Częstochowa - a magical place for Roman-Catholic Polish ..

 9th March 2015

The Jasna Góra Monastery  in Częstochowa, Poland, is the most famous Polish shrine to the Virgin Mary and the country's greatest place of pilgrimage – for many its spiritual capital. The image of the Black Madonna of Częstochowa, also known as Our Lady of Częstochowa, to which miraculous powers are attributed, is Jasna Góra's most precious treasure.

The site is one of Poland's official national Historic Monuments, as designated September 16, 1994 and tracked by the National Heritage Board of Poland.

 I have been to Częstochowa many times and it is very interesting place but too crowded.

 Częstochowa is a pilgrimage destination for hundreds of years, and it contains the most important icon of the Virgin Mary in this part of Europe. The icon, depicting the Mother of God with the Christ Child, is known as the Black Madonna of Częstochowa or Our Lady of Częstochowa, which is widely venerated and credited with many miracles.^[2] Among these, it is credited with miraculously saving the Jasna Góra monasteryduring a siege that took place at the time of The Deluge, a 17th-century Swedish invasion. The event stimulated the Polish resistance. The Poles could not immediately change the course of the war but after an alliance with the Crimean Khanate they repulsed the Swedes. Shortly thereafter, in the cathedral of Lviv, on April 1, 1656, Jan Kazimierz, the King of Poland, solemnly pronounced his vow to consecrate the country to the protection of the Mother of God and proclaimed Her the Patron and Queen of the lands in his kingdom.

The Jasna Gora Monastery - photos were taken by my daughter in 2012.