Częstochowa

Jasna Góra monastery, Częstochowa, Poland

Częstochowa, city, Śląskie województwo (province), south-central Poland. The city originally consisted of two settlements—Old Częstochowa, founded in the 13th century, and Jasna Góra (Polish: “Shining Mountain”), founded in the 14th—which were merged in 1826. Roman Catholic pilgrimages are made to the Jasna Góra monastery (1382), which contains valuable frescoes and the famous painting Our Lady of Częstochowa (also known as The Black Madonna). The monastery was fortified and became a stronghold for Polish forces during the Swedish invasions of 1655 and 1705.

Częstochowa is an important industrial city with textile mills, chemical processing, glass and paper manufacturing, and food processing. It is the site of an iron and steel plant. Pop. (2011) 236,796.