St. Mary's Basilica, or Our Lady's Church Dedicated To the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary has been the main place of worship in Krakow for 800 years. Documents dating from 1222 and 1248 exist regarding the church, establishing it even prior to Krakow's foundation in 1257. An integral structure in the Main Square, the church and Krakow's history are deeply intertwined.
There are four windows with different stonework designs on the wall facing the the road we frequently walked on to the Main Market Square.
One of the two towers. The towers are unsymmetrical and have different upper levels, contrary to the rigid design of many religious buildings.
The doors that open onto the Main Market Square have these heads on them- similar to the Wawel heads.
The interior of the church. Flash is prohibited, so my images are the best I could do with the given light. My images can't do justice to the beauty of the interior.
The patterns were vibrant and lively.
Altar piece.
Biblical pictorials on the wall behind the choir.
Ceiling.
Another wall panel.
Every hour, on the hour, a trumpeter plays the hejnal mariacki. The tune is abruptly ended in accordance with legend. During the Mongol invasion (believed to be 1241), the bugler sounded the alarm to close the city gates, thereby alerting the city to invasion and protecting it. Before he could finish the tune, a Mongol archer shot him in the throat. Krakow keeps this tradition alive to this day, and tourists and citizens alike gather to listen outside the tower.
St. Joseph's Church in Podgórze, built in the first decade of the 20th century.
We looked for the guy playing the trumpet but could never see from where he was playing!
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