The Gate of Dawn is a word - a slogan, a word - a code. They have been known to most Poles and Lithuanians for generations. The miraculous image of Our Lady of the Gate of Dawn has been, is and undoubtedly will continue to be a confidant not only of the two peoples mentioned, but of all those who once lived in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - a state within which many nations, cultures and faiths coexisted.

As part of the Polonika Institute's publication series 'Studies and Materials', Ostra Brama w Wilnie (Gates of Dawn in Vilnius ) by Prof. Dr. Maria Kałamajska-Saeed is published, with a parallel translation into Lithuanian by Mindaugas Paknys.

The publication is an expanded and updated version of the first edition of the book from 1990. It is enriched with new iconographic and documentary material, as well as an excellent series of photographs taken in 2022. The author gives a very comprehensive and erudite account of the history of the cult. First, however, she guides the reader in detail through the history and form of the gatehouse and the chapel with the painting added to it. In the second part, she thoroughly presents the intricate history of the miraculous image of the Mother of God and its artistic values. Only in the third part does she move on to discuss the extraordinary cult of the image, which was not so widespread from the beginning. Professor Maria Kałamajska-Saeed, after analysing its history, rightly states that the national fame of the image began after Adam Mickiewicz, in the invocation of Pan Tadeusz , wrote one of the most famous phrases in Polish literature: "Holy Virgin, what you defend Czestochowa brightly and shine in the Gate of Dawn". It should be stressed that this fully scholarly book reads like a wonderful, sophisticated novel.

We are delighted that Professor Warmus took care of this book until the end of her life. We are also pleased that such an important publication for the history of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was published in the year of the 700th anniversary of Vilnius.

Author: Maria Kałamajska-Saeed
Translated into Lithuanian by Mindaugas Paknys

Language editing: Maria Podlodowska-Reklewska (editing, proofreading and index of the Polish text)
Mikas Vaicekauskas (editing, proofreading and index of the Lithuanian text)

Translation: Kornelijus Platelis (translation of Petitic texts into Lithuanian)
Magda Iwińska, Piotra Paszkiewicz, Anna Gołąbek-Asikainen (translation into English)

Year of publication: 2023

Number of pages: 397

Binding: hardback

Format: 200x250 mm

ISBN: 978-83-66172-73-9