Blessed Bronisława Chapel

Interior of the Chapel of Blessed Bronisława

Chapel of Blessed Bronisława is a neo-Gothic chapel erected by the Austrian authorities in 1856-1861 inside the citadel surrounding the Kościuszko Mound in the Zwierzyniec district of Kraków, Poland. Based on design by Feliks Księżarski, the chapel was a replacement for a small 18th-century church demolished in 1854 during the construction of the stronghold known as the “Kościuszko” citadel. It stemmed from the determined requests of the Committee for the Construction of the Tadeusz Kościuszko Monument.

Exterior of the Chapel with Kościuszko Mound in the background

The chapel of Blessed Bronisława took its name from the 13th Century Norbertine nun who left the convent and led a hermit's life in that exact place. Her abode still existed by the hill (known as Sikornik) in the 19th century, though already adorned by the shrine erected at the beginning of the 18th century. Norbertine Sisters from the Zwierzyniec convent donated the ground on which the Mound and the chapel were erected.

References

• About the Blessed Bronisława Chapel at the official webpage of Kraków
• Blessed Bronisława Chapel at the Kościuszko Mound homepage