Case file · Apparition / miracle
The Black Madonna and the siege of Jasna Góra
In November–December 1655 a small garrison of monks and soldiers under Prior Augustyn Kordecki held the monastery of Jasna Góra against a much larger Swedish army, a defence credited to the icon of the Black Madonna.
1655 CE · 50.81, 19.10 · status: legend
The account
The successful resistance during the Swedish 'Deluge' became a national turning point. In 1656 King John II Casimir proclaimed the Virgin Mary Queen of Poland in his Lwów Oath. Kordecki's own account tells of cannonballs bouncing off the walls and of a figure in blue seen above the monastery.
The sceptical view
Historians note that the Swedish force was smaller and less determined than the legend claims, and that Kordecki's account was written to glorify the shrine.