The Church of St. Adalbert or the Church of St. Wojciech ( pl, Kościół św. Wojciecha), located on the intersection of the Main Market Square and Grodzka Street in

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

, is one of the oldest stone churches in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. Its almost history goes back to the beginning of the Polish

Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 11th century, this lat ...

of the early

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. 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 would meet.

History

The Church was built in the 11th century and named after the martyred missionary Saint Adalbert ( pl, św. Wojciech) whose body was bought back for its weight in gold from the pagan

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an em ...

and placed in Gniezno 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 is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door
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 (St. Wojciech/Adalbert and St. Mary's Basilica). The church was partially reconstructed in the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

style between 1611-1618. 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 and 2.6 meters, the walls of the church were raised up in the 17th century and then covered with

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and a ...

. The new entrance was built from the west side and the church was topped with the new Baroque dome. 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 A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

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 consecrated the church in 997 and preached there before going on his mission to bring

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

(where he was killed in

martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...

). 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. Located next to the church and the cloth hall were the

Great Weigh House The Great Weigh House ( pl, Wielka Waga Miejska) was a prominent building that existed on the main square of Kraków, Poland. It was located in between the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) and Church of St. Adalbert to the east. Next to it was the Sma ...

and the

Small Weigh House The Small Weigh House ( pl, Mała Waga Miejska) is a former structure that existed on the main square of Kraków, Poland. It was located in between the cloth hall and Church of St. Adalbert. Next to it was the Great Weigh House. It was a public b ...

Timeline

:*10th century – first wooden church erected St. Adalbert's Church at www.krakow4u.pl
/ref> :*11th to 12th centuries – first stone church, Romanesque elements including existing walls and portal :*1404 – the church becomes the University Presbytery thanks to Father

Piotr Wysz Radoliński Piotr Wysz Radoliński of Leszczyc coat of arms was born circa 1354 in Radolin and died on 30 September 1414 in Poznań. He was a bishop of Kraków from 1392, and a bishop of Poznań from 1412. A lawyer by profession, he studied in Prague and Padua ...

:*1453 – sermons by Father Giovanni da Capistrano :*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

vestry A vestry was a committee for the local secular and ecclesiastical government for a parish in England, Wales and some English colonies which originally met in the vestry or sacristy of the parish church, and consequently became known colloquiall ...

:*1778 – adding of the St. Jan Nepomucen Chapel (renamed after St.

Wincenty Kadłubek Wincenty Kadłubek ( 1150 – 8 March 1223) was a Polish Catholic prelate and professed Cistercian who served as the Bishop of Kraków from 1208 until his resignation in 1218. His episcopal mission was to reform the diocesan priests to ensure ...

in 1781)

References

External links

The small church of St. Wojciech at www.thevisitor.pl
* ttp://www.krakow4u.pl/eng_index.php?parametr=koscioly/paulinow/eng_paulinow The exhibition of “The History of the Cracow Market” at www.krakow4u.plbr>Kościół świętego Wojciecha at www.krakow.gower.plThe interior and the exterior of St. Wojciech’s Church at www.krakow4u.pl
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of St. Adalbert, Krakow

Adalbert Adalbert is a German given name which means "noble bright" or "noble shining", derived from the words ''adal'' (meaning noble) and ''berht'' (shining or bright). Alternative spellings include Adelbart, Adelbert and Adalberto. Derivative names inclu ...

Baroque church buildings in Poland 11th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Poland

History

Timeline

See also

References

External links