Knights' Hall at Jasna Góra

In 1661 King John Casimir received Cossack envoys in this hall, and the next day the ambassadors of the Tsar – for a few days a monastery room became the throne room of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Knights' Hall on the first floor of the Jasna Góra monastery is still used for ceremonies, and its walls and vault tell the shrine's history through paintings, banners and plaques. The entrance is right next to the Chapel of the Miraculous Icon, so the hall fits easily into any visit to the shrine.

History: from Disputation Hall to hall of state

The hall was built in 1647–1649 in the south wing of the monastery as a representative room, then known as the Disputation Hall. It began as a separate building running parallel to the Chapel of Our Lady and linked to it by passages on both floors; on the ground floor below lies the Rosary Chapel.

The Senate of the Commonwealth met here in 1656, 1657 and 1661. On 4 February 1661 John Casimir gave an audience here to Cossack envoys, and the following day to the envoys of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The hall was also used for the wedding of King Michael Korybut Wiśniowiecki and Eleanor of Austria in 1670 and during John III Sobieski's pilgrimage before the Battle of Vienna in 1683. In 1936 it hosted the Plenary Synod of Poland.

What to see

The room is covered by a barrel vault on transverse arches with lunettes. In the 1690s pairs of pilasters with Corinthian capitals were added to the walls – look closely, as they are decorated with putti, birds and griffins. In the lunettes hang nine 17th-century oil paintings by anonymous artists showing scenes from Jasna Góra's history, including:

• the founding of the monastery and Duke Władysław of Opole handing the miraculous icon to the Pauline monks,
• the Hussite raid of 1430, when the icon was damaged,
• Prince Władysław giving thanks for the victory at Khotyn in 1621,
• the monks presenting John III Sobieski with Hetman Żółkiewski's sabre before Vienna,
• the Swedish siege of the monastery in 1655.

Under the vault hang banners of army units, trade unions, schools and political parties. On the wall are three plaques: a copper one for the Millennium of Poland's Baptism, a bronze one dedicated to the novelist Henryk Sienkiewicz (unveiled on 25 August 1969) and one bearing the text of John Casimir's Lwów Vows of 1 April 1656, made in 1956.

Details to look for

• In the north-east corner is the monastery gate with an elaborately crowned portal, and next to it an 18th-century altar of St John the Evangelist with a relief of his vision on Patmos.
• On the west wall hang two ornate Venetian mirrors in gilded frames, placed here in 1957.
• The windows, on two levels, look onto the enclosed, four-sided monastery courtyard.

Tripto tip

• Finding it: the hall is on the first floor of the monastery; the entrance is on the left just before the Chapel of Our Lady.
• Visiting: the hall is open to pilgrims and visitors, but it also hosts concerts, meetings and monastic ceremonies, when access may be limited. Check the day's programme before you go.
• Time: 15–30 minutes; combine it with the Rosary Chapel one floor below and a climb up the tower (April to November, 300 steps to the upper terrace).