St. Mary's Church
the archpresbyterial church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary
The archpresbyterial church of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary was the temple of the patriciate and bourgeoisie of Cracow, and since 1223 it was a parish church. It is located in the north-eastern corner of the Main Market Square at the exit of Florianska Street.
History
Originally at this place stood a wooden church, and the first brick one, in the Romanesque style was built in 1221 - 1222. According to Dlugosz the church was founded by the bishop of Cracow Iwo Odrowaz. The parish was transferred then from the old wooden church of St. Trinity to the newly built church. That temple was destroyed soon after it had been raised, and this occurred as a result of Tatar invasions. Only the fragments of foundations and the bases of internal columns of the Romanesque church have remained underground until our times.
The history of the present church goes back to the beginnings of the 14th century, when on the place of the stone basilica from the 13th century one started to erect a brick Gothic church with two towers. The construction started in 1355 - 1365 with building the presbytery the founder of which was Mikolaj Wierzynek Starszy. At the end of the 14th century the towers were heightened. In 1392 - 1397, under the guidance of Henryk Parlirer, the old walls between the new presbytery and the towers were pulled down and the new body of the temple was erected. The new body, with the character of a basilica, was built by master Mikolaj Werner. In 1400-1406 the construction of the two St. Mary's Towers was finished. The higher of the Towers has become the watch tower. In 1442 the vault of the choir loft collapsed. The new, starlit vault was made by Czipser, an inhabitant of Kazimierz. In 1433 - 1446 the architect Franciszek Wiechon built the side chapels, and in 1478 the higher tower of the church was heightened and renovated, obtaining its finial Gothic form existing until today. Almost two hundred years later, in 1666, a gilded crown was put on the lacy cupola made by carpenter Maciej Heringh. The lower tower, covered with a Late Renaissance cupola, is the bell-tower of the church. The oldest of the church bells is more than five hundred years old.
In the present form the church is thus a Gothic triple nave basilica, with six chapels open to the inside, two towers and an octagonal presbytery. The entrance to the church leads by the beautiful Late Baroque vestibule, built in the 13th century according to the design by famous Italian architect, Francisco Placidi.
The higher square tower (81 m), divided to storeys by added cornices, changes in the higher part into a narrower
octagon. The top of the tower is crowned with a wooden late Gothic cupola comprised of pointed spire, surrounded by
smaller towers and decorated in the 17th century with a crown, the symbol of the Heavenly Mother. That tower has always
served as the municipal watchtower. In the Middle Ages, the trumpeter keeping the day and night vigilance on it would
give a signal with the bugle-call to close or open the gates in the municipal walls, and when he would notice fire or
the approaching enemy.
The tradition of playing the
medieval bugle-call is maintained in Cracow until today. One of the Cracow legends is connected with the melody of the
bugle-call. It says that when in the 13th century Cracow was invaded by the Tatars, the guard keeping vigilance on the
tower of the church first noticed the approaching enemy, but when he started to trumpet the alarm, he was hit by an
arrow of a Tatar warrior and the trumpeter did not finish his melody. For this reason, in memory of that event, the
bugle-call from the St. Mary's Tower breaks in the middle of the phrase.
The lower tower, serving as the church bell tower, towers towards the sky on the height of 69 meters. It has been covered with a late Renaissance cupola from the end of the 16th century. It consists of an elliptic dome crowned with an openwork lantern. In the four corners smaller domes are placed on low hexagonal bases. The tower is erected on the plan of a square and like the higher sister, it shows visible division into storeys in the form of cornices and typical Gothic sharp-pointed arch windows. Five bells hang in the tower:
- the first one, dated from the turn of the 13th and 14th century decorated with a floral ornament;
- the second, dated from the end of the 14th century, founded by king Jagiello, decorated with casts of the coats of arms of Cracow and Pogon, as well as with medallions with the symbols of Evangelists;
- the third one, made like the previous one by Jan Weygl in 1390, that is four years after the second bell was cast;
- the fourth bell called Polzygmunt, dated 1438 made by Jan Freudental, with beautiful and rich decorations;
- and finally the clock bell dated from the mid 16th century, cooperating with the bell placed in the higher St. Mary's Tower.
The interior
http://www.bazylika-mariacka.krakow.pl/ |
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The interior of the temple is filled with works of art of great artistic value, predominantly from the period of Baroque. The present polychromy of the church was made at the end of the 19th century by Jan Matejko and the painters cooperating with him: Stanislaw Wyspianski and Jozef Mehoffer. Beautiful Gothic stained glass windows from the 14th century have been preserved in the huge windows of the presbytery.
The most precious object in the interior of the church is the Late Gothic altar of the Dormition of the Holy
Virgin Mary, the first and the best known of any works of Wit Stwosz. The altar was created in 1477 - 1489 on the
initiative of the bourgeoisie of Cracow and it is the largest altar of this kind in Europe. Its overall dimensions are
11 x 13 m, and the realistically expressed figures have the height of ca. 2.7 m. The altar is made of oak (construction)
and lime wood (sculptures). The basis of the Altar is predella with the family tree of Christ and Mary.
The cabinet of the retable is embellished
with four wings two of which (external) are stationary. The main topic of the altar is the Dormition of the Heavenly
Mother. The figures full of expression and pathos are sculpted with great realism, the artist captured even the smallest
details, able to be seen only at close range. The open cabinet depicts the secrets of Mary's Joy from the Annunciation
to the Pentecost presented on the wings of the altar. In the centre, the scene of the Dormition of Virgin Mary
surrounded by the Apostles is depicted, and above it - the Assumption and Coronation when accompanied by St. Wojciech
and St. Stanislaw. After closing the cabinet wings, the twelve scenes of Mary's Sorrow appear.
During War World II, the Nazi occupiers took away the priceless work of art to Germany and hid it in Nurnberg. Won back after the war, the altar was subjected to careful conservation and put on the previous place. The other Late Baroque altars that can be found in the church are made of black marble.
The work of Wit Stwosz is also the stone crucifix in the altar of the south nave of the church. Under the influence of master's sculptures in about 1473 a huge crucifix was created on the rood beam, separating the main nave from the presbytery.
The history of the organ of St. Mary's Church is a long row of dates defining the construction of subsequent new instruments replacing the previous ones, most often not suitable for use anymore, their thorough renovations, developments and reconstructions. In 1799 an agreement was signed between the St. Mary's Church and the organ master Ignacy Ziarnicki. As a result of it, on the western wall of the Basilica an organ cabinet was created that has remained until the present day in an unchanged form. Ziarnicki has developed and also decorated the music loft. The shape of the new organ cabinet and its sizes have determined the size of the new instrument. A hundred years later the organ master Jan Sliwinski gave for use the repaired, technically and tonally in working order, thirty tones organ. It can be believed that just in 1899 the organ in the western loft of the church presented the best technical condition from among the instruments that had been placed there before. Even only for 9 years it was allowed to remain an instrument of mechanical tracture of playing.
In 1899 Tomasz Fall from Szczyrzyc built a new seven tones organ in the southern nave of the Basilica whose efficient mechanic of playing and intonation enable even today the use of this instrument for concert purposes.
The surroundings
The small square between the St. Mary's Church and St. Barbara's Church - the St. Mary's square - was created 
in place of the former parish cemetery.
This court is one of the most romantic corners of Cracow. It gains special charm especially in the late evening when in
the silence the medieval bugle-call sounds from the St. Mary's Tower. The well standing in the middle of the square is a
gift from the Cracow craftsmen of 1958. The figure of a boy made of bronze, decorating the well, is a copy of one of the
sculptures in the altar of Wit Stwosz.
At the side entrance to St. Mary's Church the iron holders remained from the Middle Ages, that is the penitents' rings. Drunkards and deprivers were chained in them, being sentenced in this way for public shame. The penitents' ring was installed on such a height that the man sentenced to it could neither straighten up, nor kneel down - which was supposed to make the penalty unpleasant all the more. Through the centuries the level of the plate of the square has lifted and now the ring is located only a little above the level of the ground.
Msze święte
- dni powszednie i soboty - 6.00, 6.30, 7.00, 7.30, 8.00, 8.30, 9.00, 9.30, 10.00, 10.30, 11.00, 18.30
- niedziele i święta - 6.00, 7.00, 8.00, 9.00, 10.00, 11.15, 12.00, 13.00, 18.30
Visiting the church
Visiting the church may take place both individually and in groups. The church is available for tourists every day, however, visiting is possible in specified hours, beyond the time of services - on weekdays from 11.30 a.m. to 6 p.m., on Sundays and holidays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Half of the church is available for visitors, with the presbytery and the main altar where the ceremonial opening takes place at 11.50 a.m. One can enter the church after buying a ticket of 6 PLN, 4 PLN (retired persons and pensioners) and 3 PLN (children and students, on presentation of the student card).
The other part of the church is meant for the faithful taking of the sacrament of confession and praying. Entering the church through the main door is possible for all at all times and does not require any fees.
In the period from 1st May until the end of August it is also possible to visit the St. Mary's Tower. One can enter from Florianska Street every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 9.00 – 11.30 a.m. and 1.00 -5.30 p.m. Every 20 minutes 10 - person groups are let in. The entrance ticket costs 5 PLN for adults and 3 PLN for children under 12 years of age.
Bibliography
- Adamczewski J., Kraków od A do Z, Krajowa Agencja Wydawnicza, Kraków 1992r.
- Dobrowolski T., Sztuka Krakowa, Wydawnictwo Literackie, Kraków 1959r.
- Ludwikowski L., Kościół Mariacki w Krakowie, Wydawnictwo Sport i Turystyka, Warszawa 1988r.
:comments:
:comment_add_comment:
2009-07-16
super!
bardzo mi pomogła ta strona dziękuje:)PLACIDI2009-01-28
piotro_sc2008-12-14
spoko
bardzo mi sie przydał ten tekst dzięki bardzo ;)nikita2008-02-12
fajna strona
masz super stronkę:comment_policy: