Kalwaria Zebrzydowska - Poland

The 38th session of the World Heritage Committee ended yesterday. 26 new sites and 4 extensions have been inscribed on the World Heritage List. The UNESCO postcards collections can start now looking for cards of the new sites. I don't have any of the new sites but two of them are already on my way. 

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is already on the World Heritage List since 1999. 

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska is a breathtaking cultural landscape of great spiritual significance. Its natural setting – in which a series of symbolic places of worship relating to the Passion of Jesus Christ and the life of the Virgin Mary was laid out at the beginning of the 17th century – has remained virtually unchanged. It is still today a place of pilgrimage. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/905

The Sanctuary in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska in Poland was one of Pope John Paul II´s favourite places of pilgrimage. Situated in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains 33km from Krakow, it was established in 1600 as Poland´s first Calvary sanctuary to offer Christian pilgrims an alternative to Jerusalem that had been acquired by Muslim Turks.

It´s humble origins began as quaint chapel dedicated to the Crucifixion of Christ, followed by a chalk model of the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem. Over the next two centuries the sanctuary would become the largest pilgrimage site in Europe and today receives over a million visitors a year, making it one of the most visited places in Poland.

Recognized as one of the most fascinating architectural projects in Europe, this vast complex features 42 churches and chapels including the domineering 17^th century baroque Basilica dedicated to the Angelic Mother of God in the centre and the adjoining Franciscan monastery. - in: http://www.krakow-poland.com/krakow-tourist-information/krakow-and-surrounding-areas/sanctuary-in-kalwaria-zebrzydowska