Kościół pw. Świętej Anny
Churches of Kraków
Parish church (Roman Catholic), Stare Miasto district. Date according to Wikidata: 1689. Architect: Tylman van Gameren. A parish is a community of believers tied to a particular church. A listed monument (heritage register).
History
St Anne's Church is an academic collegiate church and one of the most beautiful Baroque buildings in Poland. The first mention of the wooden church that stood here earlier dates from 27 September 1363: Casimir the Great then asked Pope Urban V for an indulgence for pilgrims on the anniversary of its consecration. That church burned down in 1407, and in the same year a brick Gothic church was built in its place, founded by Władysław Jagiełło. In 1418 the church came under the care of the Kraków Academy. In 1473 one of its professors, John of Kanty, was buried here, and in 1535 Bishop Piotr Tomicki declared it a collegiate church.
After the beatification of John of Kanty in 1680, his growing cult made the professors of the Academy want a larger church that could hold the pilgrims visiting his tomb. The old building was pulled down at the university's expense in 1689, and the foundation stone for the new one was laid that same year. It was designed by Tylman van Gameren. The professors rejected his first idea and pointed to the Roman church of Sant'Andrea della Valle as a model, because they wanted to outshine the Church of Sts Peter and Paul, which then belonged to the Jesuits. From 1692 construction was supervised by Fr Sebastian Jan Piskorski, parish priest and professor of the Academy, and in 1703 the church was consecrated by Bishop Kazimierz Łubieński.
The facade was designed to look its best when seen at an angle from narrow St Anne's Street. When the church was built, Planty Park did not yet exist, and the street was closed off by the defensive walls. The interior has a single nave, with side chapels and a transept, and its rich decoration and altars were designed and made by Baldassare Fontana. The high altar holds a painting of St Anne with the Virgin and Child by Jerzy Siemiginowski. In the right arm of the transept stands the shrine of St John of Kanty, canonised in 1767 and patron of the Jagiellonian University.
Bishop Karol Wojtyła, later John Paul II, often came to the church. He celebrated Mass here, led retreats, heard confessions and met students. In December 1960 he preached sermons for engaged couples, and as Pope he visited the collegiate church on 8 June 1997.
Did you know?
The twelve apostles are painted on the pillars of the nave, but they are labelled not with their names but with the names of precious stones: Peter is jasper, Paul sapphire, John sardonyx and Bartholomew topaz. The idea refers to the twelve foundation layers of the Holy City in the Book of Revelation, and placing the apostles on the pillars is meant to show that they are the pillars of the Church.