Mariacki Church (Krakow)

According to the information of Jan Dlugos , the first Romanesque stone church was founded in 1221-1222 by Bishop Ivo Odrovonž on the site of the former wooden church. Soon, however, the church was destroyed by Tatar raids .

In 1290–1300, partly on the previous foundation, an early Gothic hall church was built, consecrated around 1320–1321. Meanwhile, construction work continued.

In 1355–1365, at the expense of Mikolaj Vezynka, a Cracow tradesman and Sandomierz stolnik , a modern presbytery was built.

In the years 1392-1397, master Mikolaj Werner carried out an order to improve the lighting of the church. For this purpose, the walls of the side naves were lowered, and in the main, large window openings were added. Thus, the church from the hall temple turned into a basilica .

As a result of the earthquake of 1443 (or 1442), the temple arch was partially damaged.

In the first half of the 15th century, side chapels were completed. Most of them were the result of the work of the master Frantisek Vehony from the Kraków suburb of Klepež. At the same time, the north tower was built on, which then served as the city watchtower. In 1478, the carpenter Matthias Heringkan crowned the tower with a helmet-shaped head. On it in 1666 a gilded crown was installed.

At the end of the 15th century, the Mariacki Church acquired one of its main decorations - the sculptural masterpiece of late Gothic architecture - the Great Altar - a creation by Vit Stvoš .

In the XVIII century, by order of Archpriest Jacek August Lopatsky, the interior of the church acquired a late-baroque character. The author of these works was the architect Francesco Placidi. 26 altars were replaced, as well as other furniture, lavas, images, and the walls were decorated with polychrome brushes by Andrzej Radwanski. Since the same time, a late baroque crash has taken place.

At the beginning of the XIX century, as part of the improvement of the city, the prikostny cemetery was liquidated, on the site of which is now Mariack Square.

In 1887-1891, under the direction of Tadeusz Strynski, a neo-Gothic appearance was given to the decoration of the church. A new polychrome appeared in the church - this time according to the project and performed by Jan Matejko , who was assisted by Stanislav Vyspiansky and Jozef Mehoffer - the authors of stained-glass windows in the presbytery and above the main organs.

March 8, 1973 the church was included in the register of monuments of Lesser Poland Voivodeship.

Since the early 1990s complex restoration work was carried out, as a result of which the church was cleaned of impurities that settled on its walls throughout the 20th century, hiding amazing polychrome. The church was restored to its original splendor. The final stage of the work was the restoration of the church roof, completed in 2003.

On April 18, 2010, a farewell ceremony was held in the Mariack Church with Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria , who died in a plane crash near Smolensk on April 10, 2010. After the presidential couple was buried in one of the crypts of the Wawel Cathedral .

The church gained its modern appearance as a result of perestroika in 1392-1397.

Towers

The facade of the basilica is crowned by two towers.

The high tower (also called the Heinalitz) has a height of 82 m. In plan it has the shape of a square, turning closer to the top turning into an octagon. The tower is covered with a Gothic helmet by Matthias Heringkan (1478). The helmet consists of an octagonal pointed spire surrounded by a crown of eight small turrets. In 1666, a gilded crown with a diameter of 2.4 m and a height of 1.3 m was installed on the spire. From the tower, from a height of 54 m, the Mariack Heinal , which is one of the symbols of Krakow, is heard every hour. At the foot of the tower on the north side is an extension, in which there is a staircase leading into the tower. Behind the entrance is a large bronze plaque that represents the triumph of King John III Sobieski . It was created by the sculptor Pius Velensky in 1883 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the battle of Vienna .

On the tower is a clock bell, cast in 1530, with a diameter of 165 cm.

The low tower, 69 m high, is a church belfry . The plan has the shape of a square, has a clearly defined division into floors, emphasized by cornices and window openings. In the tower is the Renaissance chapel of the Address of St. St. Paul (Kaufman Chapel). Outside the window of the chapel is a small bell “for the dying”, cast by Katsper Kober from Wroclaw in 1736. The tower is covered with a late Renaissance helmet, built in 1592, consisting of a dome resting on an octagonal drum and a lantern . On the upper platform of the tower in the corners are small domes on low hexagonal bases. In the tower there is a clock bell, cast in 1530, with a diameter of 135 cm, which is currently not used.

Facade

Within the walls of the presbytery, elongated pointed arched windows decorated with floral motifs were made, and castle stones are small symbolic sculptures. The consoles supporting the cornice along the main walls of the building are also richly decorated with 21 sculptural figures. On the outside of the wall of the chapel of St. Jan Nepomutsky is a sundial made using sgraffito technique by Tadeusz Pszipkowski in 1954.

Crash

Inside the temple from the main facade is a baroque cruise. It was built in 1750-1753. designed by Francesco Placidi. Its prototype was the architectural form of the Holy Sepulcher . Wooden doors decorated with carvings of the heads of Polish saints, prophets and apostles were made in 1929 by Karol Hukan.

Above the ship is a large arched window with stained-glass windows designed by Jozef Mehoffer and Stanislav Vyspiansky . Window decorative division was made in 1891, according to the concept of Jan Matejko .

Presbytery

The presbytery is covered with a stellar arch created by the master Chipser in 1442. Coat of arms of Poland , Krakow and Bishop Ivo Odrovonzha, the founder of the first stone church of Mariacki, are depicted on the castle stones. Sculptures of the prophets Jeremiah , Daniel , David , Ezekiel , Jonah and Isaiah are installed in the wall niches. They were created in 1891 by the Krakow sculptor Zygmunt Langman.

The walls are decorated with polychrome, made in 1890-1892 by Jan Matejko. During its creation, the master was helped by many of his students, who later became famous and outstanding artists: Anthony Gramatyka, Edward Lepshy, Stanislav Bankevich, Jozef Mekhoffer, Stanislav Vyspiansky . Technical drawings were performed by Tomash Lisevich, and gilding by Michal Stoyakovsky. The stained-glass windows in this part of the church are the creations of Jozef Mekhoffer, Stanislav Vyspiansky and Tadeusz Dmokhovskogo.

On both sides of the presbytery are canopied shops. They were created in 1586, and in 1635 were supplemented by relief images from the life of Christ and Mary , which were executed by Fabian Meller. On the right benches are presented: The Tree of Jesse , The Nativity of the Virgin Mary , Mary 's Introduction to the Temple , Betrothal with St. Joseph , Annunciation of the Virgin Mary , Meeting of Mary and St. Elizabeth , the Nativity of Christ . On the left benches there are reliefs: Circumcision of the Lord , Adoration of the Three Kings , Meeting of the Lord , Farewell to the Mother, Apparition of the Risen Christ , Assumption of the Mother of God , Coronation of the Mother of God , and Mother of God with the Baby surrounded by symbols from the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary . In the choirs above the left benches is a 12-voice organ.

The presbytery ends with an apse , which is separated from the rest of the church by a bronze balustrade with two openwork aisles. The hinged doors are decorated with the coat of arms of Krakow, as well as the archpresbyters of the church - with the arms of Klosnik and Pravdzyts. Stained-glass windows in the apse were created in 1370-1400 by the master Mikołaj, a famous Krakow stained-glass window. Thematically they are united by two plots: Genesis and scenes from the life of Christ and Mary.

Interior

The interior of the temple has a polychrome character, consisting of various architectural styles from Gothic to Baroque and Art Nouveau. The main element of the interior of the church is the altar of Vita Stvoš . Sacristy, decorated in the Baroque style of the XVII century, contains works of medieval jewelers.

Shackles

At the entrance to the basilica, from Mariack Square, shackles (the so-called hoop of the penitents) are mounted, which in the old days were worn on the neck of criminals. The penitentiary hoop was set at such a height that the condemned could neither straighten nor kneel, which could mitigate the punishment. Over the centuries, the ground level has risen, and now the hoop is almost near the ground.

The church houses various works of art from medieval Europe.

• Altar of Vita Stvosha
• Crucifixion of Vita Stvosha

• Golden book. Krakow, ed. Bonechi, Krakow, 1998, ISBN 88-8029-904-2