It is clearly visible from the DW 390 regional road, which runs near the village of Płonica. It is not known whether Saint Hedwig of Silesia ever visited this area, but it cannot be ruled out.
As the wife of Prince Henry I the Bearded, the most powerful Silesian Piast, founder of the Cistercian abbey in Henryków and the Cistercian abbey in Trzebnica, among other things, she moved with his court because he did not have a permanent residence. After her canonization, she became the patron saint of Silesia.
The statue of the saint near Płonica was probably erected at the time when the Cistercians from the abbey in nearby Kamieniec Ząbkowicki built a magnificent late Baroque church in this village in 1777. The statue of the saint is carved from sandstone. In her left hand she holds a model of the church and in her right hand a statue of the Virgin Mary. She is depicted in ceremonial attire: she is dressed in a gown, covered with a princely cloak, and her head is adorned with a princely crown. This attire emphasizes her status, even though she spent the last years of her life as a simple nun in the Cistercian monastery in Trzebnica, leading an ascetic life.
The statue of Saint Hedwig of Silesia refers to the relationship between Płonica and her husband. The village was founded in 1260 on the basis of a privilege issued by the prince in 1230 for the Augustinians of Kamienica, who were later replaced by the Cistercians. It was founded by a knight named Henry. Later, it was owned for some time by the Cistercian nuns from the abbey in Trzebnica, as confirmed by a document from 1349, and from 1351 it belonged to the Cistercian abbey in Kamieniec Ząbkowicki. The abbey owned the village until its dissolution in 1810. The post-monastery estate was purchased by Wilhelmina of Prussia, wife of the Dutch king and mother of Princess Marianne of Orange, who took over the estate in 1824. Like her mother, she was a Protestant, but the statue of St. Hedwig remained.
As the wife of Prince Henry I the Bearded, the most powerful Silesian Piast, founder of the Cistercian abbey in Henryków and the Cistercian abbey in Trzebnica, among other things, she moved with his court because he did not have a permanent residence. After her canonization, she became the patron saint of Silesia.
The statue of the saint near Płonica was probably erected at the time when the Cistercians from the abbey in nearby Kamieniec Ząbkowicki built a magnificent late Baroque church in this village in 1777. The statue of the saint is carved from sandstone. In her left hand she holds a model of the church and in her right hand a statue of the Virgin Mary. She is depicted in ceremonial attire: she is dressed in a gown, covered with a princely cloak, and her head is adorned with a princely crown. This attire emphasizes her status, even though she spent the last years of her life as a simple nun in the Cistercian monastery in Trzebnica, leading an ascetic life.
The statue of Saint Hedwig of Silesia refers to the relationship between Płonica and her husband. The village was founded in 1260 on the basis of a privilege issued by the prince in 1230 for the Augustinians of Kamienica, who were later replaced by the Cistercians. It was founded by a knight named Henry. Later, it was owned for some time by the Cistercian nuns from the abbey in Trzebnica, as confirmed by a document from 1349, and from 1351 it belonged to the Cistercian abbey in Kamieniec Ząbkowicki. The abbey owned the village until its dissolution in 1810. The post-monastery estate was purchased by Wilhelmina of Prussia, wife of the Dutch king and mother of Princess Marianne of Orange, who took over the estate in 1824. Like her mother, she was a Protestant, but the statue of St. Hedwig remained.
