The Church of St. Anne () is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

church located at 13 św. Anny Street in the UNESCO-protected historic centre of

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. It is one of the leading examples of Polish Baroque architecture designed by

Tylman van Gameren Tylman van Gameren, also ''Tilman'' or ''Tielman'' and Tylman Gamerski, (Utrecht, 3 July 1632 – c. 1706, Warsaw) was a Dutch-born Polish architect and engineer who, at the age of 28, settled in Poland and worked for Queen Marie Casimire, ...

, but the church's history dates back to 14th century.

History

The church was first mentioned in 1381 in the deed of donation of Sulisław I Nawoja of Grodziec. In 1407 the church was completely destroyed during a fire, but it was rebuilt the same year in the Gothic style by King

Władysław II Jagiełło Jogaila (; 1 June 1434), later Władysław II Jagiełło (),Other names include (; ) (see also Names and titles of Władysław II Jagiełło) was Grand Duke of Lithuania beginning in 1377 and starting in 1386, becoming King of Poland as well. ...

. The king also attached the Church formally to the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (, UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great, King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and one of the List of oldest universities in con ...

by giving it the right to nominate the parish priest. In 1428 the choir was reconstructed and enlarged. By a charter dated 27 October 1535, St. Anne's was raised to the rank of a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons, a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, headed by a dignitary bearing ...

. In 1689 the Gothic edifice was demolished as it proved too small for the growing cult of Saint John Cantius, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

of the Jagiellonian University who's laid to rest there. The history of St. Anne's church
based o
Duszpasterstwo Akademickie przy kolegiacie św. Anny w Krakowie
/ref> In 1689–1705 the new

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

church was erected, modelled on

Sant'Andrea della Valle Sant'Andrea della Valle is a titular church and minor basilica in the rione of Sant'Eustachio of the city of Rome, Italy. The basilica is the seat of the general curia of the Theatines and is located on the Piazza Vidoni, at the intersection ...

in Rome. The architect was a Polonized Dutchman

, a chief architect at the court of

John III Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

. The interior stucco decoration is the work of Baldassarre Fontana, and the polychromy assisted by painters and brothers Carlo and Innocente Monti and Karl Dankwart of Nysa. The painting of St. Anne in the

high altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

is the work of Jerzy Siemiginowski-Eleuter, court painter of King

. The 18th-century paintings in the stalls showing the life of

Saint Anne According to apocrypha, as well as Christianity, Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's Gosp ...

are by

Szymon Czechowicz Szymon Czechowicz (July 1689 – 21 July 1775) was a prominent Polish painter of the Baroque, considered one of the most accomplished painters of 18th century sacral painting in Poland. He specialized in sublime effigies of painted figures. ...

. In the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

there is an altar of the adoration of the cross to the left, and the tomb of John Cantius to the right.

Gallery

File:Church of St. Anne, interior, 13 św. Anny Street, Old Town, Kraków, Poland.jpg, Interior of St. Anne's Church, main nave File:Church of St. Anne, interior-pipe organ, 13 św. Anny Street, Old Town, Kraków, Poland.jpg,

Choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

and organ File:Church of St. Anne, interior-main altar, 13 św. Anny Street, Old Town, Kraków, Poland.jpg, Main altar File:Church of St. Anne, vault, 13 św. Anny Street, Old Town, Kraków, Poland.jpg, Vault File:Church of St. Anne, grave of St John Cantius , 13 sw. Anny street, Old Town, Krakow, Poland.jpg, Right semitransept and tomb of St. John Cantius File:Pulpit at St Anne's Church in Kraków.jpg, Pulpit

Footnotes

Literature

External links

Homepage of the Collegiate Church of St. Anne
{{DEFAULTSORT:Church of St. Anne, Krakow

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...

Baroque architecture in Kraków Baroque church buildings in Poland Church buildings with domes 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Poland

History

Gallery

See also

Footnotes

Literature

External links