Webcam Czestochowa. Old Square
Częstochowa is a city in southern Poland in the Silesian Voivodeship. The city is located on the banks of the Warta River and its two tributaries.
Częstochowa was founded in the 11th century, the first mention of it in historical documents dates back to 1220. In the 14th century Czestochowa was a town (rights assigned around 1370-1377) founded on German law by Casimir III the Great - an important trading center on the way from Rus and Voloshchyna to Lower Silesia and Saxony.
In 1382 the Polish prince Vladislav of Opole invited the monks of the Pauline order to Poland from Hungary. They founded a monastery near the town of Częstochowa, on a hill whose height was 293 meters. The new monastery was named "Jasna Gora" (Jasna Gora). Soon, near the monastery a new village called Czestochowa was founded. This village received the status of the city in 1717.
Now Czestochowa is the spiritual capital of Poland. Czestochowa is known especially for the holy place called Jasna Góra, a unique complex of sanctuaries from the 14th century and the Pauline monastery and the miracle-working icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa, also called the Black Madonna. Every year about 4 million pilgrims from all over the world come to worship the icon.
The city of Czestochowa was the first city in Central and Eastern Europe to become the winner of the prestigious Prix de l`Europe 1998 award that was given to 50 European cities in April 1998. The prize was awarded to Czestochowa for the long-standing and successful collaboration of the five pilgrimage centers, which include Altötting, Fatima, Loreto, and Lourdes, for the development of joint initiatives and the organization of pilgrimages to the holy places.
