We felt like on a pilgrimage, visiting 2 important churches on the camino to Santiago leading through the north of Poland.
The first church was in Roszel (Rössel) where a Gothic castle stands on a steep hill side above the river Sajna, built 1350−1401 by the Teutonic Order. It is now a hotel but the tower and the cellars can be visited. Next to it the Saints Peter and Paul church is also from the 14th century.
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| Castle of the Teutonic Knights in Rössel |
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| Saints Peter and Paul Church in Rössel |
Near Reszel, the Catholic shrine of Święta Lipka ( Heiligelinde) was our second church. As a baroque church it was a big change to the many Gothic brick churches we had seen during the last weeks while travelling through the north of Germany and Poland.
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| Święta Lipka |
According to a legend, Święta Lipka refers to a tree with a wooden statue of Mary under which miracles took place. A chapel at the site was first mentioned in a deed issued by Johann von Tiefen, then Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights in 1491. At this time Heiligelinde was already a pilgrimage site with an inn.
Although the village lay in the Protestant region of Masuria, the chapel was rebuilt by the Jesuits and consecrated in 1619 as a Roman Catholic church. It became a popular pilgrimage site among the Roman Catholic populace of the surrounding counties.
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| Famous organ of Święta Lipka |