Kalwaria
The sanctuary in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska near Cracow was built at the beginning of the XVIIth century. Mikołaj Zebrzydowski, the owner of this land, noticed their astonishing resemblance to Jerusalem after heaving read a book by Christian Andrychomiusz describing the Holy City in the time of Christ. After the Observantine monastery had been founded an array of chapels was built on the surrounding grounds imitating the urban arrangement of Jerusalem.
Since the beginning of the sanctuary’s existence scenes from the last days of the life of Christ have been staged every year during the Passion Week. In the XXth century these celebrations became more theatrical in nature and the parts of characters described in the Gospels were played by inhabitants of nearby villages and alumni of the local seminar.
In the first decades of the XVIIth century the celebration of the Ascension of the Mother of God also became a tradition. This holiday took on the form of a Burial Procession and an Ascension Procession, during which brass bands and pilgrims accompany the figure of the mother of Christ as it is being carried along a route outlined by chapels devoted to her name.
Despite their Christian character, the Lent celebrations in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska and those devoted to the Holy Mother retained their folk character and are an inherent part of the vegetation cycle. Most of the pilgrims are villagers and inhabitants of small towns from southern Poland.
A lot of the participants of these mysteries carry crosses, which on the one hand is a sign of their faith in the necessity of accepting suffering on the road to salvation and eternal life and on the other – when seen from a certain perspective – is a slightly worrying (especially in its social aspect) sign of the assimilation of the symbol of torment.