Places

In the year 1611 the owner of the town, Duchess Anna Ostrogska, on the hill near the church settled the Benedictine Sisters brought from Chełmno in Pomerania. It was the first female monastery in the Diocese of Przemyśl. A brick church was built in the years 1615-1624. It was St Nicholaus and Bishop Stanislaus church. A monastery adjacent to the church was built in two stages, the construction was completed before the year 1648. After the dissolution of the monastery by Austrians, in its interior military workshops and warehouses were located. During World War I, the monastic buildings and church were significantly damaged.

During the occupation, St Nicholaus Hill was taken by Germans. They established a prison and place of execution within the abbey. The state of the object after the war was tragic. The burnt church was destroyed in 80%. Towers and the monastery were roofless, walls were collapsing, fortified towers were devastated. A reminder of the ravages of war is the so-called Black Chapel which was founded as a result of the fire in 1944. Retreating German troops wanted to blow up this part of the monastery. Carbide aggregated at this point burned down, producing such a high temperature that melted the brick on the ceiling, what created the distinctive icicles. The black vault is left in memory of those tragic events. 

One of the most valuable monuments of Jarosław is a stone portal of 1622, a wonderful work of art in the shape of the Arc de Triomphe. The authorship is attributed to a sculptor - Jan Pfister - the sculptor of the Sieniawskis. The walls of the Benedictine Abbey exemplify a defence system the so-called fortified towers system. The walls with a total length of 840 m with embrasures and eight towers make this place a rare monastical ensemble.

The area of the former Benedictine Abbey has been called by generations of Jarosław residents ‘Anna Kasarnia’. Anna – from the sponsor’s name – Duchess Anna Ostrogska, Kasarnia – in token of remembrance of the Austrian barracks situated in that very place.

In the crypt of St Nicholaus and Stanislaus (moved from the Old Cemetery) the mortal remains of the Servant of God Anna Janke were placed. Anna Jenke is associated with Jarosław – in the years 1959-1966 served as the Director of the State High School of Fine Arts. She was a wonderful pedagogue, teacher and educator of the Jarosław youth; she developed the personality of her students, embraced their attitude of respect for another human being, and a conscientious and reliable work. In 1993, her beatification process began.