Jedrzejów Abbey

Jędrzejów Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey founded in 1140. The convent, under the lead of Fr. Nicholas, came to these lands in 1114 from the Morimond Abbey in Champagne. The consecration act from 1149 elevated the monastery to a rank of an abbey and king Bolesław IV the Curly gave it a foundation privilege which exempted it from ducal tributes and charges. The ceremony of consecrating the new church and devoting it to the Assumed Blessed Virgin Mary took place in 1210.

In 1447, at the decline of the Middle Ages, Mikołaj Odrowąż became the abbot of the monastery and soon after he decided to rebuild and modernise the Romanesque church and in 1475 the abbey was transformed in the Gothic style. Additionally, a separate building of the abbey hospice was erected. The abbot hired many acknowledged artists to decorate the temple, e.g. Veit Stoss. In 1479, the devastated 12th-century parish church was replaced by a new Gothic church of the Holy Trinity. The convent was liquidated in 1819 and in 1831 its buildings were turned into a field hospital. The pastoral service was taken over by Franciscan monks, however, in 1870 they were also dismissed for supporting the January Uprising. Instead, in 1872 the Russian authorities placed a teaching seminary in here. The Cistercians returned to Jędrzejów in 1945 and in 1953 the monastery gained the rank of a priorate, while in 1989 it again became an abbey.

In the modern times, the monastery underwent a thorough makeover, especially its wings, one of which was extremely devastated and got deconstructed. Only the remains of the chapter house have survived (a few architectural details, decorated with floral relief) - some of them have been transported to the church lapidary, other to the National Museum of the Przypkowski Family. Consequently, today the monastery has there three multi-storey wings from the 13th and 15th centuries.

The post-Cistercian Church dates from the 13th century. Its Romanesque outlook was thoroughly changed in the 15th century and the most radical changes took place after a fire in 1725, when the whole temple gained a Baroque decor. Therefore, the inside combines architectural elements from various epochs.

References:

• Wikipedia
• Wrota Świętokrzyskie

Address

Klasztorna 14B, Jędrzejów, Poland

Details

Founded: 1140
Category: Religious sites in Poland