St Mary's Church

The church, founded by Kraków’s burghers in the 13th c., is one of the finest Gothic parish churches in Poland. Its interior captivates the viewer with its outstanding polychromy by Jan Matejko, as well as by its stainedglass windows (from the 14th c.) and those designed by S. Wyspianski and J. Mehoffer. One should take a glance at the epitaphs of prominent families and take a seat in the wooden Baroque stalls, reserved centuries ago for Kraków city councillors and magnates. But the real jewel of the basilica is its high-altar, which took the master craftsman Wit Stwosz (Veit Stoss) 12 years to complete. It is 13 metres high and 11 metres wide and is the largest medieval wooden altar in Europe.The altar consists of 200 figures, from 3 cm to 3 metres high, carved with great precision revealing all anatomical details. The central scene depicts the Dormition of Our Lady; bas-reliefs on the sidewings illustrate scenes from the New Testament. From the higher of the two towers of the church (81 m), a bugle is played every hour. Behind the basilica is the smaller Mariacki Square (on the site of a former parish graveyard that was in use until the 19th c.), and the charming St Barbara’s Church which dates from the 14th c. (and was once a funeral chapel). In the evenings, the Main Market Square has an atmosphere all of its own.