Quest To Save A Crumbling Shrine
Dziennik Polski (Polish Daily) announced this week that 100,000 zl has been raised thus far to help restore the monks hermitages at the Camaldolese Monastery of Bielany. Known as 'The Silver Mountain', Bielany is one of the world's few surviving Camaldolese enclaves. The lifestyle is spartan: monks eat in their own hermitages, using only vegetables that have been grown in the gardens. Only on special feast days do they actually convene for lunch, although they sing Plainsong together daily.
The monastery itself, perched at the crest of a wooded valley outside Krakow, has been in a poor state for some time now. The main church - a formidable Mannerist edifice of white limestone - is in reasonable condition, but many of the outbuildings are in urgent need of repair.
Restoration efforts were kicked off last Summer when a number of distinguished photographers contributed to an exhibition that was held in Cracow's Barbican. The pictures drew back the curtain on a world that has changed little in centuries.
The exhibition came in the wake of the 400th anniversary of Bielany's foundation, which was celebrated in royal style at the Silver Mountain last May. Several thousand pilgrims attended the rare public mass - on normal days women are not allowed inside the complex unless they are the Queen of Poland (a long extinct office) or a direct descendent of Lord Mikolaj Wolski, who founded of the monastery in 1604.
Dziennik Polski continues its admirable campaign to help save parts of the monastery. The fund can be contacted at the following address: Wydawnictwo Jagiellonia SA, ul. Wielopole 1, 31-072 Kraków.