Architecture sights in Kraków
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Cistercian Abbey
Until the construction of the Church of Our Lady Queen of Poland in 1977, Nowa Hutans used the two historic churches that had somehow managed to escape the avalanche of concrete. They are both on the southeastern outskirts of Nowa Huta, in the Mogiła suburb about 2.5km southeast of Plac Centralny (tram 15), and are worth a visit if you are in the area.
Across the road from the small, shingled Church of St Bartholomew is the Cistercian Abbey , which consists of a church and monastery with a large garden-park behind it. The Cistercians came to Poland in 1140 and founded abbeys around the country, including this one in 1222. The church, open most of the day, has a large thr…
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Pauline Church of Ss Michael & Stanislaus
This most esteemed church is commonly known as the Skałka (Rock) due to its location on a once-rocky promontory. Today's mid-18th-century Baroque church is associated with Bishop Stanisław (Stanislaus) Szczepanowski, patron saint of Poland. In 1079, the bishop was beheaded by King Bolesław Śmiały (Boleslaus the Bold): see the very tree trunk where the dirty deed was done, now in a place of honour next to the altar. Apparently the bishop's dismembered remains were tossed into a nearby pond, but the body miraculously re-formed, demonstrating the healing powers of the waters. Now the Skałka is a sort of national pantheon. The crypt underneath the church shelters the tombs of…
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Old Synagogue
Dating back to the end of the 15th century, the aptly named Old Synagogue is in fact the oldest Jewish house of worship in the country. It now houses a branch of the Museum of the History of Kraków. The prayer hall contains the original aron kodesh (the niche in the eastern wall where Torah scrolls are kept) and a reconstructed bimah (raised platform at the centre of the synagogue where the Torah is read). Adjacent rooms are dedicated to Jewish traditions and art, while upstairs there's a photographic exhibit.
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Church of St Catherine
About 250m east sits the Church of St Catherine. One of the most monumental churches in the city, and possibly the one that has best retained its original Gothic shape, it was founded in 1363 and completed 35 years later, though the towers have never been built. The church was once on the corner of Kazimierz’s market square but the area was built up in the 19th century. The lofty and spacious whitewashed interior boasts the imposing, richly gilded Baroque high altar from 1634 and some very flamboyant choir stalls.
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Benedictine Abbey
The Benedictine Abbey dramatically perched on a cliff above the Vistula. The Benedictines came to Poland in the second half of the 11th century, and it was in Tyniec that they established their first base. The original Romanesque church and the monastery were destroyed and rebuilt in the 14th and 18th centuries. Today the church is essentially a Baroque building, though the stone foundations and the lower parts of the walls, partly uncovered and behind protected glass to the west of the church, show its earlier origins.
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Remuh Synagogue & Cemetery
Still a functioning place of worship, Remuh Synagogue was established in 1558 by a rich merchant, Israel Isserles, but it's associated with his son Rabbi Moses Isserles, a philosopher and scholar, who is buried here. Behind the synagogue, the cemetery was founded in the mid-16th century. It was closed for burials in the late 18th century, when a new and larger graveyard was established. The tombstones have been meticulously restored since WWII, making the place one of the best-preserved Renaissance Jewish cemeteries anywhere in Europe.
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Church of St Anne
Designed by the omnipresent Tylman van Gameren, and built in the late 17th century as a university church, the Church of St Anne was long the site of inaugurations of the academic year, doctoral promotions and a resting place for many eminent university professors and rectors. A spacious, stark-white interior fitted out with fine furnishings, gravestones and epitaphs, and embellished with superb stucco work and murals – all stylistically homogeneous – puts the church among the best classical Baroque buildings in Poland.
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Church of St Barbara
The sombre 14th-century Church of St Barbara, bordering Plac Mariacki on the east, was the cemetery chapel and served the Polish faithful (the Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady was for Germans) during the Middle Ages. Note the skull and crossbones on the north exterior; just inside the entrance is an open chapel featuring stone sculptures of Christ and three of the Apostles, also attributed to the Stoss school.
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Corpus Christi Church
Founded in 1340, Corpus Christi was the first church in Kazimierz. Its interior has been almost totally fitted out with Baroque furnishings, including the huge high altar, extraordinary massive carved stalls in the chancel and a boat-shaped pulpit. Note the surviving 15th-century stained-glass window in the sanctuary and the interesting crucifix hanging above the chancel.
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Church of Ss Peter & Paul
The first Baroque building in Kraków, the Church of SS Peter & Paul was erected by the Jesuits. Designed on the Latin cross layout and topped with a large skylit dome, the church has a refreshingly sober interior. The elaborate facade contrasts dramatically with the austere Romanesque exterior of the Church of St Andrew next door.
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Church of St Andrew
Built towards the end of the 11th century, Church of St Andrew is one of Kraków’s oldest, and has preserved much of its austere Romanesque stone exterior. As soon as you enter, though, you’re in a totally different world; its small interior was subjected to a radical Baroque overhaul in the 18th century.
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Monastery of Camaldolese Monks
The mighty Monastery of Camaldolese Monks sits atop Silver Mountain, overlooking the Vistula (Wisła) River. Men can visit the church and crypt any day, but women can enter the complex only on certain feast days. From Salwator take any westbound bus except 100; you can also follow the marked trail 1km south from the zoo.
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High Synagogue
Dating to the mid-16th century, the High Synagogue takes its name from the fact that the prayer hall was situated on the 1st floor, while the ground floor was given over to shops. Nowadays there is exhibition space in the former prayer hall, while the ground floor holds the excellent Jewish bookstore Austeria.
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Dominican Church of the Holy Trinity
Originally built in the 13th century, this massive church was badly damaged by fire in 1850. Note the original 14th-century doorway at the main (western) entrance to the church. The monastery, just behind the northern wall of the church, is accessible from the street.
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Church of St Bartholomew
The small, shingled Church of St Bartholomew dates from the mid-15th century, which makes it Poland’s oldest surviving three-nave timber church. If it’s locked, enquire at the house at the back, and a nun may open it for you.
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Church of St Adalbert
One of the oldest churches in the Old Town, its origins date from the 11th century. You can see the original foundations in the basement, where a small exhibition also presents archaeological finds excavated from the Rynek.
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Franciscan Monastery
Franciscan Monastery, which preserves its original Gothic cloister, complete with fragments of 15th-century frescoes and portraits of Kraków’s bishops. Enter the cloister from the transept of the church.
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Isaac's Synagogue
Kraków's largest synagogue. Completed in 1644, it was returned to the Jewish community in 1989. Inside you can see the remains of the original stuccowork and wall-painting decoration, and a photography exhibition.
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