I need to update this older post of a wonderful experience. It was a surprise visit not planned but end up in Krakow, Poland. I had the opportunity to walk all over the center and of course have other posts on the city. However, I think should give more credit to St Mary’s square or Mariacki and the basilica and nice buildings there. Therefore here is my brief story on Mariacki is Krakow !
Mariacki Square is in the Old Town adjacent to the Main Square. In the center of the square is the St. Mary’s Church. The square was created after 1802 on the site of the liquidated parish cemetery at St. Mary’s Church. The area of the former cemetery is now lined with white cubes. The southern part of the square is decorated with a “pigeon well” with a bronze figure. The well and the figure is an enlarged replica of one of the sculptures of the prophets from the frame of the central wardrobe of the altar of the Church.. It is a gift of Krakow craftsmen for the city made in 1958. The Mariacki square (St Mary) which adjoins the Notre-Dame (St Mary) Church was from the Middle Ages to the last years of the 18C, the burial place of many generations of Kracovians (local residents).
The main monument here and a must to see stand alone is the St Mary’s Basilica. The St. Mary’s Basilica ,(see post), also Our Lady (Notre Dame) Basilica built in the 14C in the former capital of Poland; Krakow. The official St Mary’s Basilica : https://mariacki.com/en/
There are several other prominent buildings at the Plac Mariacki; will tell my favorites.
At No. 2 – tenement of St. Mary’s penitentiary priests, was built at the end of the 14C. In 1637, penitents purchased this tenement house from the Ryniewicz family. The final appearance of the building was given in the second half of the 19C.
No. 3 Hipolitów house – a burgher’s tenement house. Many old architectural details have been preserved: stone Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque portals, beam ceilings, rich stuccoes, paintings from the 18C. Once the facade was decorated with graffito decoration. The name of the house comes from its former owners – an Italian merchant family.
No. 4 at corner with Szpitalna str is the Prałatówka residence – built in the 17C for the archbishops of the basilica; the only example of an early Baroque-style residence in Krakow that has not undergone any changes: its portal is adorned with the Latin phrase Pateat amicis and miseris, meaning that this house is open to friends and the poor Inside the house there are chambers, wooden ceilings, and antique stuccos in the hall.
The square also accommodates a second, smaller house of worship: the gothic Ste Barbara Church, dating back to the 14C and sitting atop the remains of Jakub Wujek, a 16C Jesuit priest who was the first person to translate the Bible to Polish. Behind the Church Ste. Barbara’s facade actually faces Maly Rynek no. 9 is the Ogrojec, a Late Gothic annex once serving the function of a cemetery chapel.
No. 8 – Dom Pod Ogrojcem, formerly it was decorated by the statue of Veit Stoss “Christ in the Garden”. Before WWI, the owner of the house, a well-known Krakow merchant and social activist, offered it to the National Museum, and replaced it with a copy that stands today.
No. 9 – at the corner of Mariacki Square and the Main Square stands the house of Cielcie, where Stanisław Wyspiański lived and wrote before the reconstruction . This fact is commemorated with a plaque . The house standing here is currently treated as an example of Art Nouveau architecture.
The official Krakow tourist office: https://visitkrakow.com/sightseeing-in-krakow/
The official Poland tourist board on Krakow: https://www.poland.travel/en/cities/krakow
There you go folks, a nice wonderful walks full of architecture and history of Poland all around you. Hope you enjoy the tour of St Mary’s square in Krakow!
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 