Saints Peter and Paul Church, Kraków
Encyclopedia
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul in the Old Town district of Kraków
, Poland
is a Roman Catholic, Polish Baroque
church located at ul. Grodzka 54 street. It was built between by Giovanni Maria Bernardoni who perfected the original design of Józef Britius. It is the biggest of the historic Churches of Kraków
in terms of seating capacity
. Since 1842 it serves the Catholic Congregation of All Saints
.
, and perhaps the first Baroque building
in present-day Poland. It was funded by the King Zygmunt III Waza for the Jesuit order
. The plan of the church as a cruciform
basilica
was drafted by an Italian architect Giovanni de Rossi. His design was carried out by Józef Britius at first (from 1597), and then modified by Giovanni Maria Bernardoni. The final shape of the present day façade
, the dome
and its Baroque interior belongs to Giovanni Battista Trevano
, who completed them in the years . The Church was ceremonially consecrated on 8 July 1635.
In the years , at the time of the Partitions of Poland
, the place of worship served as an Orthodox church. Since 1842 until now, it belongs to the Roman Catholic Congregation of All Saints' Day. In 1960 the church was raised to the rank of the Smaller Basilica
.
of Saints Peter and Paul Basilica was constructed with dolomite
. It resembles that of the Church of Santa Susanna in Rome
by Carlo Maderno
, but also, it contains similarities with the facade of the main Jesuit church of Il Gesù. In its niche
s are the Statues of Jesuit saints: Ignatius of Loyola
, Francis Xavier
, Aloysius Gonzaga
, and Stanisław Kostka made by Dawid Heel. Above the main portal, there's the emblem of the order of Jesuits with saints Sigismund of Burgundy
and Ladislaus I of Hungary. The church interior has a broad, single-nave with two aisles consisting of chapels, as well as the transept
with a dome
at the intersection, and a short rectangular chancel
around the altar
, with semicircular apse
covered with a hemispherical vault.
In front of the Church-grounds there are several plinth
s with raised sculptures of apostles designed by Kacper Bażanka. They were made with Pińczów
limestone
, and completed in 1722 by Dawid Heel. Today, in place of the original 18th century statues, which were very much damaged by acid rain
, there are contemporary copies made of the same material by Kazimierz Jęczmyk.
decorations of the interior, mainly on overhead vaults, belong to Giovanni Battista Falconi of Milan
who spent most of his adult life working in Poland. In the apse of the presbytery
, there are also his scenes from the life and death of Saints Peter and Paul, and the statues of patrons of Poland – Saint Wojciech and Saint Stanisława. In the aisles, his artwork becomes much more joyous and include figures of angelic putti woven into ornamental compositions and plafond
s.
Late Baroque high altar from 1735 with the image of Józef Brodowski "giving keys to St. Peter" was designed by Kacper Bażanka. Among the accessories in the interior, a sarcophagus
of the Bishop Andrzej Trzebicki from late 17th century stands out prominently, as well as the receptacles of Branicki family (from 1720–1725) and Brzechffs, from 1716 by Bażanka. The interior lighting is subordinate to the Baroque dramatization of liturgy
and focussed on the priest celebrating Holy Mass. The side pillars supporting the dome were supposed to create the impression of the theatre stage inside. In 1638 the Jesuits formed a musical ensemble
there, the biggest in contemporary Poland. It featured around 80 to 100 singers. In the basement beneath the floor of the church Rev. Piotr Skarga
is buried. Most recently, beginning January 2010, works proceeded on creating the National Pantheon in the Church's vaults.
in Poland (46,5 m), suspended for the popular display of the Earth's rotation. Named after the French physicist Léon Foucault
, the experimental apparatus consists of a tall pendulum
free to swing in any vertical plane. The actual path of the swing appears to rotate; while in fact the plane is fixed in space, but the Earth rotates under the pendulum once a sidereal day. It is a simple and easy-to-see proof of the Earth's movement. The pendulum weights 25 kg and is fitted with the red laser marking a clock face at the floor. It takes about an hour to notice a significant difference in its path, and the explanation is provided in Polish.
The history of the pendulum at the Church is several decades long. For the first time, it was hung in 1949 on the initiative of professors Kordylewski and Horbacki. It was put on display again in 1991 on the anniversary of the arrival of Mikołaj Kopernik in the city. However, the renovations two years later required that the pendulum be taken down. In 2000, said Dr Henryk Brancewicz, astronomer at the Jagiellonian University
, a local daredevil clambered from the outside and again hung the string in the telescope of the dome.
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...
, 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...
is a Roman Catholic, Polish Baroque
Baroque in Poland
The Polish Baroque lasted from the late 16th to the mid-18th century. As with Baroque style elsewhere in Europe, Poland's Baroque emphasized the richness and triumphant power of contemporary art forms. In contrast to the previous, Renaissance style which sought to depict the beauty and harmony of...
church located at ul. Grodzka 54 street. It was built between by Giovanni Maria Bernardoni who perfected the original design of Józef Britius. It is the biggest of the historic Churches of Kraków
Churches of Kraków
The metropolitan city of Kraków, former capital of Poland, is known as the city of churches. The abundance of landmark, historic Roman Catholic churches along with the plenitude of monasteries and convents earned the city a countrywide reputation as the "Northern Rome" in the past...
in terms of seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
. Since 1842 it serves the Catholic Congregation of All Saints
All Saints
All Saints' Day , often shortened to All Saints, is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November by parts of Western Christianity, and on the first Sunday after Pentecost in Eastern Christianity, in honour of all the saints, known and unknown...
.
History
The Church of Saints Peter and Paul is the first structure in Kraków designed entirely in the Baroque styleBaroque 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...
, and perhaps the first Baroque building
Baroque in Poland
The Polish Baroque lasted from the late 16th to the mid-18th century. As with Baroque style elsewhere in Europe, Poland's Baroque emphasized the richness and triumphant power of contemporary art forms. In contrast to the previous, Renaissance style which sought to depict the beauty and harmony of...
in present-day Poland. It was funded by the King Zygmunt III Waza for the Jesuit order
Society of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
. The plan of the church as a cruciform
Cruciform
Cruciform means having the shape of a cross or Christian cross.- Cruciform architectural plan :This is a common description of Christian churches. In Early Christian, Byzantine and other Eastern Orthodox forms of church architecture this is more likely to mean a tetraconch plan, a Greek cross,...
basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
was drafted by an Italian architect Giovanni de Rossi. His design was carried out by Józef Britius at first (from 1597), and then modified by Giovanni Maria Bernardoni. The final shape of the present day façade
Facade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
, the dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
and its Baroque interior belongs to Giovanni Battista Trevano
Giovanni Battista Trevano
Giovanni Battista Trevano was an Italian architect from Lombardy who worked in Poland as royal architect for King Sigismund III Vasa, of the Swedish dynasty of Vasa, who was ruling Poland at the time....
, who completed them in the years . The Church was ceremonially consecrated on 8 July 1635.
In the years , at the time of the Partitions of Poland
Partitions of Poland
The Partitions of Poland or Partitions of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth took place in the second half of the 18th century and ended the existence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, resulting in the elimination of sovereign Poland for 123 years...
, the place of worship served as an Orthodox church. Since 1842 until now, it belongs to the Roman Catholic Congregation of All Saints' Day. In 1960 the church was raised to the rank of the Smaller Basilica
Basilica
The Latin word basilica , was originally used to describe a Roman public building, usually located in the forum of a Roman town. Public basilicas began to appear in Hellenistic cities in the 2nd century BC.The term was also applied to buildings used for religious purposes...
.
Architectural form
The facadeFacade
A facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
of Saints Peter and Paul Basilica was constructed with dolomite
Dolomite
Dolomite is a carbonate mineral composed of calcium magnesium carbonate CaMg2. The term is also used to describe the sedimentary carbonate rock dolostone....
. It resembles that of the Church of Santa Susanna in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
by Carlo Maderno
Carlo Maderno
Carlo Maderno was a Swiss-Italian architect, born in Ticino, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica and Sant'Andrea della Valle were of key importance in the evolution of the Italian Baroque...
, but also, it contains similarities with the facade of the main Jesuit church of Il Gesù. In its niche
Niche
Niche may refer to:*Niche , an exedra or an apse that has been reduced in size;*Niche , Colombian/Spanish football player, full name Víctor Manuel Micolta Armero*Niche , a British Thoroughbred racehorse...
s are the Statues of Jesuit saints: Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola
Ignatius of Loyola was a Spanish knight from a Basque noble family, hermit, priest since 1537, and theologian, who founded the Society of Jesus and was its first Superior General. Ignatius emerged as a religious leader during the Counter-Reformation...
, Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier
Francis Xavier, born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta was a pioneering Roman Catholic missionary born in the Kingdom of Navarre and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a student of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits, dedicated at Montmartre in 1534...
, Aloysius Gonzaga
Aloysius Gonzaga
- Early life :Aloysius Gonzaga was born at his family's castle in Castiglione delle Stiviere, between Brescia and Mantova in northern Italy in what was then part of the Papal States. He was a member of the illustrious House of Gonzaga...
, and Stanisław Kostka made by Dawid Heel. Above the main portal, there's the emblem of the order of Jesuits with saints Sigismund of Burgundy
Sigismund of Burgundy
Sigismund was king of the Burgundians from 516 to his death. He was the son of king Gundobad, whom he succeeded in 516. Sigismund and his brother Godomar were defeated in battle by Clovis' sons and Godomar fled. Sigismund was taken by Chlodomer, King of Orléans, where he was kept as a prisoner. He...
and Ladislaus I of Hungary. The church interior has a broad, single-nave with two aisles consisting of chapels, as well as the transept
Transept
For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...
with a dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
at the intersection, and a short rectangular chancel
Chancel
In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar in the sanctuary at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building...
around the altar
Altar
An altar is any structure upon which offerings such as sacrifices are made for religious purposes. Altars are usually found at shrines, and they can be located in temples, churches and other places of worship...
, with semicircular apse
Apse
In architecture, the apse is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome...
covered with a hemispherical vault.
In front of the Church-grounds there are several plinth
Plinth
In architecture, a plinth is the base or platform upon which a column, pedestal, statue, monument or structure rests. Gottfried Semper's The Four Elements of Architecture posited that the plinth, the hearth, the roof, and the wall make up all of architectural theory. The plinth usually rests...
s with raised sculptures of apostles designed by Kacper Bażanka. They were made with Pińczów
Pinczów
Pińczów is a town in Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodship, about 40 km south of Kielce. It is the capital of Pińczów County. Population is 12,304 .-History:...
limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
, and completed in 1722 by Dawid Heel. Today, in place of the original 18th century statues, which were very much damaged by acid rain
Acid rain
Acid rain is a rain or any other form of precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it possesses elevated levels of hydrogen ions . It can have harmful effects on plants, aquatic animals, and infrastructure. Acid rain is caused by emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen...
, there are contemporary copies made of the same material by Kazimierz Jęczmyk.
Interior design
StuccoStucco
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...
decorations of the interior, mainly on overhead vaults, belong to Giovanni Battista Falconi of Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
who spent most of his adult life working in Poland. In the apse of the presbytery
Presbytery (architecture)
The presbytery is the name for an area in a church building which is reserved for the clergy.In the oldest church it is separated by short walls, by small columns and pilasters in the Renaissance ones; it can also be raised, being reachable by a few steps, usually with railings....
, there are also his scenes from the life and death of Saints Peter and Paul, and the statues of patrons of Poland – Saint Wojciech and Saint Stanisława. In the aisles, his artwork becomes much more joyous and include figures of angelic putti woven into ornamental compositions and plafond
Plafond
Plafond , in a broad sense, is any ceiling of any premise.Plafond can be product of monumental and decorative painting and sculpture; subject or ornamental – also is designated by the term "Plafond"...
s.
Late Baroque high altar from 1735 with the image of Józef Brodowski "giving keys to St. Peter" was designed by Kacper Bażanka. Among the accessories in the interior, a sarcophagus
Sarcophagus
A sarcophagus is a funeral receptacle for a corpse, most commonly carved or cut from stone. The word "sarcophagus" comes from the Greek σαρξ sarx meaning "flesh", and φαγειν phagein meaning "to eat", hence sarkophagus means "flesh-eating"; from the phrase lithos sarkophagos...
of the Bishop Andrzej Trzebicki from late 17th century stands out prominently, as well as the receptacles of Branicki family (from 1720–1725) and Brzechffs, from 1716 by Bażanka. The interior lighting is subordinate to the Baroque dramatization of liturgy
Liturgy
Liturgy is either the customary public worship done by a specific religious group, according to its particular traditions or a more precise term that distinguishes between those religious groups who believe their ritual requires the "people" to do the "work" of responding to the priest, and those...
and focussed on the priest celebrating Holy Mass. The side pillars supporting the dome were supposed to create the impression of the theatre stage inside. In 1638 the Jesuits formed a musical ensemble
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
there, the biggest in contemporary Poland. It featured around 80 to 100 singers. In the basement beneath the floor of the church Rev. Piotr Skarga
Piotr Skarga
Piotr Skarga was a Polish Jesuit, preacher, hagiographer, polemicist, and leading figure of the Counter-reformation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was called the "Polish Bossuet" due to his oratorical abilities.He was born February 2, 1536 in Grójec, to a family of lesser landless gentry...
is buried. Most recently, beginning January 2010, works proceeded on creating the National Pantheon in the Church's vaults.
Foucault pendulum
Every Thursday inside the Church, demonstrations are held of the longest Foucault pendulumFoucault pendulum
The Foucault pendulum , or Foucault's pendulum, named after the French physicist Léon Foucault, is a simple device conceived as an experiment to demonstrate the rotation of the Earth. While it had long been known that the Earth rotated, the introduction of the Foucault pendulum in 1851 was the...
in Poland (46,5 m), suspended for the popular display of the Earth's rotation. Named after the French physicist Léon Foucault
Léon Foucault
Jean Bernard Léon Foucault was a French physicist best known for the invention of the Foucault pendulum, a device demonstrating the effect of the Earth's rotation...
, the experimental apparatus consists of a tall pendulum
Pendulum
A pendulum is a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced from its resting equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate it back toward the equilibrium position...
free to swing in any vertical plane. The actual path of the swing appears to rotate; while in fact the plane is fixed in space, but the Earth rotates under the pendulum once a sidereal day. It is a simple and easy-to-see proof of the Earth's movement. The pendulum weights 25 kg and is fitted with the red laser marking a clock face at the floor. It takes about an hour to notice a significant difference in its path, and the explanation is provided in Polish.
The history of the pendulum at the Church is several decades long. For the first time, it was hung in 1949 on the initiative of professors Kordylewski and Horbacki. It was put on display again in 1991 on the anniversary of the arrival of Mikołaj Kopernik in the city. However, the renovations two years later required that the pendulum be taken down. In 2000, said Dr Henryk Brancewicz, astronomer at the Jagiellonian University
Jagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
, a local daredevil clambered from the outside and again hung the string in the telescope of the dome.