Licheń Stary
| Licheń Stary | |||
|---|---|---|---|
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| Basic data | |||
| State : | Poland | ||
| Voivodeship : | Greater Poland | ||
| Powiat : | Konin | ||
| Geographic location : | 52 ° 19 ' N , 18 ° 22' E | ||
| Residents : | 1100 | ||
| Postal code : | 62-563 | ||
| Telephone code : | (+48) 63 | ||
| License plate : | PKN | ||
| Economy and Transport | |||
| Next international airport : |
Łódź-Lublinek Poznań-Ławica |
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Licheń Stary (until December 31, 2011: Stary Licheń) is a village with 1,100 inhabitants in the eastern part of the Greater Poland Voivodeship in the powiat Koniński in Poland . It is located twelve kilometers northeast of the city center of Konin on an elongated lake and belongs to the Gmina Ślesin .
The village had city rights from the 15th to 17th centuries. Since the middle of the 19th century it has been a place of pilgrimage of national importance. The Marian Shrine, which has been run by the Marians since 1949 , is visited by around 1.5 million believers and tourists every year.
History of the sanctuary
The beginnings of the sanctuary go back to the Battle of the Nations near Leipzig in 1813. According to legend, the blacksmith Tomasz Kłossowski, who came from the vicinity of the village and fought in Napoleon's army, was seriously wounded. He prayed to Mary that he would be allowed to die at home. This then appeared to him as a vision, promised him to return home and asked him, as a thank you, to look for her portrait and display it at home. After the happy return home, it took the blacksmith 23 years to find an old picture on a street tree that reminded him of the vision from that time. He took the picture with him and placed it in a chapel nearby. After the blacksmith's death, the picture was cared for by a local shepherd who allegedly also had several visions of the Virgin Mary , which ordered him to take the portrait of Mary to a church. The transfer to the St. Dorothea Church in Licheń then took place on September 29, 1852.
The picture was solemnly crowned in 1967 by the Polish primate Stefan Wyszyński , which corresponds to the 17th century tradition of Mary as the "Queen of Poland".
The Basilica
The Basilica of the Most Holy Mary of Licheń in Licheń Stary is now the largest church in Poland and the eighth largest church in Europe. It was completed in 2004.
