![]() Front view of Mogiła Abbey with the Basilica of the Holy Cross to the left
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Monastery information | |
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Order | Cistercians |
Established | 1222 |
Archdiocese | Kraków |
People | |
Founder(s) | Bishop Iwo Odrowąż |
Abbot | Piotr Chojnacki, O.Cist. |
Architecture | |
Style | Polish Gothic and Renaissance |
Completion date | 1225 |
Site | |
Location | ul. Klasztorna 11, Kraków |
Country | Poland |
Coordinates | 50°3′52.3″N 20°03′9.9″E / 50.064528°N 20.052750°ECoordinates: 50°3′52.3″N 20°03′9.9″E / 50.064528°N 20.052750°E |
Website | www |
Mogiła Abbey (Polish: Opactwo Cystersów w Mogile; Latin: Abbatia B.M.V. de Clara Tumba) is a Cistercian monastery in the Nowa Huta District of Kraków, Poland. The abbey was founded in 1222 by the Bishop of Kraków, Iwo Odrowąż. The religious complex was built for religious reasons as well as for prestige. It was the largest and most impressive church in medieval Poland after Wawel Cathedral, and served as the Odrowąż family's burial place until the 16th century.
The architectural complex includes the stuccoed Polish Gothic church, the Basilica of the Holy Cross (Polish: Bazylika Krzyża Świętego), which serves as the Parish Church of St. Bartholomew the Apostle as well as the abbey church for the monks. There is also the Polish Renaissance-style abbot's palace, built around 1569, as well as the red-brick monastery, with a broad inner courtyard, outbuildings, vegetable garden, greenhouse, etc.
Under the reign of Henry I the Bearded, the Duke of Silesia, a community of monks was brought in from Lubiąż Abbey to Mogiła by Odrowąż around 1219, to commence the construction of the brand new church in his diocese. He granted them a village by the Vistula River, close to his residence in the capital. The monastic community, consisting of the 13 professed monks mandatory for an independent monastery, moved in around 1225, although the expansion of the abbey continued for years to come. The Mogiła Abbey was confirmed by the Roman Curia through a papal bull signed by Pope Gregory IX on 9 June 1228. In Latin, the monastery still retains its name of Clara Tumba (Bright Tomb), a name derived from two local toponyms. There is an ancient barrow, called Wanda Mound, within a mile of the monastery site; and the name of the site of the monastery, originally the village of Mogiła, translates as "tomb" in Polish.