The Romanesque complex of the Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec was built in the 1st half of the 11th century and is the oldest active
monastery in Poland. Numerous transformation changed the original character of the building, where Romanesque elements are
accompanied by the Gothic chancel and baroque nave, with valuable altars by Francesco Placidi. After the Partitioning of Poland,
the abbey was liquidated (1816), and the monks did not return to Tyniec until 1939. The refurbishment of teh compound could
begin only after the second world war, while the status of abbey was returned as late as 1968. The Benedictines broadened their
operation by running a publish house, hotel, restaurant and sales centre with a variety of preserves, honeys, teas, herbs, liqueurs, and
other specialities made to the Order’s recipes, while an institute of culture operates in the renewed wing of the library. Visitors are
welcome in the church, cloister, and the Lapidarium exhibiting objects of historic heritage connected to the history of the abbey.