If you are ever going to travel in Poland, it won’t be long before you notice either a religious figure, cross, statue, or a building that resembles a little house or miniature chapel along the roadside. These small religious chapels or shrines are commonly called roadside or wayside shrines (przydrożne kapliczki). These shrines were often built at the expense of individuals, families and sometimes entire villages to publicly thank a saint or God for a benefit or blessing received (See Calendar of Feasts – Harvest Festival (Święto Plonów – Dożynki).

In the case of smaller shrines they acted as a remembrance for a tragedy or crime. Recently constructed shrines are usually on a much smaller scale and most often mark the spot where a fatal traffic accident occurred. Here’s a photograph of a typical roadside cross marking the spot where someone was killed.

Roadside shrines or chapels can be seen almost anywhere: at the entrance of a village, up on a high point, at the outer boundaries of a village or town, or along a main road or at a major crossroads.

Here are some pictures of different shrines in Poland:

Image by Rantes on Flickr.com

Image by Rantes on Flickr.com

Image by “Zakwitnij!pl Ejdzej & Iric” on Flickr.com

Image by Royston Rascals on Flickr.com

Image by sfu.marcin on Flickr.com

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)