Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Obory

The Church of Our Lady of Sorrows in Obory is a Catholic Marian sanctuary, situated in the picturesque village of Obory in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, surrounded by lakes and hills of the Dobrzyń Lake District, known as "Dobrzyń Switzerland." The history of the church dates back to 1605, when Łukasz and Anna Rudzowski née Galemski decided to settle Carmelites on their estate. The foundation was confirmed by Pope Paul V in 1608, and after subsequent destructions, the church was repeatedly rebuilt and expanded until the end of the 18th century. The construction of the brick nave was completed in 1642, and a new presbytery was built in 1694. The crowning achievement of the construction was the 45-meter-high Baroque tower from 1748. The interior of the church features a variety of stylistic elements, including Baroque altars and 18th-century stalls. Particularly valuable is the 15th-century sculpture of Our Lady of Sorrows (Pietà), considered miraculous, which was brought to Obory from Bydgoszcz. In 1976, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński crowned the statue. It is also worth mentioning that in the summer of 1824, Frédéric Chopin stayed in Obory, as commemorated by a plaque and a bust of the composer in the monastery. According to tradition, Obory attracts pilgrims and holds an important place in local culture, especially in the context of poetry related to the image of Our Lady of Sorrows. An interesting fact is that near the church there is an old cemetery with a calvary, which contains the graves of distinguished citizens of the Dobrzyń Land and family chapels. The church and monastery form a harmonious whole, constituting an important element of the region's cultural heritage.