Kameduli
Churches of Kraków
Church (Roman Catholic), Zwierzyniec district. Date according to Wikidata: 1623. A listed monument (heritage register). Run by: Zakon Kamedułów.
History
The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Camaldolese hermitage stand on Srebrna Góra (Silver Hill) in the Wolski Forest, in Kraków's Bielany. The monks were brought here and settled in 1603 by the Grand Marshal of the Crown, Mikołaj Wolski. As Sigismund III's envoy to Pope Clement VIII, he grew so fond of the Camaldolese that he invited them to Poland; they agreed to send a few brothers if he founded a monastery for them and provided for their upkeep. The name Bielany comes from the monks' white habits ("biały" means white).
At the time the hill belonged to Sebastian Lubomirski, Castellan of Wojnicz, who did not want to sell it. According to the story, Wolski invited him to a feast and, in front of the assembled guests, spoke publicly about his difficulties in building the hermitage, and Lubomirski, albeit reluctantly, signed a deed giving the hill and the village to the Camaldolese. In return Wolski presented him with a great quantity of silver vessels - hence the name Srebrna Góra, Silver Hill.
The church and hermitage were built in 1609-1630. For the first seven years the work was directed by Walenty von Säbisch; when part of the church collapsed after an accident, the Italian architect Andrea Spezza took charge and completed the work in 1630. The consecration took place in 1642. On such a high hill the vault had to rest on the rock, and earth was piled up only above the fourth storey. The cost of the whole undertaking was estimated at 500,000 złoty, an enormous sum at the time.
The stucco work in the church came from the workshop of Giovanni Battista Falconi, and the Royal Chapel holds paintings by Tommaso Dolabella, court painter to the Vasa kings. Also exceptional is the painting of the Virgin Mary known as Our Lady of Camaldoli, painted in the 17th century by the Camaldolese monk Fr Venantius of Subiaco. Beneath the chancel lies a crypt: the remains of deceased monks are walled up there for 100 years and, after exhumation, moved to a common tomb.
Kings often visited the monastery. Marysieńka and John III Sobieski stayed in the guest house before setting off for Vienna, as did Władysław IV. John Casimir, fleeing from the Swedes, watched Kraków burning from here. Stanisław August Poniatowski was also a guest, and on 19 August 2002 the monastery was visited by John Paul II.
Did you know?
The Camaldolese are an order of hermits. The monks live in separate hermit houses or single cells and begin their day at 3.30. They meet only for Mass and prayers and for a few shared meals in the refectory over the course of the year.