Wambierzyce

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Wambierzyce
settlement_type = Village


image_shield =


subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = POL
subdivision_type1 = Voivodeship
subdivision_name1 = Lower Silesian
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = Kłodzko
subdivision_type3 = Gmina
subdivision_name3 = Radków
latd = 50
latm = 29
lats =
latNS = N
longd = 16
longm = 26
longs =
longEW = E
pushpin_

elevation_m = 410
elevation_footnotes = (max.)
population_total =
website =

Wambierzyce ( _de. Albendorf), the "Silesian Jerusalem", is one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in southern Poland. The village is situated at an altitude of 370–410 m in the picturesque Cedron valley on the eastern slopes of the Table Mountains in Lower Silesian Voivodeship. The place was first mentioned in 1330 "Alberndorf", 1398 "Alberdorf", 1418 "Alberti villa", 1560 "Alberichsdorf", which then evolved into the (German) name "Albendorf". Czech pilgrims from Bohemia and Moravia called the place "Vambeřice". When Lower Silesia became part of Poland in 1945/1946, the Polish name "Wambierzyce" became the official name of the village. Today Wambierzyce is part of the district called Gmina Radków in Kłodzko County. It lies approximately convert|4|km|mi|0 south-east of Radków, convert|17|km|mi|0 west of Kłodzko, and convert|84|km|mi|0 south-west of the regional capital Wrocław.

The wooden statue of Our Lady, dating from the 13th century, was originally placed in a mighty linden tree located at this site. According to the legend a blind man regained his eyesight after praying before the statue. After that miracle a stone altar was erected in front of the tree. The first wooden chapel was built in 1263. A larger church was built in 1512 but was destroyed during the Thirty Years' War. The present pilgrimage church 'Visitation of Our Lady' goes back to a church built in 1695–1710 following a design thought to resemble the Temple in Jerusalem. However, all but the mighty Renaissance façade had to be torn down already three years later because the structure had become unsafe. The fourth and present church in Baroque style was then built 1715–1723. In 1936 the church received the status of a 'Basilica minor' from Pope Pius XI. Pope John Paul II awarded the Madonna of Wambierzyce the title of "Queen of Families" in 1980.

People

* Ignaz Reimann (1820, Wambierzyce - 1885, Rengersdorf), musician, father of Heinrich Reimann