History of the abbey

The beginning of the foundation dates back to 1248 when Prince Świętopełek handed over two villages, Boryszewo and Przystawy, to the convent from Dargun in Meklemburgia in order to establish a new cloister. In 1252 he also gave them a village of Bukowo. The foundation process lasted until 1259 when the General Capitulary incorporated the Bukowo's abbey to the order.
The growth of the łukowo cloister's properties until the first quarter of the 14th century was mainly due to the grants from east-pomeranian, west-pomeranian, Rugia's princesses, the bishop of Kamieniec, brandenburgin margraves, Piotr and Jan Święca and local knights. As a result of this about 16 settlements were obtained by the Cistercians. The Cistercians of Bukowo were the patrons of those parishes that they took over as well as they developed the network of parishes within their properties.
At the moment when the Cistercians took over the settlements, they were scarcely populated and some of them were deserted. The convent wanted them to be settled, developed and transferred to the so-called German law. The social-economic conversion took place at the time when new settlements were established. Until the half of the 14th century the following settlements were established: Dobiesław, Jeżyce, Domasławice, Języczki, Pęciszewko and Wierciszewko.
The seaside location of the cloistral properties, Grabowa River flowing through it, the possession of Bukowskie Lake until 1262, two ports, numerous ponds and the right to fish on the aforementioned waters made the development of marine and lacustrine fishery possible. Numerous mills and weirs were built on the rivers and streams. The mill in Koszalin and income from the one and a half mills in Kołobrzeg were also theirs.
From 1264 the monks were in the possession of salt works in Kołobrzeg, and from 1268 they had the right to mine iron ore within their properties. In 1266 they were given the littoral right. In 1215 Prince Świętopełek gave them the franchise to establish a market village and a year later the right to have tavern in Bukowo. The convent was entitled to fish and keep bees as well as it had tax exemptions which together with estates in Kołobrzeg and Koszalin allowed them to trade. Apart from that the convent gained full economic and judicial immunities.
A nearby grange and brickyard were of significant importance in the cloister's economy. It was concerned with the production of cloth. Bukowo's convent developed wood processing from the forests belonging to the cloister. It produced wood tar, pitch, charcoal, ash and planks. The surplus was sold on a market in Bukowo and in the nearby towns of Darłowo, Sławno and Koszalin.
From the 40s of the 14th century the abbey in Bukowo started to have financial problems which in the middle of the 14th century became a real crisis.
A thorough change in their situation was due to abbot Dytrych (1493-1502) and Walenty Ladewica or Ludovici (1502-1513). It was the time when raw materials and products from the granges and workshops were used to develop trade. The income from them allowed the convent to pay back enormous debts.
Despite this economic development, as a result of Reformation, whose ideas spread in the Western Pomerania, the cloister in Bukowo was suppressed. The formal liquidation of the abbey was in 1535. The properties were taken over by the prince's clerks of Darłowo province. From that moment until 1945 the church was used by the German Evangelical and next Polish ones. In 1964 a Polish catholic parish was founded.

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Today of the abbey

Cloistral buildings have not survived until the present times.
So far the present parish church of Sacred Heart of Jesus was believed to be a post-Cistercian object. As a result of archeological-architectural research is was ascertained that next to the present church there were no buildings that would confirm the presence of any cloistral buildings. Cloistral buildings were probably north of this church.
Monuments from the original Cistercian church were placed in various museums in 1945. These are bas-relief showing the Crucifixion and Marian pentaptych (Museum in Słupsk) and alabaster Madonna with Infant Jesus (National Museum in Szczecin)

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