Live Like a Hermit: A Monastery For Rent

klasztor_kamedolow_krakow_bielany_forum-0824555653.jpg, default, Klasztor Kamedułów na Bielanach w Krakowie, fot. Piotr Tumidajski/Forum, Live Like a Hermit: A Monastery For Rent

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Built on Polish lands since the 17th century, hermitages, monastic buildings characteristic of the Camaldolese order, are today becoming increasingly available not only to monks. Although their size may bring to mind micro-apartments, and their lack of conveniences places them among the 'pathological' housing developments, they offer a completely different experience.

In 972, born to a wealthy Italian princely family, Romuald (later known as Romuald of Camaldoli, canonised in 1582) entered the Benedictine Order. However, he only spent three years there – even the quite strict monastic rule did not give him satisfaction: after years of a carefree life full of pleasures, Romuald wanted to devote himself to prayer and work in solitude, modesty and seclusion. He settled in a hermitage in one of the small Venetian islands. Then, he stayed on the border between Spain and France, afterwards in a monastery on Monte Cassino and a hermitage near Ravenna. Romuald was soon joined by imitators, followers of a similar way of life. Legend says that during one of his wanderings, the future saint, in a dream, saw his followers, dressed in white, climbing Jacob’s ladder straight to heaven. He decided that he had to build a monastery on this very spot for them. That is what he did. Throughout Italy, Romuald built many hermitages (monasteries consisting of a complex of hermitages) where his successive followers settled. The most famous of these was Camaldoli (Campo di Maldoli) in Tuscany. It is from this place that the order formed according to Romuald’s rules owes its name – the Camaldolese. The new order was officially approved by Pope Alexander II in 1072.

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A monk from the monastery at a table in his cell. Monastery of the Camaldolese Fathers in Bielany near Kraków, 1940, photo: Wydawnictwo Prasowe Kraków-Warszawa/National Digital Archive (NAC)

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Although based on Benedictine principles, the Camaldolese rule was stricter. The monks were obliged to keep silent, observe strict fasting (they did not eat meat at all), and live separately in small, comfortless cabins gathered in hermitages. They met only for prayer, on holidays, and only a few times a year for communal meals. They devoted themselves to prayer, penance and manual labour. They shaved their heads as a sign of humility and breaking ties with their previous lives. According to what Romuald saw in his dream, Camaldolese monks still wear white habits today, but medieval rule has evolved over the centuries; today, there are variations of it, and female monasteries (Camaldolese nuns) have been established. The orders function in two different congregations: one is the Camaldolese Congregation of the Order of Saint Benedict, with its general house in Camaldoli, and the Congregation of the Camaldolese Hermits of Monte Corona. The two Camaldolese priories currently existing in Poland also belong to the latter.

The Silver Mountain Hermitage

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A monk in the garden, next to the buildings at the Camaldolese Church and Monastery in Bielany in Kraków, 1934, photo: National Digital Archive (NAC)

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The Silver Mountain Hermitage in Kraków’s Bielany district is the only Camaldolese hermitage in Poland that has existed since the 17th century without interruptions. The monastery and a complex of Camaldolese cottages were founded in 1604 by Grand Court Marshal Mikołaj Wolski. The Italian-inspired buildings were erected on one of the hills near Krakow; the place was named Bielany – because the monks’ habits were white (for the same reason, the area around the Camaldolese monastery in Warsaw also bears this name). The secluded location, surrounded by forests, was a perfect place for the monks to be isolated. First, the hermitages were built here. Then, in the first half of the 17th century, an Italian architect, Andrea Spezza, designed the early Baroque church, which was later decorated with stuccowork by Giovanni Battista Falconi and paintings by Tomaso Dolabella, among others. While the church received rich Baroque ornamentation, the hermitage houses, like monastery cells, were devoid of decoration but surrounded by gardens, orchards and vegetable beds, where the monks worked. After death, all members of the congregation are buried in crypts under the floor of the monastery church; since 1630, the founder of the Silver Mountain Hermitage, Mikolaj Wolski, has also rested there. Today, the Silver Mountain Hermitage, although still inhabited by monks, can be visited, but there are strict rules that the monks living in seclusion conscientiously observe, e.g. the church can be visited by everyone, but only men can enter the hermitage.

The Hermitage of the Five Martyrs

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Camaldolese monastery church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bieniszewo, photo: Monkpress/East News

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The hermitage in Bieniszewo, near Konin, known as the Hermitage of the Five Martyrs, is the other active and inhabited Camaldolese monastery in Poland, besides the one in Kraków. It was founded in the second half of the 17th century by Castellan Albert Kadzidłowski, who decided to finance the construction when he heard about an apparition experienced by a girl from the area. The new buildings were erected on the site where, according to legend, five disciples of St Romuald, monks from the earliest period of the formation of the Camaldolese rule, were killed in 1003. The site proved quite unlucky since the wooden hermitage, built with modest resources, soon burnt down. It was not until the end of the 18th century that the construction of the brick buildings – the hermits’ cottages and the church – could be completed. During the Partitions of Poland, like many other places of this type, the monastery was dissolved, and the monks were ordered to leave. The buildings survived thanks to the magnates, who tried to save them from destruction by buying them. In the 1880s, it was Karol Mielżyński and, in 1906, Stanisław Mańkowski who renovated the monastery and brought the Camaldolese monks to it again. Surrounded by forest, the late Baroque church and the whitewashed cottages of the hermits set up around it can be visited today; men can enter every day, women – on Sundays, Easter and Christmas holidays and during the indulgence feast on 7 and 8 September.

The Hermitage of the Golden Forest in Rytwiany

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Eremus Silvae Aureae. Post-Camaldolese Monastery The Hermitage of the Golden Forest in Rytwiany, photo Marek Zajdler/East News

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The design of the Camaldolese foundation in Rytwiany was created in 1607-1610 and was based on strict monastic rules. The buildings were set up along an axis of symmetry: the central place was taken by the church, around which other monastic buildings were arranged, including a row of tiny hermit houses for the monks. Most Camaldolese buildings preserved in Poland to this day are simple and modest, but in Rytwiany, the founder of the monastery, the governor of Kraków, Jan Magnus Tęczyński, 'negotiated' with the monks’ permission to cover the interior of the church with rich stucco and painting decorations (also here the founder is buried in the church crypt of the monastery). Unfortunately, in 1819, the monastery was dissolved by the Tsar, and it became deserted and began to fall into disrepair. Many attempts were made to save it; the monks returned here, and some buildings were secular for a time. However, it was not until the 21st century that funds were obtained for the thorough restoration of the historic buildings, and the 'Źródło' Diocesan Centre for Culture and Education, which organises therapeutic and recreational stays, began to operate in the monastery. There is a restaurant and hotel on the grounds of the former monastery, which also includes eremitic cottages (according to the price list on the website, accommodation for two people in such a cottage costs PLN 450). In 1972, several episodes of the Czarne Chmury (Black Clouds) TV series were filmed on the premises of the Hermitage of the Golden Forest in Rytwiany – the museum established on the monastery grounds is dedicated to this event.

Camaldolese monks of Polkowa Góra

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Retreat house. Exterior view. Marian monastery (former Camaldolese monastery) in Bielany, Warsaw, 1939, photo: National Digital Archive (NAC)

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The third hermitage in Poland, following those of Silver Mountain near Krakow and the Golden Forest in Rytwiany, was built on the northern outskirts of Warsaw. In accordance with the rules adopted by the hermit monks, it was built on the top of a hill, surrounded by forests, far from urban buildings. The hermitage and church were built on the so-called Polkowa Góra and financed by King Ladislaus IV as a votive offering for the Polish throne and the victory in the Smoleńsk War. Construction of the monastery began around 1639, with wooden houses built at first and subsequently gradually replaced by brick ones; the last of the dozen or so hermit houses was built in 1733 in the vicinity of the Baroque temple, surrounded by gardens and fields, which the monks cultivated. As in Kraków, the area was called Bielany. And, as was the fate of other monasteries in the 19th century, mainly as a result of repressions after the January Uprising, the monastery began to decline; it was a home for war disabled and an orphanage. In 1918, the Marian Fathers opened a boys’ gymnasium here, which ushered in a new phase of development for the area: between the wars and after World War II, the site was developed with new school and university buildings. Today, the former hermitage is part of the campus of Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University. It is, therefore, fully accessible to visitors.

Hermitage of the Monastery in Wigry

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The post-Camaldolese Monastery in Wigry, photo: Albin Marciniak/East News

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Of the seven Camaldolese monasteries in Poland, the one in Wigry was the largest, most impressive and richest. An additional advantage is its location, not only (like the other Camaldolese monasteries) in the midst of forests and the remote area but also on a peninsula surrounded by a lake. The monks were settled in Wigry in 1667 by King John II Casimir – they were to pray for his and the Commonwealth’s prosperity. Still, in the 17th century, a baroque church was built here, and monastery buildings, including cottages for the monks, were located on an elongated rectangular layout. Today, the register of historic monuments includes several valuable buildings from this complex, which has been extended many times; these include, apart from the church, the doorman’s house, the clock tower, the entrance gate, the chancellor’s chapel, the vicarage and 17 hermitages. After the dissolution of the monastery at the beginning of the 19th century, the monks moved to Bielany in Warsaw, and the monastery fell into disrepair, with most of the buildings devastated by 1850. Their renovation was commenced in the 1920s. The first stages of the reconstruction were designed by Oskar Sosnowski, and the work continued after World War II. In 1975, the House of Creative Work, run by the Ministry of Culture and Art, was established on the grounds of the Wigry monastery. Over the following decades, many important artistic projects were realised here, and the centre in Wigry was also known outside Poland. In 2010, the building was returned to the Church. Today, it is home to church organisations, retreats and holidays with a cultural programme, a restaurant and tavern, and accommodation in the former hermitages.

Camaldolese Monastery in Pažaislis

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Camaldolese monastery in Pažaislis, Lithuania, photo: Audrius Venclova/Getty Images

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The Camaldolese monastery in Pažaislis, Lithuania, was founded by the Chancellor of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Krzysztof Zygmunt Pac. The magnate wanted the impressive building to become a mark of his family’s greatness. This is why the buildings that were erected here in the following years do not resemble other Camaldolese monasteries, standing apart from them in terms of form and decoration. The monastery church was founded on a central plan, topped with a fresco-filled dome and elaborate stucco ornamentation. Despite the death of the main founder, construction was completed at the turn of the 18th century. Beside the temple, a complex of hermitages with more modest forms, more in keeping with the rule, was built; the monastery grounds were marked out by a wall with a huge, ornate gate. With the monastery’s dissolution, the Camaldolese monks had to leave Pažaislis, and until 1915, the monastery was inhabited by Orthodox monks. Today, the historic building is managed by nuns who are happy to open it to the public. This is worth appreciating since the post-Camadolese monastery is the largest monastery complex in Lithuania and is also considered one of the best realisations of the Italian Baroque in our part of Europe.

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