Szczyrzyc Cistercian Abbey

The Cistercians of Szczyrzyc have been praying, farming and – with interruptions – brewing beer for nearly eight centuries. Szczyrzyc Abbey is the only monastery of the order on Polish soil that has operated without a break since the Middle Ages. In the Stradomka valley, among the hills of the Island Beskids, you will find a Baroque church with a revered painting, a monastery garden, a museum with a katana and a mammoth tooth, and a brewery whose recipe came back from the archives.

History: from Podhale to the Island Beskids

The abbey was founded by Teodor Gryfita, Voivode of Kraków, who gave the Cistercians of Jędrzejów extensive lands at the foot of the Tatras. In 1234 the monks founded a monastery in Ludźmierz, but a few years later – most likely around 1243, after the Mongol invasion – they moved to Szczyrzyc. The harsh climate of Podhale, poor soil and raids may all have played a part. The Cistercians of Ludźmierz and Szczyrzyc went on to found the town of Nowy Targ and the castle in Szaflary, cleared forests and built mills, bridges and breweries.

When Poland was partitioned, the abbey lost its land and was banned from accepting novices, but it ran a four-grade school for village children – one of its pupils was the writer Władysław Orkan. During the German occupation the monastery sheltered refugees and ran secret classes, for which it was awarded the Virtuti Militari cross, Poland's highest military decoration.

What to see

• The Church of the Assumption and St Stanislaus – a 17th-century masonry church (begun in 1620), remodelled in the 18th and 19th centuries. The main altar holds the painting of Our Lady of Szczyrzyc.
• The monastery – 17th-century buildings around a square cloister garth. Its most precious treasures are a 15th-century crucifix and a 16th-century stone holy-water stoup. In 1831 an east wing and a wooden bell tower with an onion dome were added.
• The Abbot's House – 16th century, later a granary, with a stone portal bearing the Korczak coat of arms; home of the Monastery Museum, founded in 1954.

The collections are surprisingly varied. They include an 18th-century copy of a medieval world map with Jerusalem at its centre, coins from the reign of King Władysław Jagiełło to 1918, a Japanese katana and a Malay kris, 16th-century chain mail, a mineral collection with a mammoth tooth, an early printed psalter in Jan Kochanowski's translation and mementoes of Orkan, including his letters to his sister.

Did you know? Beer and the devil's stone

The Cistercians brewed beer in Szczyrzyc for centuries. After the war the brewery was nationalised; the abbey got it back in 1993, but it closed in 1997 because of debts. In 2003 the old recipe was found in the monastery records and Cistercian beer returned to the market. A separate museum room tells the story of the brewery, complete with a collection of labels.

Legend has it that the monastery was built with gold a musician received from the devil for playing at his dance. The furious devil tried to drop a huge boulder on the abbey but had to abandon it 3 km away. The rock, with a "hoofprint" in it, can be seen in the village of Krzesławice.

Tripto tip

According to the abbey's notice, the Monastery Museum is temporarily closed for renovation, and the monks invite visitors on a guided walk through the church, the garden and St Stanislaus Square. It lasts about 40 minutes and usually ends in the monastery shop. The Cistercian Brewery can only be visited by large groups by prior arrangement. Check the abbey's website for current notices before you go and avoid Mass times. Allow about an hour in total, and if you have more time, add a walk to the devil's stone in Krzesławice.