Bazylika Mariacka
Churches of Kraków
A Gothic basilica from the 14th century with the altarpiece by Veit Stoss.
History
St Mary's Church, the Basilica of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, stands at the north-east corner of the Main Market Square and has held the title of minor basilica since 1962. According to the chronicler Jan Długosz, the first masonry church, in the Romanesque style, was founded in 1221-1222 by the Bishop of Kraków, Iwo Odrowąż, but soon afterwards it was destroyed in the Tatar raids. The next building, an early Gothic hall church, was erected in 1290-1300 and consecrated around 1320-1321. The present chancel is the result of a foundation by Mikołaj Wierzynek in 1355-1365. In 1392-1397 Master Mikołaj Werner was given the task of letting more light into the church: he lowered the walls of the side aisles and added large windows, which changed the hall layout into a basilica.
The two towers differ in height. The taller one, known as the Hejnalica (Bugle-call Tower), is 82 metres high and has a Gothic spire from 1478, and since 1666 a gilded crown has gleamed on its tip. Every hour, from a height of 54 metres, the Hejnał Mariacki (St Mary's Trumpet Call), one of the symbols of Kraków, rings out. The lower tower, 69 metres high, is the bell tower.
At the end of the 15th century the church gained a masterpiece of late Gothic art: the High Altar, made by Veit Stoss (Wit Stwosz) in 1477-1489. The altarpiece measures about 13 by 13 metres. In the central shrine, fully carved sculptures show the Dormition and Assumption of Mary, and at the top is the Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In the 18th century Archpriest Jacek Augustyn Łopacki commissioned a thorough remodelling of the interior in the late Baroque style. At the beginning of the 19th century, as part of tidying up the city and in line with Austrian sanitary regulations, the cemetery by the church was closed, which gave rise to Mariacki Square. In 1887-1891 Tadeusz Stryjeński directed the work that gave the interior its Neo-Gothic decoration. The new polychrome was designed and painted by Jan Matejko, assisted by Stanisław Wyspiański and Józef Mehoffer, who created the stained glass.
Did you know?
By the entrance on the Mariacki Square side hangs a kuna, known as the penitents' ring, which was once placed over the heads of particularly grave sinners. It was hung so high that the person being punished could neither stand up straight nor kneel. Over the centuries the level of the square has risen, so today the ring is just above the ground.