Wąwolnica – Museum, Marian Shrine and Routes

• The museum exhibition is in the basement of the castle church, built in the 14th century; the chapel of Matki Bożej Kębelskiej is on the upper floor.
• The Kębelska Madonna dates from around 1440. The limewood figure is 85 cm tall and 27 cm wide at its broadest point.
• The chapel of the Marian shrine is considered the town’s oldest architectural monument. The main surviving feature of its original construction is a Renaissance marble portal from the 17th century.
• A 60 km red-marked hiking trail and a 62 km red-marked cycling route pass through Wąwolnica.

The collection brings together sacred objects, art and local history. It includes 18th-century liturgical vestments and vessels, leather-bound books from the 17th century, and a 16th-century sculpture of Christ. Their different dates offer a sense of the time span represented by the surviving pieces.

The museum also displays several works of sculpture and drawing by brothers Józef and Stanisław Gosławski. They are joined by drawings by Józef Gosławski, donated by his family. He made them before restoration work on the house Pod Świętym Mikołajem in Kazimierz Dolny. The drawings add another, artistic perspective to the older liturgical objects.

A model shows Wąwolnica in the 15th century. It was made in 1996 based on rediscovered 15th-century court books. The museum thus presents individual objects alongside a spatial depiction of the town: two different ways of exploring its history.

The museum is in the basement of the castle church, built in the 14th century and rebuilt several times. The chapel of Matki Bożej Kębelskiej is on the upper floor. The building’s layout brings the exhibition and chapel together on different levels.

The Kębelska Madonna was made around 1440 in an as-yet-unidentified workshop in Silesia or Pomerania. The limewood figure, 85 cm tall and 27 cm wide at its broadest point, was transferred to the church in Wąwolnica. Details about its material and dimensions, along with the uncertain attribution of its workshop, help identify the figure without making a more specific claim about its origin.

The chapel of the Marian shrine is considered the town’s oldest architectural monument. The main surviving feature of its original construction is the Renaissance marble portal from the 17th century. A portal is an architecturally prominent entrance; here, this feature offers a tangible clue to the building’s history. Low, small fragments of the medieval castle walls also survive on the church hill, including the foundation of a cylindrical tower in the southern castle wall.

The museum was founded in 1995 at the initiative of the board of the Towarzystwo Przyjaciół Wąwolnicy and the parish priest at the time, ks. infułat Jan Pęzioł. Together with the town model and the surviving wall fragments, this account of the museum’s founding offers different perspectives: on an institution, on a depiction of Wąwolnica in the past, and on architectural remains.

For route planning, you can distinguish between two different options. The 60 km red-marked western Wyżynny hiking trail runs from Kazimierz Dolny through Rąblów, Wąwolnica, Nałęczów, Wojciechów, Motycz and Dąbrowica to Lublin. The route passes through several towns and is described as a complete hiking route, not just a section within Wąwolnica.

The also red-marked cycling route between Lublin and Kazimierz Dolny is 62 km long. Its described course passes through Rąblów, Kębło, Wąwolnica, Nałęczów, Wojciechów, Miłocin and Dąbrowica. The hiking and cycling routes therefore differ in their stated mode of travel and length; follow the route description that applies to each when checking the sequence of towns. Before setting out, check current local trail conditions and markings.

If you’re looking for hotels in Wąwolnica, first consider what you want your stay to focus on: the museum collection and architectural history, the Marian shrine, or one of the marked routes. The town’s history and the route that interests you are different starting points for deciding how to plan your stay.

Discover more destinations: Lysa Gora, Karmanowice, Końskowola, Janowiec, Sadurki, Puławy, Strzyżowice, Nałęczów.

What remains of the medieval castle?

Small fragments of the castle walls survive on the church hill, including the foundation of a cylindrical tower in the southern castle wall.

Which marked routes pass through Wąwolnica?

The 60 km western Wyżynny hiking trail and the 62 km cycling route between Lublin and Kazimierz Dolny pass through the town.

When does the Kębelska Madonna date from?

The limewood figure dates from around 1440. It is 85 cm tall and 27 cm wide at its broadest point.

Go to the main travel overview: Puławski.