Grabarka

There is no more important place of pilgrimage for Polish Orthodox Christians than the Holy Mountain in Grabarka. 

At the turn of the eleventh and twelfth century, the nearby Mielnik and Drohiczyn were the major centers of Eastern Christianity in Poland. It is believed that people fleeing from the plague in 1710 were saved by the water from the miraculous, still existing spring on the Holy Mountain in Grabarka. In the gratitude people built a wooden chapel at this place, which in the 19th century was extended into the Orthodox church of the Transfiguration. The church survived both world wars, but  unfortunately in 1990 was looted and burnt. In the place of the burnt church, a new brick and wood-timbered one was erected.  Also to this time the slopes of the Holy Mountain are covered by hundreds of votive crosses put up here by pilgrims. Crosses come especially in the 19th August, on the Feast of the Trasfiguration of the Saviour in which participate the pilgrims not only from Poland, but also from Greece, Portugal, India and America.
Near to the Mountain there is also the Orthodox Female Convent of Saints Martha and Mary – the only such place in the country.