Golgota Beskidów

Golgota Beskidów (the Golgotha of the Beskids) is a Way of the Cross leading from Radziechowy near Żywiec to the top of Matyska hill (609 m above sea level), where a steel Millennium Cross stands. The site is maintained by the parish of St Martin in Radziechowy. The sculptures of the stations were made to designs by Prof. Czesław Dźwigaj.

How the cross on Matyska came about

According to the parish website, a large stainless steel cross, visible from afar, stands at the summit. A plaque on the stone plinth states that it was erected to mark the Jubilee Year, and it was blessed on 10 November 2000 by the first bishop of the Bielsko-Żywiec diocese, Tadeusz Rakoczy. The initiator of the cross and the Way of the Cross was the Reverend Prelate Stanisław Gawlik, parish priest in Radziechowy.

The stations of the Way of the Cross

After the cross was put up, the makeshift stations began to be replaced with permanent sculptures. In August 2004 Station XIV was placed next to the cross, a month later Station XIII, and the others were made to designs by the studio of Prof. Czesław Dźwigaj, author of more than thirty monuments to John Paul II and many works of sacred art. Work on the stations was completed in September 2009, and the solemn blessing took place on 12 September 2009.

The parish website describes each station separately, together with a commentary on the sculpture.

The burial mound and services

Since 2007 a burial mound has stood beside the cross, with soil from the graves of, among others, Stanisław Pyjas and from Katyn. On Good Friday a Way of the Cross procession is held here, and on New Year's Eve a New Year Mass is celebrated.

Practical information

• Location: Matyska mountain above Radziechowy, Żywiec County.
• Access: according to the description on the parish website, a climb of several dozen minutes along a field track marked by the blue trail. Check the current route on a map.
• This is a place of worship, so quiet is required. Service times are given by the parish on the website golgota-beskidow.pl.
• In Radziechowy there is also St Anne's Chapel, and in Węgierska Górka the Church of the Transfiguration.