Opactwo Pocysterskie w Krzeszowie

In Krzeszów, a monumental basilica stands beside a church whose walls are covered with stories painted by Michael Willmann. In the ducal mausoleum, medieval sarcophagi are surrounded by Baroque decoration. Nearby are buildings with entirely different purposes: a convent, a house for lay guests and pilgrimage chapels. The former abbey’s history is recorded in its architecture, pictures and changing uses.

The Basilica of the Assumption was built in 1728-1735. Its furnishings combine Peter Brandl’s great painting with a thirteenth-century icon of Our Lady of Grace and Michael Engler the Younger’s organ. Saint Joseph’s Church served parishioners and a religious brotherhood. Its paintings depict the Holy Family’s ancestors and Joseph’s joys and sorrows. Dukes associated with the abbey’s foundation, including Bolko I the Strict and Bolko II the Small, were buried in the mausoleum.

The complex’s history extends beyond the main square. Calvary chapels bring Gospel events into the local landscape. At Betlejem, the Nativity Chapel reproduced the grotto of Jesus’ birth, while an octagonal waterside pavilion served as a place of prayer for the abbot. These buildings have their own histories and separate locations.

The convent buildings preserve traces of unfinished plans and changing communities. Benedictine nuns who arrived from Lviv have lived here since 1946. Krzeszów remains a place of worship, where historic interiors continue to serve religious purposes.