Jasna Góra
Jasna Góra
4.5
5:30 AM - 9:30 PM
Monday
5:30 AM - 9:30 PM
Tuesday
5:30 AM - 9:30 PM
Wednesday
5:30 AM - 9:30 PM
Thursday
5:30 AM - 9:30 PM
Friday
5:30 AM - 9:30 PM
Saturday
5:30 AM - 9:30 PM
Sunday
5:30 AM - 9:30 PM
About
The holiest place in Poland and one of the world’s most important destinations for pilgrims. Every year several million pilgrims pray before the miraculous picture of Our Lady of Czestochowa.
Duration: More than 3 hours
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.

Popular mentions

4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles796 reviews
Excellent
549
Very good
191
Average
37
Poor
7
Terrible
12

Mountbatten4x
Prague, Czech Republic63 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2022
quite huge monastery complex with interesting exhibitions. And the church with THAT picture :-) Church and area in front of the altar is very crowdy, but surprisly other parts of the complex not. I really liked the strange stations of cross in the second floor in the church
Written August 26, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Peter Lanky
Wigan, UK847 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2011
This place may be interesting to anyone who is religious, but to me it was like a cattle market. I expected a peaceful monastery in a secluded place, but was greeted with a huge car park, plus lots of shops to deprive you of your money.

Once inside it was as crowded as a sports stadium, with people pushing and barging in a manner that mainland Europeans do so well, and trying to avoid people who randomly kneel on the floor or even crawl on all fours. I personally find this over the top religious self indulgence rather scary, and therefore lost interest in the rest of the visit which did include some fine architecture.

The only redeeming feature was after having found queues at the inadequate number of food outlets, we crossed the car park where some independent stalls were set up, and enjoyed a huge hot dog each which was very tasty and only cost 4.5Zl.
Written August 15, 2011
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

jobanoonoos
Melbourne675 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2014 • Friends
We visited Czestochowa earlier in the year to see the place my family called home a long time ago. The Jasna Gora is clearly an important part of the town and its history, but in the 21st century it just made me sad. The church seems so ridiculously opulent in a city that is clearly facing some economic struggles. While pavements are cracked and windows are smashed in houses only minutes from the church, this building is literally dripping with gold. This sense of inequity was compounded by visits to the city's Jewish cemetary (which lies derelict and overgrown) and HASAG Pelcery (a slave labour camp where many were incarcerated during the war) - the crumbling building has now been covered in advertising materials for local businesses.
If I felt that what was going into the collection plate at the church was being chanelled into the local community, helping remember the city's important history and developing its future, I would be happy. However, it seems that the church is just lining their own pockets, to the detriment of Czestochowa. Just all very sad...
Written December 2, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

matteo_maj
Warsaw, Poland32 contributions
1.0 of 5 bubbles
Aug 2014 • Friends
Would you like to see people praying to a painting? Go to Jasna Gora. The disgusting wealth of the sanctuarium compared to the teachings of Jesus just do not seem appropriate.
Written July 29, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Yan W
Fochabers, UK241 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2013 • Friends
This is where the famous shine of the virgin black Madonna and the most important icon of the polish catholic faith is located.
This is a place of pilgrimage,don't be surprised that the place is busy,it's a place of worship,the end of August is completely mad so don't even try to visit then.
The unveiling of the black Madonna happens twice a day,the gold engraved covering is lowered to live drum and trumpet,if it's busy you can still get in line and go on your knees and crawl and shuffle past the image of the Virgin Mary so you still can get a good look at it.
My partner is a polish catholic and even though I'm Church of England,I still find it moving to watch such an amazing emotional moment,
Don't let people's views of it being busy put you off,I've been to the Vatican and that's just as bad,you don't have to go just because of religion,go for the beautiful architecture and the history that goes with it,Czestochowa was over-run with nazis within 3 days of World War Two so even learning about what happened at jasna is interesting,there's also a museum that teaches you about the end of the communist era.
Written November 5, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Marek U
Warsaw, Poland369 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Apr 2016 • Family
It is very easy to get there by car, because all necessary infrastructure is well organised. Visiting the santuary is easy and convenient, especially out of pilgrimage season. However, they could improve the quality of their collections, that are miserable and limited. Such a place needs more.
Written May 1, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

FLY_EE
Perth, Australia108 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2012 • Couples
Going to Jasna Gora (Black Madonna of Czestochowa) is an experience. The sanctuary is huge and one must be prepared to walk in order to see and appreciate the beauty and serenity of the place. It is very crowded with tourists and pilgrims. You can see pilgrims enacting the Stations of the Cross along the route The Way of the Cross.
Written November 14, 2012
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

areview28
Silver Spring, MD753 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2013 • Couples
Jasna Gora monastery is the central site of Polish Catholicism. There's a lot more to see than the Black Madonna. You need to pick your time to see the Black Madonna. I'd suggest avoiding the unveilings and go when a mass isn't being said. The crowds make it difficult to get a clear view of the painting. Check with the visitor's center to get a map and inquire about the schedule. The best sight isn't the Madonna herself, but the pilgrims who visit to pray to the Madonna. There are crutches and medals that line the walls of the chapel commemorating the many miracles. The main chapel next door is incredible with its gold Baroque decorations. You can walk the walls of the monastery to see some wonderful Stations of the Cross and a statue of John Paul II. There's ample parking nearby either on the hill or in the parking lot. This is definitely worth a stop if you are traveling from Warsaw to Krakow. Even if you aren't devout you will appreciate the spirit of this place.
Written November 4, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

dom_d_man
Whitby, Canada53 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2013
I read some of the reviews here thinking it is quite underwhelming.
I'm wondering if its because they didn't quite understand the significance of the place if you're NOT religious! It's kind of like going to the weeping wall in Israel and saying 'this is just a wall, it's boring', without knowing why it's so important, so I do recommend reading up on the history which I will leave up to you.

This place was built in the 1300's so just seeing the fortress surrounding the property gives you an idea of why it was such a great strategic area to build, and it's impressive just in itself.
Also the cathedral and black Madonna (which travelled from Jerusalem via Constantinople in 1382, and surviving the many attacks and wars is quite amazing - so yes it's a painting on a wood, but how fancy could it have been when it was made in the Middle Ages??). The cathedral and church are stunning, and the treasury and museum are worth a peek too since they have pieces dating back from the 1380's.

Definitely a worth see, thousands of people have been coming here for over 600 years every year so it gets very busy, you just have to put up with it like other major religious attractions! Many miracles have happened to people so they come to pray too!
Written September 23, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Ann M
Lothian, MD432 contributions
3.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2013 • Couples
I feel badly giving an average to this very holy place in Polish history, so let me make it clear I am giving it an average as a 'tourist attraction" and am in no way saying the Black Madonna is average.
We arrived by car around 3:00pm on a Saturday in September. We were driving from Zakopane to Warsaw and thought it would be a chance to see this important part of Polish history. It was very crowded. Mass started at 3:30 in the Chapel of the Miraculous Image. There is a huge parking area but it was an interesting mix of cars and buses with no separation of the two so it is not well utilized. There are vendors for food and souvenirs along the perimeter. As you enter, it was hard to find the information center which was to the right. Basically there were no organized tours but we were offered to pay 150PL and a guide could probably be found. We were given a map and directed to the Chapel but told we can still view the Madonna with mass going on.
The chapel was packed with people for the mass who are standing in the sanctuary at the same time people are circling through the back and the front to view the image. It made me uncomfortable that people who clearly made the pilgrimage and for whom the mass was important had to be disturbed by others allowed to walk through the area. No ordinary church would want this type of disruption during the mass.
Clearly Jasna Gora is much loved and very popular so maybe it is just me and the open crowded atmosphere is part of the charm to those who make the pilgrimage. Certainly there are many other areas more peaceful (and beautiful) where people were quietly worshipping undisturbed. The shrine, monastery and image are impressive. But the crowded, unorganized atmosphere made it hard to appreciate them properly. In my opinion the Shrine could benefit greatly from setting up a self guided audio tour in several languages.
Written September 16, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

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Jasna Góra, Czestochowa

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