Churches & monasteries

Hermitage of Blessed Salomea in Grodzisko

Above the Prądnik Valley, on the summit of the Długa rock in Grodzisko near Skała, stands the hermitage complex of Blessed Salomea: a Romanesque hermitage from the 13th century, a Baroque church and prayer huts. The site lies on the route from Ojców to Pieskowa Skała, in the buffer zone of Ojców National Park.

A stronghold, the Poor Clares, the hermitage

At the beginning of the 13th century Henry the Bearded built a defensive stronghold here. In 1243 Grodzisko was granted to Salomea, sister of Duke Bolesław V the Chaste, who after a period of life among the Poor Clares moved the order to this hill in 1262. The original hermitage survives — the pious duchess was said to pray there — and you descend to it by stone steps, carefully.

Baroque and the elephant on the hill

Today, on the foundations of the former monastery stands the church of the Assumption of Mary and Blessed Salomea, built in 1677–91, surrounded by a historic wall with Baroque gates and statues of the family of Blessed Salomea and of Henry the Bearded. Next to the church are prayer huts and the Grotto of the Garden of Gethsemane. The most photographed element of the complex is the stone figure of an elephant from 1686, carrying a granite obelisk commemorating the victory of John III Sobieski.