Cistercian Abbey Kraków Mogila Sanctuary of the Holy Cross
ul. Klasztorna 11, 31-979 Kraków
Tourist region: Kraków i okolice
tel. +48 126446992
The Cistercians were brought to the village of Mogila near Kraków in 1222 by the bishop of Kraków, Iwo Odrowaz, from Lubiaz in Lower Silesia. Soon after, a stone and brick abbey with an early Gothic church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and St Wenceslas the Martyr was built here. The church was built on a Latin cross plan in the Cistercian Romanesque-Gothic style, with the main altar facing east and was consecrated in 1266. History has not spared the monastery from various historical experiences. In the 13th century, it was ravaged by the Tartars, and in the 17th century, by the Swedes. Inside the church, on the presbytery walls, the transept and the southern chapel, you can admire the Renaissance polychromy made in the 2nd quarter of the 16th century by Stanislaw Samostrzelnik, a monk from the local monastery. The main altar contains a late Gothic polyptych (dating from 1514) with a statue of the Virgin Mary and Child, as well as painted and carved wings with scenes from the life and passion of Christ and figures of saints. The monastery's benefactors, monks and abbots are buried in the crypt at the entrance to the Chapel of the Miraculous Lord Jesus. Inside the chapel, there is a Gothic crucifix, famous for the graces of the Mogilian Lord Jesus, venerated since the 14th century. The significant number of votive offerings on the walls and the grooves carved in the floor by pilgrims approaching on their knees testify to the long tradition of its veneration. The faithful also come to the Sanctuary in the Cistercian Abbey for the relics of the Holy Cross. The cult of the local image of Jesus on the cross probably dates back to the times of King Casimir the Great. The cross was the only item that survived the church fire in the 15th century. Only Christ's hair and loincloth were destroyed, and since then, the Saviour's statue has been given a wig made of natural hair, and his hips have been girdled with a real cloth. The figure of Jesus is made of elmwood. The abbey is a must-see with the basilica with the Chapel of the Holy Cross, the monastery cloisters, the chapter house, the fraternity and abbey chapel and the monastery gardens.