Borromean Sisters' Convent in Brzeg Dolny

The Borromean Sisters' Convent in Brzeg Dolny is a complex of buildings on Jerozolimska Avenue, which the sisters began to build in the second half of the 19th century and which still serves its original religious function today.

Foundation and construction

The first three Borromean Sisters arrived in Brzeg Dolny in 1860 from Nysa, after obtaining the permission of the Bishop of Wrocław. The undertaking was founded by Countess Dorothea von Lazareff-Hoym. Construction of the main complex was carried out between 1866 and 1895, and extensions continued into the 20th century. The convent complex came to include a religious house, a hospital building, a former orphanage building, a convent chapel, a religious cemetery and St Anne's House.

Changes of function over the years

Initially the convent ran an orphanage for seventy children. During the Kulturkampf the building was converted into a care home, and in 1895 a psychiatric hospital was added.

The removal of the nuns in 1964

After 1945 the authorities allowed the sisters to remain in the convent, but on 12 October 1964 the authorities of the People's Republic of Poland removed eighty nuns from it for political reasons, and the passage to the convent chapel was bricked up. They were only restored after 46 years.

Present condition

In 2014 the Brzeg Dolny municipality bought the former hospital building. The Borromean Sisters themselves remain in the convent complex to this day.

Practical information

• Address: Jerozolimska Avenue, Brzeg Dolny, Wołów County.
• Near the convent stands the St Hedwig's Chapel in Brzeg Dolny from 1665, with an adjoining cemetery - a separate structure, two centuries older than the convent.
• Nearby is also the synagogue in Brzeg Dolny.
• The convent is an active religious house - the sources do not say whether or on what terms the grounds can be visited, so it is worth checking this with the parish or the sisters on site before visiting.