Poland and Churches

Poland is dominated by churches and the last Pope.
We visited Wambierzyce Basilica. It is big and a place of pilgrimage but hard to get to as the roads are very poor indeed. The basilica is labyrinthine and in poor repair. There are some seventy-four Calvary chapels on the hills around it and an archway (one of two or three) but this one has a Hebrew inscription.
We stopped at the Jasna Gora in Czestochowa, also a place of pilgrimage with a huge and ugly stage stuck on the church and suspended over the hillside. Jasna Gora is famous for its Black Madonna – a 9th century icon who was crowned the Queen of Poland for saving them from the Swedes. She is unveiled each day at mass and John and I attended to see her.
Outside we were accosted by beggars. Czestochowa is a rundown scruffy place with very expensive coffee.
Poland also has very interesting wooden churches.
The cemeteries would break the heart of any Anglican vicar. They are permanently aglow with a profusion of heaps of brilliant pink and orange plastic flowers. Huge sums of money must be spent on tombstones and candles. My snap does not do them justice. Out of interest I have included the snaps of the notice boards of things for sale outside a church – wish I could read what they sell!.