Jasna Gora Monastery in Czestochowa is the national shrine and spiritual centre of Poland. Each year it welcomes several million pilgrims who come to pray before the miraculous Black Madonna Shrine.
The painting belongs to the group of Hodegetria icons ("she who indicates and guides along the road"). It depicts the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus at her side. The historians date it to the 14th century, but as a legend has it, it was painted by St. Luke the Evangelist on a piece of wood from the table used by Virgin Mary in Nazareth.
The tour to the monastery also includes a visit to the Basilica and the Armory. It’s worth mentioning that this extraordinary place was among the favorite destinations of the late Pope John Paul II (also known as the Pilgrim Pope).
Every year it is visited by a few millions of pilgrims and tourists from Poland, Europe and from all over the world.