Basilica and Calvary in Wambierzyce

Silesian Jerusalem is the name which is often referred to Wambierzyce.

This small village became a famous center of pilgrimage associated with the cult of the Virgin Mary. Here, the legend says, in the 12th century, a man named John of Ratna regained his sight, and to his eyes there appeared a figure of the Virgin Mary. To commemorate this event, in 1263 a wooden chapel was built.

In the 17th century in its place there was founded Basilica of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is now a monumental building, towering over a small market, to which leads the monumental staircase. The church has an interesting baroque architecture and rich and valuable decorations from the 18th century. A linden wood statue of Our Lady, an object of the worship, dates from the 14th century.

On the nearby hills and in the center of the village there are numerous chapels, shrines and gates, belonging to the Calvary. It was created in the period from the end of the 17th to the 19th century, and the initiator of their creation was Daniel Ostenberg, then owner of Wambierzyce.

Worth seeing is the moving crib from 1882 – the author, a local locksmith Longiniusz Witting, worked on it for 28 years. At that time, he created more than 800 figures from linden wood, most of which moves in the rhythm of the music through the mechanism of the clock.