8 Kolobrzeska, Bydgoszcz, Poland
The Cistercian Abbey in Krzeszów is a complex of the highest world-class monuments, the origins of which date back to the thirteenth century. The whole complex consists of: monastery church, monastery, garden, church of the brotherhood of St. Józef, the abbot's guest house and auxiliary buildings. The most important building of the entire complex is the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the largest baroque temple in Silesia. The most valuable painting in the basilica is in the 24-meter high altar. It is a small icon of Our Lady of Graces dating back to the 13th century - the oldest image of the Mother of God in Poland and one of the five oldest in Europe. The organs from the 18th century also deserve special attention. They have over 2,600 pipes, and they were created by the Silesian organ builder Michał Engler the Younger. In the square of the sanctuary there is also a church dedicated to Saint Joseph with a series of frescoes by "Silesian Rembrandt" by M. Willmann "Joy and Concern of Saint Joseph" - presenting scenes from the life of the Holy Family in an unprecedented way. In the rear part of the basilica there is the Świdnica-Jaworski Piast Mausoleum, in which the remains of the founders of the Krzeszów abbey are buried in Gothic sarcophagi. Outside the walls, in a beautiful landscape, there are chapels of Kalwaria Krzeszowska with 33 stations, serving to meditate on the Passion of Christ.
