Henrykow Abbey

The Cistercians came to Henrykow in 1222 and kept a chronicle recording how the abbey acquired its lands, the Liber fundationis claustri sancte Marie Virginis in Heinrichow, and in it, written down around 1270, is a sentence in Polish rather than Latin: a peasant named Boguchwal is recorded saying to his wife, who was grinding grain at the quern, day ut ia pobrusa a ti poziwai - let me grind and you rest. The scribe wrote it in the vernacular because he was quoting. It is the oldest sentence in Polish known to be written down, and the manuscript is kept at the archdiocesan museum in Wroclaw. The abbey itself is a large baroque complex over a Gothic church, with painted vaults, stalls, a Willmann altarpiece and a monumental prelate's hall; it was dissolved in 1810 and is now partly a seminary. The church and parts of the buildings are open on guided visits.

What you actually see

• The first Polish sentence - recorded in the abbey's chronicle around 1270.
• A Gothic church in baroque dress - painted vaults, stalls and a Willmann altarpiece.
• The prelate's hall - the monumental ceremonial room of the complex.
• A working seminary - part of the buildings still in church use.

When to go

April to October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

The chronicle itself is in Wroclaw, not here. Visits are guided and to a schedule, and much of the complex is closed as a seminary. The church shuts during services. The village is small.

Nearby

Ziebice is eight kilometres away; Wroclaw is north.