Outside, inside – monasteries and monasticism in the local environment

In Bierzwnik, the surviving parts of the monastery serves the local parish; they are open to public visits. In all the locations Cistercian presence is a vital part of the local environment. Cistercian monasteries and communities are vital not only because of their religious dimension but also for their cultural heritage and tourist goals, which are the two principal lines of connection between monasticism and the local environment. The problem of the outside–inside dialectic is developed in the subheadings, which organise pictures into three groups referring to three problems: historical and declared disconnection of monastic orders from the ‘world’ and their selected contemporary connections to it; selected aspects of life ‘inside’ today, which is related to and partially shaped by ‘outside’ aspects, such as social memory, economy and religious services; manifestation of life ‘inside’ to the ‘outside’ public by the use of the Internet.