The abbey was founded in 1228 by count palatine Klemens Gryfita of Brzezie, one of the most important rulers of Poland in the era of the Piast dynasty. It is Poland’s oldest Benedictine nunnery, distinguishing itself through 800 years of interrupted existence as well as being witness to the traditions of the Polish religious life and the intersection of the secular and monastic culture over the centuries.

The abbey is a valuable document of development of the Gothic and Baroque architecture, standing out owing to the authenticity of the substance. The temple, completed no later than in the 3rd quarter of the 13th century, is recognised as the oldest preserved Gothic hall church in Poland. At the time of its construction it was an innovative solution, attesting to the absorption of the then most modern models of German architecture, most probably via Silesia. The monastery complex, erected between the 13th century and the turn of the 15th century, has preserved its layout and proportions endowed in the Middle Ages, despite the redevelopment in the 17th century. Functional solutions document the tradition of the Benedictine architecture (cloister monasteries) of the Gothic and Baroque eras.

The monastery includes numerous works of art, a valuable archive and collection of notes related to the liturgical vocal art that is unique on the national scale. Top-class medieval works of art include a panel painting of Our Lady of Sorrows, a figure of Sorrowful Christ, or portrayals of the Saints, stored in the monastery museum. Later epochs are represented by polychrome from the 16th-18th century, including Baroque polychrome by a valued Polish painter, Andrzej Radwański. The unique works of art also include illuminated musical manuscripts from the 15th-18th century, a set of wooden herms for arranging cornets (Italy, 16th century), a set of wax figurines (17th-19th century), including the ones illustrating the history of the nunnery, with Sarmatian costumes, a rich collection of Polish paintings from the 16th-20th century, including a series of paintings showing the life of king Casimir I the Restorer (17th century, from the Benedictine abbey in Tyniec), representing a Baroque historical set of significance for the history of Polish art. 

The nunnery is a proof of endurance of the Benedictine rules, modified along with the historical changes taking place in the Catholic Church. The significance of the abbey in Staniątki is all the greater due to the fact that it was a source of restoration of Benedictine nunneries in other parts of the historical Republic of Poland (Vilnius, Nesvezh).

The nunnery in Staniątki was an important education centre for women over the centuries. As a repository of historical relics, a community cultivating the memory of benefactors from the Piast dynasty era, and a live organism subject to influences of the Sarmatian tradition, emanated the spirit of national traditions and patriotism through the nunnery school, having impact on the subsequent generation of alumni. 

The abbey is a treasury and source of the Polish historical liturgical music. A unique tradition of liturgical vocalisations, dating back to the Middle Ages, has been continued within the nunnery both as part of everyday routine and in the form of special concerts attracting numerous listeners.

History

The Benedictine nunnery in Staniątki was founded in 1228 by Klemens Gryfita of Brzezie, a magnate known for his support for Henry the Bearded in his attempts to access the throne of Cracow. His two brothers, wife Racława and daughter Wizenna - the first supervisor of the convent - were the co-benefactors. The foundation was confirmed by pope Innocent IV in the years 1252 and 1253 as well as Duke Bolesław the Chaste in 1254. The date of establishment of the church of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary is determined based on the analysis of the architecture. It is assumed that the temple was completed no later than in the 3rd quarter of the 13th century. As regards the nunnery, it is assumed that the oldest parts date back to the 13th century, whereby it obtained the ultimate, classic form of a four-wing, brick building clustered around a rectangular garth at the turn of the 15th century. The organisation of the nunnery in Staniątki was based on the Benedictine rules, which is confirmed by the privilege granted by Konrad I of Mazovia in 1242. 

From the late 14th to the early 16th century particularly rich religious culture, especially the musical culture, developed in Staniątki. The Marian cult as well as the cult of convent benefactors gained in importance. According to the tradition, simultaneously with the establishment of the nunnery, a nunnery school was set up, both for the novices and lay women. The existence of the school is confirmed by the visitation of the cardinal Jerzy Radziwiłł in 1597. The period of Trento reforms resulted in the publication of the Staniątki version of the renewed Benedictine rules in 1646. The adaptation of the convent to the spirit of reforms was associated with a major renovation and upward extension of the nunnery that would meet the requirements of strict enclosure. As a result of the redevelopment, each nun received a separate cell, rooms for novices and lay women attending the secular school were separated, and space for new functions, such as infirmary, was arranged. Renovation works were carried out in the years 1609-1639. It was then the nunnery received its current architectural structure. 

In the 1630s the church building was enriched by a porch in the form of a chapel with a cupola ceiling and new polychrome, to be repainted in the 18th century, as well as the painting of the Holy Mother of the Rosary, preserved to this day. The nunnery suffered a decline after being plundered during the Swedish invasion in 1655 and the Great Northern War in the years 1700-1721. During the term of abbess Teresa Niewiarowska (1712-1728) the abbey was brought back to good shape. During the term of abbess Marianna Józefa Jordanówna (1753-1771), the works in the interior in the Baroque style, based on a coherent iconographic programme, were completed. The abbess was a co-author of the design. It was then the chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows (1753), the main altar (1759), church polychrome (1760) and altar of the Holy Cross (1761) were introduced. The 18th century marked the growth and reinforcement of the cult of the nunnery benefactors, which went hand in hand with the nuns’ interest in the history of the convent. Biographies of benefactors and works of art dedicated to them were created. In 1767 tombs of the benefactors were opened and their remnants were buried in a new sarcophagus, in a specially designated crypt. Following the First Partition of Poland, in 1772 nuns from a closed down nunnery in Jarosław found refuge in Staniątki. The convent was saved from dissolution owing to the school for girls, which was transformed into a state-run school in 1784. High intellectual and cultural level of the Benedictine nuns and their spirituality had immense impact on the level of education. The emperor, who visited the nunnery and the school in 1787, granted a subsidy to the school. At the initiative of sister Anna Kiernicka, the art of chronicling developed within the nunnery. Under the supervision of abbess Bogumiła Mechtylda Duwall, the nunnery and the school gained high reputation throughout Galicia. In the external world, the order propagated models of religious life through cooperating with the Jesuits. From 1836 onwards, the nunnery organised missions for the local population, while from 1843 - for the Diocese of Tarnów. The sisters supported the insurgents in 1831 and 1863. On 24 February 1846, during the Galician Slaughter, peasants stormed the nunnery, but luckily there were no casualties. In the 19th century the nunnery school continued its development. At first, separate classes for children from villages and lay women from noble families were established. In 1843 a class for boys was established as well. In the years 1855-1869 the curriculum began to be gradually enriched. In 1869 the school lost its status of a public school, but it managed to maintain the education level and high repute. Education was the order’s priority. 

During World War I, in December 1914, the nunnery complex found itself under fire. It was fired at by the artillery, temporarily seized by the Russians, but the losses were not significant, which was associated to the particular protection of Our Lady of Sorrows. These events were commemorated in a series of paintings by S. Bocheński from 1916 and a votive arrangement of artillery cannons in the temple’s façade and the nunnery cloister. In the interwar period, abbess Kazimiera Hilaria Szczerbianka exerted great impact on the convent’s life. She introduced the idea of being active in other communities, far from the nunnery, but in constant organisational connection with it. As regards Polish female convents, it was an unprecedented endeavour in terms of scale. Already before World War I, nuns from Staniątki travelled to the Benedictine nunnery in Vilnius. After 1918 they restored the nunnery in Nesvezh, supported the Armenian rite convent in Lvov and helped the convent of the Holy Sacrament in Warsaw. They also attempted at restoring the activity of the nunnery in Minsk. On 21 September 1924, bishop Adam Sapieha, upon consent granted by Pius XI, crowned the miraculous image of Our Lady of Sorrows. During World War II, the nunnery supervised by abbess Salezja Terlikiewiczówna provided secret teaching in spite of the fact that the German troops stationed in the nunnery buildings. In 1944 the sisters organised a shelter for over 200 children from Warsaw destroyed in the uprising. After the war, the nunnery suffered numerous repressions. At first, the school was closed down. Finally, the entire convent was expelled to Alwernia. Only after the “political thaw” of the late 1956 were the sisters able to return to Staniątki. The nunnery devoid of property had to cope with serious problems. Despite numerous difficulties, the convent has survived. In 1959 a retreat house was constructed, while in 1981 a parish supervised by the Salesians was established. 

Description 

Staniątki is a village located in the Małopolskie Voivodeship, Wieliczka poviat, Niepołomice commune. It is located about 20 km to the south-east from Cracow, at the edge of the historical Niepołomice Forest. The abbey complex of St Adalbert of the Benedictine Nuns in Staniątki consists of: a quadrangle of nunnery buildings with a distinguished church body, a vast enclosed garden surrounded by a stone wall and an external garden, being a scenic approach to the architectural complex and a buffer separating it from the utility complex - a nunnery grange, currently set apart from the nunnery complex in terms of ownership and function. 

Church of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary and St Adalbert is oriented towards the east, made of brick and stone and framed by buttresses. The hall body features 3 aisles and 3 bays, while the chancel has 2 bays and terminates in a straight wall. From the south, a two-storey annex adjoins the chancel. The annex hosts a sacristy on the ground floor, under which there is a crypt of the benefactors. There is an abbess’ oratory above the sacristy (1794). From the south, at the temple’s body, there is a chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows, from the west - a two-storey oratory (1688-1712) hosting the nunnery museum on the ground floor (initially a lay women’s choir gallery), while from the north at the temple’s body - a porch in the form of a chapel with a cupola ceiling (1619-1649). The church interior features cross and rib vaults on arches resting on octagonal pillars separating the aisles. The rood arch is of a pointed-arch type. The last, western bay of the body (17th/18th century) has been merged with the oratory by means of a gallery resting on arcades. Wall paintings in the church, sacristy and oratory (by A. Radwański, 1760) take up Marian and passion topics as well as celebrate the Benedictine order’s glory days. The main altar (1759) and two side altars (ca. 1750) were made in the Rococo style. The main altar includes a painting of the Holy Mother with Child from the late 16th century, while the side altars include Baroque paintings (ca. 1630-40 and 1760) as well as a Gothic crucifix from the early 15^th century. A painting in the altarpiece of the chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows is modelled upon the image present in the Franciscan church in Cracow (late 16th century, crowned in 1924). In the rood arch there is an 18th century figure of the Crucified Christ lifted by angels. The Rococo pulpit was made around 1760, while the choir gallery in 1794. 

The nunnery adjoins the southern wall of the church body. It was set on a quadrangular floor plan, arranged around a garth. Except for the eastern wing, the entire building has two storeys and is there are basements under parts of it. On the ground floor, cloisters with cross vaults run around the garth. Strings of rooms adjoin them (kitchens, refectory, library). Rooms on the ground floor are partially arranged in an enfilade, while the upper floor has a three-suite layout with a sequence of cells and a corridor in the middle. The interior of the nunnery includes numerous paintings and sculptures. Painted decorations have survived in some cells. In the corridors there is a series of monumental historical paintings from the 17th century, originating from Tyniec (life history of king Casimir the Just), a series of paintings from 1916 commemorating the wartime events and a votive arrangement of cannons from the period of bombardment in 1914. The former lay women choir gallery, currently the nunnery museum, hosts numerous valuable works of art, such as a figure of the Holy Mother with Child on a throne (ca. 1370), relief on the same topic (ca. 1370), Pensive Christ (Late-Gothic, ca. 1510), Our Lady of Sorrows (Late-Gothic, early 16th century), head-shaped cornet stands (16th century) as well as fabrics, gold items (14th - 19th century) and wax figurines (18th century). The roof truss above the nunnery and the temple originates from the 17th century. In the attic there are relics of stonework and Gothic decorations.

Within the nunnery area enclosed by a wall from the late 18th century there is a nunnery garden with a pond (a composition from the late 18th and 19th century), utility buildings (19th-20th century) and a nunnery cemetery. A free-standing bell tower from the late 18th century stands close to the church. From the east, in front of the entrance to the church and the nunnery, there is an external garden with a statue of Christ from the early 20th century. The garden is surrounded by a metal fence and communication routes available through gates in the wall encircling the nunnery complex.