Lichen Stary is home to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Sorrows, Queen of Poland
(see sanctuary map).
More than two million pilgrims come here every year. In 1999 the sanctuary was visited by Pope John Paul II. The Basilica of Our Lady of
Lichen is the largest church in Poland, ranking seventh in Europe and eleventh in the world. The shrine's total area is 23,000 m2 . The tower is 141.5 m high and the cross on the dome reaches the height of 103.5 m. The bell tower of the Basilica houses the largest bell in Poland, third largest in Europe
- Mary, Mother of God
(Maryja Bogurodzica) - weighing 19 tonnes..
Apart from the
Lichen Basilica, there are several other noteworthy buildings in the area of the Sanctuary. Among others, there are two historical churches. The first of these is St. Dorothy's Church, which until February 2, 2006 housed the miraculous painting of Our Lady of Lichen (currently the painting is in the Basilica). The construction of this church began in 1852. The other is the church under the invocation of Our Lady of Czestochowa, which was constructed in the first half of the 18th century. This church was destroyed, but has been later reconstructed thanks to Father Eugeniusz Makulski. The vault of the church houses the Chapel of the Holy
Cross. In the chapel you can
see a small crucifix, which
in 1944 was shot through by
Berta Bauer, a Hitlerjugend
instructor.
The Sanctuary also includes the Coronation Square, where on August 15th, 1967 Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski, the Primate of the Millennium, conducted the ceremony of coronation of the miraculous painting. Visitors should also see the
Lichen Golgotha, i.e. an artificial rocky mountain that is 25 meters high. Father Eugeniusz Makulski began its construction in 1976, and the required soil was brought by the locals who were digging foundations for their houses. On August 16th, 1987 the
Lichen Golgotha was consecrated.
About 2.5
km from Lichen Stary is the
Grablin Forest, where in the
year 1850 Our Lady revealed
herself three times to a
shepherd, Mikolaj Sikatka.
In September of 1852 the
painting of Our Lady of
Lichen was moved to St.
Dorothy's Church in Lichen Stary. In 1903 a chapel was
built in the Grablin Forest
to mark the place of the
revelations. This chapel,
which had been destroyed
during World War II, was
later rebuilt.
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