CZENSTOCHOWA, a town of Poland, in the province of Kielce, on the left bank of the Warta, 143m. S.W. of Warsaw, on the railway between that city and Cracow. Pop. (1900) 53,65o; (1931) 117,588. Here is a celebrated monastery crowning the steep eminence called Jasna Gora. It was founded by King Wladyslaw of the Jagiello dynasty and was at one time fabulously wealthy. In 143o it was attacked and plundered by the Hussites; in and again in 1705, it bravely resisted the Swedes; but in 1772 it was forced to capitulate to the Russians and in 1793 to the Prussians. This monastery, which is occupied by monks of the order of Paul the Hermit, contains over the altar in its church a painted image of the Virgin, traditionally believed to have been painted by St. Luke, and visited annually by throngs (over 400,000) of pilgrims from all over Poland. The inhabitants of the town manufacture cotton, cloth and paper, and do a lively busi ness in rosaries, images, scapularies and so forth.