Gietrzwald and St. Lipka Tour – The Revelations of Our Lady

Gietrzwald. The Revelations of Our Lady – took place in the village of Gierzwald in 1877 when Our Lady appeared to two teenagers.  She sat on the throne among the angels with Jesus on her knees. The girls asked:

– Who are you?

– I am Immaculately Concepted Blessed Virgin Mary.

–  What do you demand, Mother of God?

–  I wish you to pray the rosary every day. 

Our Lady appeared to girls 160 times for over two weeks. With every revelation, the number of the faithful increased to the culminating point of 50.000 participants in the miracle. Yet during the revelations, the Church appointed a special commission of theologians to investigate the truth of the events. In the opinion of theologians, the behavior of the girls who saw the Mother of God was “unpretentious, simple, natural, far from any cunning.”

In the opinion of doctors, there was no simulation here. During the visits, the girls had their heart rate decreased and their body temperature dropped. After the revelations, the fate of the girls was similar. Both joined the order and one of them, Sister Barbara Samulowska, after her death is during the beatification process. In the place of the Revelation, a chapel with the image of the Mother of God was erected. The cross was made of wood of the maple over which Virgin Mary has appeared. 

In 1977, the Holy See officially recognized the Revelation in Gietrzwald as one of the 12 Marian apparitions in the world. The Mass was celebrated by the future Pope – Cardinal Karol Wojtyla. 

Church of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Swieta Lipka. At 1618, the reconstruction of the church began. To stabilize the slippery land between the lakes, 10.000 piles of alder tree were driven into the ground. On such a foundation, this magnificent church was built and is one of the most wonderful Baroque monuments in Poland.  The most remarkable items include the oldest hand-forged gate in Europe. It consists of 3.000 cast iron leaves, none of which is repeated. Like snowflakes. It was made by a local blacksmith and it took him 2 years to make it.

The most famous in Swieta Lipka, however, are movable pipe organs.

Built in 1721 by the master of Königsberg, they had 40 sounds on 3 keyboards (manuals). To play the music, the work of the so-called organ-blowers was necessary, who pumped 4 bellows with their legs. Interestingly, the function of an organ-blower in those days was a full-fledged profession. It was until the early 20th century when the foot mechanism was replaced with a pneumatic drive. During playing the music, the pipe organs set in motion the figures of angels, the Virgin Mary, and numerous stars. In the 18th century, the pipe organs in Swieta Lipka was so famous that a music school for organists was created here, operating for 200 years.