Church of St. Wojciech
Encyclopedia
Main Market Square, Kraków
The Main Market Square in Kraków is the most important market square of the Old Town in Kraków, Poland and a principal urban space located at the center of the city...
in Old Town, Kraków
Kraków
Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...
, is one of the oldest stone churches in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Its almost one thousand year old history goes back to the beginning of the Polish Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
of the early Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
.
The Church was built in the 11th century and named after the martyred missionary Saint Adalbert
Adalbert of Prague
This article is about St Adalbert of Prague. For other uses, see Adalbert .Saint Adalbert, Czech: ; , , Czech Roman Catholic saint, a Bishop of Prague and a missionary, was martyred in his efforts to convert the Baltic Prussians. He evangelized Poles and Hungarians. St...
whose body was bought back for its weight in gold from the pagan Prussia and placed in Gniezno
Gniezno
Gniezno is a city in central-western Poland, some 50 km east of Poznań, inhabited by about 70,000 people. One of the Piasts' chief cities, it was mentioned by 10th century A.D. sources as the capital of Piast Poland however the first capital of Piast realm was most likely Giecz built around...
Cathedral by Boleslaus I of Poland. The Church of St. Adalbert stands at the south-eastern corner of the biggest medieval market square in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, demarcated in 1257. The place of worship preceded the Square by nearly a century. The interior of the church is cramped, relative to its larger exterior. The floor level is situated under the present level of the Square, which reflects the overlaying of the subsequent surfaces of the plaza with pavement originally adjusted to the two already existing churches (including St. Wojciech’s). The church was partially reconstructed in the Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
style between 1611-1618.
Throughout the early history of Kraków the Church of St. Wojciech was a place of worship first visited by merchants travelling from across Europe. It was a place where citizens and nobility used to meet. According to the Archeological Museum of Kraków, the oldest relics reveal a wooden structure built at the end of the 10th century and followed by an original stone church constructed in the 11th century, as seen in the lower parts of the walls. These walls became a foundation for a new church built around the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries from smaller rectangular stones. Since the level of the plaza, overlaid with new pavement, rose between 2 to 2.6 meters, the walls of the church were raised up in the 17th century and then covered with stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
. The new entrance was built from the west side and the church was topped with the new Baroque dome
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
. The restoration of the church conducted in the 19th century led to the discovery of its Romanesque past.
At present, the walls of the church are unearthed to show their lowest level. On the south side there's a Romanesque portal and corresponding stone step. The crypt
Crypt
In architecture, a crypt is a stone chamber or vault beneath the floor of a burial vault possibly containing sarcophagi, coffins or relics....
of the church has been adapted by the Archeological Museum as a small Museum of the History of the Market Square showing a permanent exhibit of "The History of the Kraków Market." For an unsuspecting visitor St. Wojciech's seems inviting from the outside, nevertheless, it is a living church with people often praying inside while the door opens directly into the noise outside.
The thousand year old legend has it that St. Adalbert
Adalbert of Prague
This article is about St Adalbert of Prague. For other uses, see Adalbert .Saint Adalbert, Czech: ; , , Czech Roman Catholic saint, a Bishop of Prague and a missionary, was martyred in his efforts to convert the Baltic Prussians. He evangelized Poles and Hungarians. St...
consecrated the church in 997 and preached there before going on his mission to bring Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
to Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
(where he was killed in martyrdom). Not surprisingly, in the 1960s the discovery was made of the earliest church dating back to the times when St. Adalbert (Św. Wojciech) resided in Kraków and gave his sermons there.
Timeline
- 10th century – first wooden church erected
- 11th to 12th centuries – first stone church, Romanesque elements including existing walls and portal
- 1404 – the church becomes the University PresbyteryPresbyterPresbyter in the New Testament refers to a leader in local Christian congregations, then a synonym of episkopos...
thanks to Father Piotr Wysz RadolińskiPiotr Wysz RadolinskiPiotr Wysz Radoliński of Leszczyc coat of arms was born circa 1354 in Radolin and died on September 30, 1414 in Poznań. He was a bishop of Kraków from 1392, and a bishop of Poznań from 1412.... - 1453 – sermons by Father Giovanni da CapistranoGiovanni da CapistranoSaint John of Capistrano, O.F.M., was a Franciscan friar and Catholic priest from Italy...
- 1611–1618 – major reconstruction of the church in Baroque style. The raising of the walls, stuccoing, building of the Baroque dome and the new entrance from the west side. The works are directed by Prof. Walenty Fontana and Father Sebastian Mirosz
- 1711 – the building of the new vestryVestryA vestry is a room in or attached to a church or synagogue in which the vestments, vessels, records, etc., are kept , and in which the clergy and choir robe or don their vestments for divine service....
- 1778 – adding of the St. Jan NepomucenJohn of NepomukJohn of Nepomuk is a national saint of the Czech Republic, who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus, King of the Romans and King of Bohemia. Later accounts state that he was the confessor of the queen of Bohemia and refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional...
Chapel (renamed after St. Wincenty Kadłubek in 1781)
See also
- Culture of KrakówCulture of KrakówKraków is considered by many to be the cultural capital of Poland. It was named the European Capital of Culture by European Union for the year 2000. The city has some of the best museums in the country and several famous theaters...
- Culture of medieval PolandCulture of medieval PolandThe culture of medieval Poland was closely linked to the Catholic Church in Poland and its involvement in the country's affairs, especially during the first centuries of the Polish state's history...
- Kingdom of Poland (1138–1320)