Monks kick tourists out of popular attraction. Tours are no longer welcome
People who are planning a trip to the famous monastery in Krakow may be very surprised. The clergy have stopped accepting tourists and are criticizing their behavior.
This is about the monument on Srebrna Góra in Krakow. The hill and monastery have attracted tours for years, which visit these places with a guide. Recently, a lot has changed, because the monks have stopped being nice to visitors. The residents of the hermitage complain about noise and failure to follow basic rules.
Tourists are exaggerating
The matter was reported by journalists from “Gazeta Wyborcza”, who spoke to one of the local guides. The woman revealed that the situation in the Krakow monastery is quite tense, because tourists are increasingly breaking the rules. The Camaldolese, or monks present there on a daily basis, live in silence and separation, and do not have much contact with the outside world.
Tours come to visit the historic hermitages where the monks live, but also to take a closer look at the life of the monks. The surrounding area is impressive, with a huge forest and old walls stretching many kilometres. Visitors must adhere to important rules. Women can visit the monastery only 12 times a year, while men can visit it daily, but at designated times.
The guide lamented the fact that tourists were increasingly taking intrusive photos and demanding that the clergy pose for them. One of the historians from Krakow, Waldemar Liszowski, drew attention to the reprehensible attire. “Tight leggings straight from fitness clubs, short shorts, bare navels, low-cut T-shirts. This is how visitors to the hermitage presented themselves, regardless of gender. It seems to me that cycling shorts that hug the genitals are not church attire,” commented the specialist.
The monastery on Srebrna Góra without tourists
After tourists repeatedly demonstrated their thoughtlessness on the spot, the Krakow Camaldolese decided not to accept them. “We prefer the monastery to be visited, not to be toured. Unfortunately, tourists in large groups do not always know how to behave in such a place. This concerns the noise they generate, but also their attire (…). We prefer people to come to us when they need prayer and concentration, and not to take a photo with their phone” – this is how Father Mateusz, the prior of the Krakow Camaldolese, explained the decision to introduce a ban on tours.
In the aforementioned monastery, Camaldolese monks live, dressed in white habits and wearing long beards. They lead a hermit-like life and are very well known in Krakow. It is known that the community has existed in Poland since the beginning of the 17th century and was appreciated by Karol Wojtyła, among others. Today, there are only two such places in our country. The second Camaldolese monastery can be found in Bieniszew.
