The Convent of the Magdalenes

The White Ladies, as the first Magdalene nuns were called because of the colour of their clothes, were brought to Nowogrodziec on the Kwisa River from Marseille in 1217 to cure the promiscuous life of women at that time, according to their founder, Princess Jadwiga Śląska. In 1320, thanks to the efforts of the Duke of Ziębice and Jawor, Henryk, a convent was founded in Lubań, which soon became the main seat of the Magdalene Sisters.

Until the Second World War, the sisters ran an old people's home and a children's hospital in Lubań. In 1945, the convent buildings (within the city walls) were burnt down and the property got nationalized. Some of the sisters were resettled into Germany. The remaining handful of Polish sisters formed a virtually new congregation. Today, the order has changed its character from contemplative to apostolic.

The exhibition "Surviving against all odds - the history of the Monastery of St Mary Magdalene of Penance in Luban" can be visited in the monastery.