The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Hebdów

Monuments

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Hebdów 110, 32-120 Nowe Brzesko Tourist region: Kraków i okolice

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The monastery and the Marian Sanctuary were erected on a picturesque hill in a bend of the Vistula River. They are one of the most valuable Gothic and Baroque architectural monuments in the Małopolska region. There is a venerated statue of Our Lady of Hebdów, known as the Vistula Lady.

It is the oldest – after the Monastery of Tyniec – monastic foundation in Małopolska. The origins of the monastery date back to 1146, when the Norbertine monks from Bohemia came to the village and a few years later built a Romanesque church. In the Middle Ages, seven monasteries in Poland were subordinate to the Abbey of Hebdów, and the local Abbot was the first among all monastic dignitaries from Poland, Bohemia and Hungary. Initially, Hebdów also housed a women's convent, which moved to Kraków. In 1819, the Russian authorities liquidated the monastery and removed the Norbertines, taking away the valuable book collections of what was once one of the wealthiest monastic libraries in Poland. Since 1949, the Piarists have farmed here. To this day, in the initially early Gothic church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary from the 13th century, you can see relics of a Romanesque basilica, and in the monastery basements, sarcophagi and coffins of deceased Norbertine monks and abbots.

The church and monastery were extended and rebuilt between 1640 and 1727 in the Late Baroque style, and two 45-metre towers were erected in 1859. The presbytery has survived from the Gothic church. Between 1692 and 1727, a Baroque oratory chapel with three apses and monastery wings surrounding a rectangular cloister was added. The chapel is crowned by a high dome with a lantern, which used to serve as navigation for those navigating the Vistula River. It is filled with medallions illustrating the eight beatitudes, with the four continents (America, Africa, Europe, and Asia) at the base. The whole is completed with paintings and angel sculptures. Made with great precision, the historic 26-voice organ dates from the 17th century and is decorated with statues of the figure of King David (at the top) and angels playing musical instruments. Made with great precision, the historic 26-voice organ dates from the 17th century and is decorated with sculptures of the figure of King David (at the top) and angels playing musical instruments.

The church's furnishings are Baroque and Classical, including stalls with paintings on the clasps, an alabaster Renaissance statue of the Risen Christ, wooden candlesticks and a portal with the Junosza coat of arms, a tabernacle, a pulpit; a crucifix, a painting of St Norbert trampling heretical books, tombstones, and numerous epitaphs. Several Baroque paintings have been uncovered in both the church and the monastery, including a 17th-century polychrome in the nave and Baroque polychromes in the monastery cloisters.

For centuries, the image of Mary and the Child has been venerated here – a statue of Our Lady of Hebdów, made by an unknown artist from linden wood around 1400, 124 centimetres high, placed in a niche above the main altar. The temples of the Madonna and Child are adorned with crowns. Lady of Hebdów holds the Infant on her left arm and a sceptre in her right hand. She is dressed in a flowing, gilt-covered gown. The Child has a royal apple in his left hand. Among the votive offerings deposited at the feet of Lady of Hebdów are unique votive offerings – a white skull cap and a papal rosary, offered in 2004 by the Polish Pope John Paul II.

In 2008, art conservators restoring the 19th-century image of Our Lady of Starobrzeg, located in the side altar, discovered an older Gothic image of the Madonna and Child from around 1460 painted on a board underneath. The beautiful Madonna is depicted frontally, holding the Child on her left arm. She is dressed in a dark blue coat. The Child holds a book in his left hand, and raises his right hand in blessing.

The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and Saints Peter and Paul has served as a parish church since 1832. The sanctuary has set indulgences for 29 June on the feast of Saints Peter and Paul and 15 August on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.