Grabarka

Grabarka is a low wooded hill in southern Podlasie and the most important Orthodox pilgrimage site in Poland. The tradition holds that during a plague in 1710 people came here, drank from the spring and left crosses, and the practice of bringing a cross has continued since - the slope and the ground around the church are now covered with tens of thousands of them, from small hand-sized crosses to full-height timbers, packed so densely in places that walking between them is difficult, weathering and being replaced continuously. The church at the top burned in 1990 and was rebuilt. There is a convent of Orthodox nuns on the hill and a spring at the foot whose water people take. The main pilgrimage falls on the Feast of the Transfiguration in August, when tens of thousands come, many walking for days, and the hill is at its fullest.

What you actually see

• Tens of thousands of crosses - packed across the slope, from hand-sized to full timbers.
• A rebuilt church - the previous one burned in 1990.
• A convent on the hill - Orthodox nuns in residence.
• The spring below - water taken by pilgrims since the eighteenth century.

When to go

May to September; the Transfiguration in August for the pilgrimage. Half a day.

Honest expectations

This is a devotional site, not an attraction - quiet and respect are expected, and photography of pilgrims needs care. The August feast brings enormous crowds and full roads. Facilities are minimal.

Nearby

Siemiatycze is ten kilometres away; Drohiczyn is west on the Bug.