Wambierzyce

Introducing Wambierzyce

A small village at the northeastern foot of the Góry Stołowe, Wambierzyce (vahm-byeh-zhi-tseh) is an important pilgrimage site and one of the oldest in Poland. Legend has it that in 1218 a blind peasant recovered his sight after praying to a statue of the Virgin Mary, which had been placed in the hollow trunk of a lime tree. A wooden chapel was constructed on the miraculous site and was later replaced with a church. The fame of Wambierzyce (Albendorf in German), dubbed the ‘Silesian Jerusalem’, spread, and a large, two-towered basilica was subsequently built between 1695 and 1711. When this collapsed seven years after its completion, a new sanctuary was built using the surviving Renaissance façade.

The largest numbers of pilgrims arrive on 15 August (Feast of the Assumption) and 8 September (Birth of Mary), as well as on the Sunday closest to those dates.

Last updated: Mar 2, 2009