Holy Mountain

The Holy Mountain (Święta Góra) is one of the hills near Gostyń. At its top tourists can visit the monastery complex, from which the most valuable monument is the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception of the Saint Mary and Saint Filip Neri. The temple is the only example in Poland of Italian Baroque performed by the Venetian architect Baldassare Longhen.

At first, the mountain was a place of worship for followers of the Slavic religion. In the 11th century, the Benedictines founded a monastery nearby, and they recognized the land elevation as a Christian object. In the 14th century, on the top of the mountain had stood a small chapel with a miraculous image of the Mother of God, and later a wooden and brick church was built there.

The current temple was built in the 17th century in the basilica type. Designing it, it was modeled on the Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute from Venice. In the 18th century, a dome with a lantern was added to the church, and its interiors were covered with polychrome.