SACRED MONUMENTS

The 17.5 metre tall iron cross which towers atop mount Giewont, was constructed by the Zakopane parishioners in 1901 to commemorate the birth of Jesus under the initiative of Father Kazimierz Kaszelewski. Initialy, to see how big the cross would have to be in order to be visible from Zakopane, a wooden one measuring 10.5m was installed. Made up of 400 individual elements with a combined weight of almost 2000kg, the cross was assembled by highlanders, many of whom carried the elements on their backs from Hala Kondratowa up to which they were transported by horse carriages, along with 400kg of cement and water. The cross was renovated in 1975 with the help of youth who carried up a further 1200kg of sand, 200kg of cement and gallons of water. It remains the symbol of Zakopane with millions of tourists visiting the site as part of their pilgrimage. An annual mass is held in the church of the Holy Cross in Zakopane to commemorate the date it was built. The pilgrimages are incredibly risky during storm and on one occasion, in 1937, 4 people died and 13 received shocks when lighting hit the crucifix.


The Sacred Heart Chapel in Jaszczurowka, one of the most recognised in the region, was erected in the Witkiewicz style by highlander carpenters in the early 1900s and was completely assembled without the use of a single nail. The interior decor, also designed by the architect, features stained glass windows depicting Our Lady of Chestochowa with the Polish emblem to the right of the main altar and Our Lady of Ostrobrama with the Lithuanian emblem on the left. The main altar itself resembles the main wall of a classic ‘Goral’ home and is richly decorated with unique antiquities. The side altars were added in 1954 and were sculpted by Jozef Janos. Situated on the Wooden Architecture Trail and within the boundaries of the Tatra National Park, the chapel also features a religious themed gallery on its lower floor, which changes the exhibited works periodically. The idea for the gallery started with the installation of the Stations of the Cross, painted on glass by Jozef Jan Jachymiak, in the main body of the chapel. Throughout the decades, the sanctuary was cared for chiefly by the Marian Fathers and has undergone many restoration works, including a modern fire-fighting system installed to ensure the temple can be visited by generations to come. The Chapel is situated on the road from Zakopane to Morskie Oko, at the foot of Olczyska Valley. A Polish speaking guide is often present at the entrance to share the intimate details of the history of the shrine. Bishop Karol Wojtyla, later Pope John Paul II, often visited this popular place of worship during his visits to the Tatra mountains.


The 18th century Church of Sts. John the Apostle and Evangelist at Harenda was moved in 1947 from Zakrzow near Kalwaria Zebrzydowska to Zakopane, after a new sanctuary was built in Zakrzow, along with a bell tower built in 1840. The interior is decorated with paintings and includes three eighteenth-century baroque altars imported from Ksiaz Wielki, painted by Wladyslaw Jarocki. The main altar features St. John, the patron saint of the church, on the right, crib of Bethlehem, to the left – the scene of the Assumption. There is no lack of regional accents here: the shepherds of Bethlehem are Highlanders, and the scene of the Assumption has a Tatra landscape background. The image of Christ the King also adorns the walls, painted on wood by an anonymous artist, as well as two folk wooden shrines, carved wood figures of the Apostles and an unused font which was moved from the Old Church. Visible on the balcony of the choir is St. Cecilia with musical angels and, over the chancel, a scene of the Coronation of the Virgin Mary. The church was renovated by Jarocki (son in law of Jan Kasprowicz). Next to the church is a mausoleum and museum dedicated to Kasprowicz. The church is situated on the wooden architecture trail and listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.


The Our Lady of Czestochowa church on Ulica Koscieliska, or the ‘old church’ as it is commonly referred to, is the oldest, wooden religious building in Zakopane and dates back to 1847. The church was primarily dedicated to St. Clement in honor of Klementyna Homolascowa, who subsidized the construction of the church. In 1851, an initiative led by Father Stolarczyk led to the church being expanded and a tower bell was also included. The main altar, which features the image of Our Lady, and side altars, are from the second half of the 19th century and were sculpted by Wojciech Kulach-Wawrzyncok who was nicknamed the ‘Leaonardo da Vinci from Gliczarow’ and whose brother Piotr was also a renowaned sculptor in the region. The interior is decorated with the paintings of many folk saints, including the image of St. Paul falling off his horse on the road to Damascus which was painted by an anonymous artist and is situated on the right hand wall and Stations of the Cross which are the works of Ewelina Peksa, a renowned local artist who was awarded the St. Brother Albert prize for religious arts. A medieval clock ticks away inside, adding to the unique ambience. A small pulpit on the left side of the church is where once, the seven-foot-tall figure of Father Stolarczyk used to preach his sermons despite the inappropriate behaviour of his parishioners. Legend says, highladers would come to the church and light their pipes off the paschal candle, not through lack of respect, but due to simple lack of knowledge. Much of what the first parish priest had to say was completely new to a people who identified themselves with outlaws like Janosik; an outlaw whose legend was the equivalent of Robin Hood in the Polish highlands. Next to the church, stands a small chapel, named after the Gasienica clan which form the largest family tree in Podhale. Built at the beginning of the 1800s by Pawel Gasienica, some say with money ‘raised’ by the local outlaws as penance for their sins, it was renovated in 1861 and blessed by the parish priest. The figures of the two Slavic saints, Andrzej Swierad and Benedykt Stojslaw, are the main decorative elements of the enclosed shrine, along with the symbols of the four Evangelists.


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