plunderers in 1430. The slashes on the Virgin's face are painted as a reminder of that desecration. There are many legends about the icon and the Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Częstachowa . One of the legends is that the icon was originally painted by St. Luke on a piece of wood from the workshop of St. Joseph and was discovered by St. Helen, mother of the Emperor Constantine.

We got to the monastery in time to see the icon before it was to be covered. Our local guide was Przemek, a jolly fellow who seemed to be conversant in several languages. The monastery is a true pilgrimage site in that there can be crowds of both tourists and pilgrims, as well as a mix of reverence and commercialization. Most of the commercialism is outside the grounds of the monastery. The parking lot is huge, and on the walkway to the monastery entrance is a restaurant. In front of the restaurant is a statue of the parents of Saint John Paul II, who was born in Wadowice, a town a couple of hours south of Częstochowa and west of Kraków. There are numerous souvenir stands along the walkway approaching the monastery, but only one small shop inside the walls of the monastery.

Walkway leading to the monastery

St. Michael the Archangel near the entrance to the monastery

Bell tower of the Jasna Góra monastery

Entrance to the monastery

Inside the walls of the monastery are several buildings including the basilica and the attached chapel where the icon is situated. The chapel is the size of a normal church and several Masses are offered there daily. Pilgrims and tourists are allowed to file through even during a Mass, but are asked to be quiet and respectful. There were about two hundred people reverently attending Mass as we entered. We filed through during Mass and were taken on a walkway that went behind the main altar area to a small space directly in front of the icon. Along the walkway on the walls of the chapel are displayed rosaries left at the chapel as well as crutches left due to miraculous healings. The icon itself has a covering layer of elaborate clothing on all parts of it except the faces of Mary and Jesus and one hand of Mary that points to Jesus.

We then went into the main nave of the basilica, which is enormous and elaborately decorated. Some of the decorations depict the patron of the Pauline order, the 4th century hermit St. Paul of Thebes, also called St. Paul the First Hermit. The order itself was founded in Hungary in the 13th century. The Order has called Jasna Góra its home since the 14th Century when the Turks occupied Hungary.

After our look at the main nave, we went back into the chapel of the icon and witnessed the covering. A decorated screen of silver is slowly lowered in front of the icon while an orchestra plays solemn music. After this ceremony, we went back in to the main nave to admire the church more and to look at the artwork, including a separate side chapel with another later rendition of the icon.

We had a brief tour of the treasury of the monastery. We were not allowed to take any pictures. On display were ornate gold and pearl inlayed priestly vestments; lavish sacred objects such as Eucharistic monstrances; previously used versions of the clothing that covers most of the icon; and gifts from prominent people who have visited the monastery, including Polish kings, foreign dignitaries including US presidents, and popes including John Paul II.

Rosaries left in the shrine to Our Lady

The Black Madonna of Częstachowa

A closer view

Screen being lowered to cover the icon

Main altar in the nave at the Jasna Góra monastery

The huge vaulted ceiling of the nave

There were several interpretations of the Black Madonna in the main nave at Częstachowa

Depiction of St. Paul of Thebes

Portrait of Queen Jadwiga, a patron saint of Poland

After a stop for souvenirs, we boarded the bus for Kraków, about 2 hours away, the final destination of our Gate 1 tour (though we would take more side trips in the next couple of days). Kraków, a city of 1.5 million metro population, was the capital of the Kingdom of Poland from the 14th century until 1596 when the capital was moved to Warsaw. It is still considered the cultural capital of Poland and is a major tourist destination, due also in part to other relatively nearby destinations such as Częstachowa, Aushwitz, and the Wieliczka Salt Mine, all on our itinerary.

Juliusz Słowacki Theatre, near our hotel in Kraków

We had signed up for the optional Polish Folklore Dinner and Show, and so after a brief rest the tour group walked from our hotel through part of Kraków's Old Town to the show's venue, the Hawelka Restaurant. The venue had a banquet hall decorated with Polish pastoral landscapes and portraits of Polish kings. Jolanta explained the evening: A dinner with two sets of Polish folk music and dance. The dinner was served in courses from soup to dessert. We started with bread and smalec (a spread made with lard, bacon, apples, onions, garlic, and herbs), and żurek, the soup made with sour rye flour, sausage, and herbs. My main course was pork cutlet and kopytka (like gnocchi) served with beet relish.

I was expecting the folklore part of the dinner to be a "mini-Mazowsze", and it was. (Mazowsze is a large ensemble, established by decree of the Ministry of Culture and Art in 1948, that performs traditional Polish folk song and dance. It has been touring the world since 1951.) Our entertainment, called Złoty Kłos (golden sheaf), was a group of six singers, dancers, and musicians. They sounded wonderful and were very energetic. The group's leader was a portly fellow who looked to be in his 60s, but still managed to whirl around the dance floor with the girls in the group. The group also managed to rope a few of us into a dance or two after dinner. In the later part of the show, the group's leader dressed in the costume of an invader from the East on horseback and 'terrified' several of us as he pranced behind us at the table.

We had a pleasant walk back to the hotel. We needed some rest before starting a big day of touring tomorrow.