Kościół pw. Świętego Benedykta
Churches of Kraków
Church (Roman Catholic), Podgórze district. A listed monument (heritage register).
History
St Benedict's Church stands on Lasota Hill in Podgórze, at the edge of the rocky ridge of Krzemionki Podgórskie, and is considered the smallest church in Kraków. It was built on the site of an older church in the shape of a rotunda. According to radiocarbon dating, the original building was erected at the beginning of the 11th century, which is probably connected with a foundation by Bolesław Chrobry (the Brave) or Mieszko II. It cannot be attributed to the Benedictines of Tyniec, as they did not arrive in Kraków until 1044. The dedication to St Benedict may refer to the first bishops of Kraków, who were probably Benedictines, and also to the struggle against pagan rites, as Krakus Mound stands nearby. In the 12th century a new church was built on the remains of the rotunda.
The oldest mention of the church dates from 1254, and Jan Długosz refers to a stone church of St Benedict. It was renovated in 1589 by Father Mikołaj Drozdowski. In 1598 the patronage passed to the Order of the Holy Spirit de Saxia, and from 1605 the church was subordinate to the Holy Spirit monastery in Kraków. After the First Partition, a border separated Podgórze from Kraków, but Masses were still said for another 15 years thanks to Jędrzej Haller, a merchant and citizen of Podgórze, who brought a priest from Kraków at his own expense. After his death in 1787 the building began to fall into ruin.
In the early 1860s the little church was threatened with demolition, because the military authorities of the Kraków Fortress opposed its repair. Fort 31 "Benedykt" stood right next to it, and the church restricted its field of fire. Parish priest Komperda appealed to the authorities in Vienna and obtained a decision that saved the building. The interior consists of a small square nave and a narrower chancel with a Gothic cross vault, and the shingle roof is topped by a small bell turret with a double cross, the emblem of the Order of the Holy Spirit. Since 2014 archaeologists have found graves here: at least 37 outside the church and 29 inside it. During renovation, an archaeological reserve was created inside the church.
Did you know?
For a long time the little church's doors opened only twice a year: on 11 July, for the feast of its patron saint, and on the Tuesday after Easter, during the Rękawka festival.