Poland - Częstochowa

Various places in Częstochowa, Poland.
Top left : Holiest Virgin Mary Avenue. Bottom left : The Jasna Góra Monastery.
Right : Sculpture of Little Girl with pigeons

Sent by Klaudyna from Częstochowa, Poland.

This is from Wikipedia : Częstochowa [t​͡ʂɛ̃stɔˈxɔva] is a city in south Poland on the Warta River with 240,027 inhabitants (June 2009). It has been situated in the Silesian Voivodeship (administrative division) since 1999, and was previously the capital of Częstochowa Voivodeship (1975–1998). However, Częstochowa historically is part of Lesser Poland, not of Silesia and before 1795 (see: Partitions of Poland), it had belonged to the Kraków Voivodeship.

The town is known for the famous Pauline monastery of Jasna Góra that is the home of the Black Madonna painting (Polish: Jasnogórski Cudowny obraz Najświętszej Maryi Panny Niepokalanie Poczętej), a shrine to the Virgin Mary. Every year, millions of pilgrims from all over the world come to Częstochowa to see it. There is also a Lusatian culture excavation site and museum in the city and ruins of a medieval castle in Olsztyn, approximately 25 kilometres (ca. 16 mi) from the city centre.