Bazylika Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny i Świętego Wacława
Churches of Kraków
Minor basilica (Roman Catholic), Nowa Huta district. Date according to OpenStreetMap: 1951. The title of minor basilica is granted to churches by the Pope. A place of pilgrimage (shrine). A listed monument (heritage register).
History
The Cistercians settled in Mogiła in 1222, and three years later work began on the church. It was founded by two cousins, Wisław and Iwo Odrowąż, and the church was consecrated in 1266. The brick and stone basilica, with three aisles and a transept, was laid out on a Latin cross plan in the Romanesque-Gothic style typical of the Cistercians. Over the centuries it suffered from fires and foreign armies. The Baroque vault of the nave was built in 1720, after the fire of 1708, and in 1780 the façade with its porch was rebuilt to a plan by Franz Mosler of Opava.
At the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, under Abbot Erazm Ciołek, the walls were plastered. In 1536-1538 a Cistercian monk of Mogiła, Brother Stanisław Samostrzelnik, filled the interior with paintings. Restoration work carried out from the end of the 20th century until 2021 uncovered and recreated a large part of his painted decoration and plant ornaments, and also partly restored the church's more austere Cistercian appearance.
The church has only been a parish church since 1851. Before that it served the monks alone, and lay people could enter only for the greatest feasts, a few times a year. Today it is the Sanctuary of the Holy Cross, which Pope Paul VI raised to the rank of minor basilica on 9 March 1970. Its centre is the chapel in the left arm of the transept. In the fire of 1447 the only part of the church furnishings to survive was the wooden cross from the rood arch, which was later venerated by the local people. Abbot Wawrzyniec Goślicki moved it in 1588 to the chapel, where the crucifix remains to this day.
Did you know?
The Gothic figure of Christ on the Mogiła cross is 192 cm tall and was carved from a single piece of elm. It is not known who carved it or when it was placed on the cross. In 1447 a loincloth (perizonium) and a wig made of human hair were added to it.