A medieval Cistercian abbey within the Nowa Huta district, an island of ancient stone in a sea of 20th-century concrete. The Romanesque-Gothic church preserves Renaissance wall paintings and the famous Crucifix of Mogila. The contrast between the monastic complex and the surrounding communist-era estates makes it a rewarding stop on a Nowa Huta tour.
Mogila Abbey
Medieval Cistercian abbey in Nowa Huta, founded in 1222 and active as a monastery today
A story
Founded in 1222, this Cistercian monastery long predates the steel town that grew up around it; its church holds a revered Gothic crucifix that draws pilgrims, and the wooden Church of St Bartholomew beside it is one of the oldest timber churches in the region.