|
The only reason for going to WACHOCK , 44km north of Kielce (and getting there certainly constitutes something of a detour from the main Radom-Warsaw road) is to visit the town's Cistercian abbey . One of the major Cistercian centres in Poland, the monastery is also widely regarded as one of the finest and best-preserved monuments of Romanesque architecture in the country. Built by the group of Burgundian monks who settled here in 1179 at the invitation of Gedko, bishop of Krakow, the complex was completed in 1239, probably by Italian masons whose leader, Maestro Simon, carved his name on the facade of the church. The monks of the Cistercian community give guided tours round the abbey, mostly to prearranged tourist groups, which you are welcome to tag along with: otherwise the brothers are happy to let people come in and look around the church and main sections of the cloister during specified opening hours (Mon-Sat 9am-noon & 1-5pm, Sun 2-5pm). Just five minutes' walk from the main square, entrance to the complex is through the main abbey door, where you'll need to make yourself known at the reception desk. Opposite is a small museum devoted to the history of the place, including its role in the exploits of the Polish insurgents who fought Russian troops from their bases in the surrounding hills during the failed 1863 Uprising against tsarist rule. The original Romanesque interior design of the basilica-shaped abbey church , topped with a high tower, has largely been submerged under a mass of florid Baroque ornamentation, though the cross-ribbed vaulting characteristic of Cistercian architecture is still in evidence. On into the adjoining monastic complex, the most notable features are two well-preserved original Romanesque sections of the cloisters , much of which was remodelled in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The chapter house , in the eastern section, is the real showstopper. Its exquisitely proportioned cross-ribbed vaulting is divided into nine sections interspersed with a sequence of arches supported by four columns, whose capitals are ornamented with intricately carved floral decoration, also gracing the surrounding walls. On the south side of the cloister, the refectory also features more soothing cross-ribbed vaulting and decorative carved stonework, the atmosphere of the place suggestive of the calming rhythms of the monastic life practised here for centuries. For places to stay, the only current option in town is a summer-only youth hostel , ul. Koscielna 10, while for a bite to eat, there are a couple of basic restaurants/cafes on and around the Rynek, none of them memorable. There's a reasonably frequent though slow-paced bus service to and from Kielce, terminating at Wachock's Rynek.
Your Tip for Wachock
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Wachock - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Wachock - visit the main Wachock forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Wachock webguide section below! Thanks.
|
