Maria Shrine of our Lady of Gietrzwald.
Gietrzwałd – a village located southwestward from the city of Olsztyn on the route No. 16 to Ostróda. The locality is inserted in a wonderful landscape of the Warmian District, surrounded by complexes of coniferous and mixed forests and numerous lakes. The village was established in the Prussian territory Gudikus by the Warmian Chapter in 1352 on 70 strands. The founder was Dietrich, hence the old name Dietrichswald. Gietrzwałd was destroyed during the wars between Poland and Teutonic Knights in the 15th century, and in 1455 the village was robbed by the Teutonic Order troops of George von Schlieben. In the middle of 16th century, the settlement was not developed but despite that fact, there was a school as well as there was an inn in operation, which was owned in 1645 by the Olsztyn councillor George Kunigk. In 1783, Gietrzwałd counted 57 chimneys. The French troops devastated heavily the locality in 1807. The greatest events in this small Warmian village were Blessed Virgin Mary apparitions in 1877; then, the parish priest of the Catholic parish was Augustine Weichsel, and Warmian Bishop was Marcin Kromer. Since then, Gietrzwałd has become a pilgrimage village and the point in the route of those visiting the places of BVM cult in the localities Święta Lipka, Stoczek Warmiński and Ostra Brama in Wilno (Vilnius). The locality is well prepared for servicing tourists making their pilgrimages nation-wide and from abroad. In Gietrzwałd, there is the John Paul II Pilgrim’s House which provides for accommodation and full day’s meals. At the opposite side of the Pilgrim’s House, there are rich library and the shop with devotional articles; there is also the fast food bar. From Gietrzwałd, one can make trips to attractive places located within the precincts of Warmia, Masuria and Vistula River Bank, in order to visit numerous localities with particular values of the cultural heritage of this land.
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