Bańska Wyżna is home to several historical sites, including 18th-century shrines with a statue of Our Lady of Ludźmierz, the Queen of the Tatras, located in Dorulowe. It was erected in memory of the brothers who fell in battle. Initially, the shrine housed a wooden statue of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, but it was stolen in the second half of the 20th century.
Another significant historical monument is the 19th-century Loretto belfry, known as the “burzówka,” located on Świerkowy Wierch. It was built in 1908 thanks to the efforts of the then-mayor, Wojciech Cieśla. During World War II, fearing that the Germans would seize the bell, it was hidden by the people of Bańska Wyżna in a pile of stones. It was only in 1961 that it was moved to the church and consecrated (reportedly by Cardinal Karol Wojtyła himself).
As a result of pilgrimages to Loreto, where protective Loretan bells were brought to Podhale, Orawa, and Żywiec in the 17th century, a belief in the power of these bells developed. In churches, one of the bells was consecrated with the intention of “dispelling thunderstorms,” so the sound of the bell would ward off storms. Bell towers with bells consecrated to Our Lady of Loreto were not only meant to warn against fires but, according to people’s beliefs, also to deter evil spirits that brought thunder and hail from the sky (cloud-makers, storm-bringers, cloud-formers). It was strictly forbidden to ring the bells at a funeral because the bell tower would lose its protective power. Over time, however, church authorities prohibited ringing the bells for protection against thunder and hail, so these bells only served as reminders to say the “Angelus” prayer, call people to extinguish fires in the village, and announce May and Rosary devotions.
An interesting monument is also the cross on Sieczkowe, erected in 1930 in memory of Wojciech Sieczka return from World War I, where he served in Józef Piłsudski’s Legions.
The cross at Cieślowe was likely created in memory of a soldier who fell during World War I and was made from iron extracted from the Tatra Mountains.
A shrines in Strzępowe.
A shrines in Repowe.
In the local church, there are relics of the shepherds Jacinta and Francisco from Fatima, as well as relics of St. Teresa. For more information, please visit the PARISH section.