Gora Swietej Anny – Mountain and the Basilica of St. Anne

Places to visit

• The Basilica of St. Anne. Both the church and the worshipped statue of St. Anne come from 15th century. The sanctuary is visited approximately by 400,000 pilgrims by year.
• The Lourdes Grotto. A place for celebrating major religious ceremonies. Constructed in 1912-1914.
• A Complex of Calvary Chapels. Constructed in 1709. Now, it consists of 35 chapels and 2 churches. Each year there are Calvary services celebrated that gather tens of thousands pilgrims.
• The Papal Altar. It commemorates a meeting of one million pilgrims with Pope John Paul II in 1983.
• The Museum of Mission. Located by the franciscan monastery, presents the exhibits from missions.
• The Landscape Park ‘St. Anne’s Mountain’. Geopark of St. Anne’s Mountain is exceptionally rich in fauna and flora.
• The Geological Reserve. A teaching path enables to explore a history of the volcano that shaped St. Anne’s Mountain.
• The Amphitheatre. Offers space for 30 thousands viewers. Above the scene there is a monument commemorating fights during the Silesian Uprisings.
  The Museum of Silesian Uprisings. It preserves the memory of the Silesian Uprisings. The exhibition includes temporary historical and natural exhibits.

Travelling from Wroclaw:

1. On A4 Motorway, take exit No. 248, direction on signpost: road No. 423 and Krapkowice, Kedzierzyn-Kozle, Gogolin.
2. After 400 m drive from the motorway, you will approach road No. 423 from Kedzierzyn-Kozle to Opole, there turn right, signpost to Gogolin, Opole.
3. Go over the motorway through overbridge, right away after it on crossroads turn right into road No. 406, signpost to Strzelce Op.
4. Go straight for about 16 km, first on the main road through Gogolin, then through Dabrówka, Ligota Dolna, Niwki, Kalinowice.
5. After Kalinowice, turn right, signpost to Saint Anne Mountain.
6. Go straight through Wysoka to Saint Anne Mountain.

Travelling from Katowice:

1. Take exit No. 269 on A4 Motorway, signposts to Strzelce Op. and Kedzierzyn-Kozle (pay attention not to leave the motorway earlier by taking exit No. 245, where there is signpost only to Strzelce Op.!).
2. After leaving the motorway, 300 m ahead you will approach to a road from Strzelce Op. to Kedzierzyn-Kozle. Turn right, signpost to Kedzierzyn-Kozle.
3. Go straight for about 6 km to Zalesie Sl.
4. In Zalesie Sl. turn right from the main road, signpost to Saint Anne Mountain.
5. In the centre of Zalesie Sl. on crossroads the main road will turn left but you have to go straight.
6. Go straight for another 6 km to Lesnica, through Lichynia.
7. Go through Lesnica following the main road, signposts to Saint Anne Mountain.
8. After 300 m ahead Lesnica on crossroads, take curve to the left, road with right of way, signpost to Saint Anne Mountain.
9. After about 2 km you will approach to a road from Zdzieszowice to Saint Anne Mountain. Turn right, after about 400 m you will reach Saint Anne Mountain.

• Sunday: 7.00, 8.30, 10.00, 11.30; 15.30 (German), 17.00
• Weekdays:
  • April – October: 6.30 am
  • November – March: 7.00 am
  • May – October 11.00 am

History of the Saint Anne Mountain

• 1480-1485 – probable date of the construction of the St. Anne’s church
• 1655 – arriving of reformed-franciscan friars from Maopolska (Minor Poland) to Saint Anne Mountain
• 1655-1659 – construction of the first franciscan monastery
• 1673 – construction and consecration of brick St. Anne’s church by Suffragan Bishop of Wroclaw, Carl Neander
• 1700-1709 – construction of Calvary chapels by Count Georg Adam von Gaschin
• 1756-1764 – renovation of the chapels; beginning of the construction of chapels “The Paths of Mary”
• 1764 – first Calvary celebrations
• 1767 – first edition of the Calvary prayer book
• 1820 – eviction of reformed-franciscan friars from the sanctuary
• 1875 – second abolishment of monastery and eviction of franciscans due to Kulturkampf
• 1910 – coronation of the statue of St. Anne
• 1912-1914 – construction of the Lourdes Grotto
• 1929-1938 – construction of the Pilgrim’s House
• 1980 – celebration of 500 years of the sanctuary, Pope John Paul II gives the church a title of Minor Basilica
• 1983 – pilgrimage of Pope John Paul II