Recently, we had the opportunity to visit the monastery refectory of Krakow’s Dominicans and take a photo session related to the creation of our new carol album. It was important to us to prepare a photographic report exactly there, as the refectory is the place of the brothers’ annual carolling at the Christmas Eve table. The fruit of these meetings, full of spontaneous joy, is the album “Jesus, lovely flower” and of course this year’s novelty: “Sleep, Jesus, sleep”.
The refectory, located in the northern wing of the southern cloister garth, is the oldest part of the monastery in Krakow. Built in the 12th century, it was originally used as a monastery church. The interior is decorated with a polychrome of Crucified Christ, as well as paintings by Tomasz Dolabella. There is a Romanesque crypt under the refectory, where pastoral meetings are currently held.
A careful eye will notice the elements of Romanesque architecture while looking at the photos presented here. The space itself is an architectural palimpsest, with an extremely engaging history, which you can read more about here.
We are grateful to the prior of the Dominicans of Krakow, Fr. Łukasz Wiśniewski OP, for access to the refectory, which is usually closed to visitors. The space where brothers meet for prayers and shared meals has its own unique atmosphere that remained with us long after our visit.
The photo session made by Natalia Miazga from our Foundation was attended by Wojciech Sznyk OP and Karol Babis OP, residents of the monastery in Krakow, and participants of the recordings for the new album. More images are available on our Flickr.
