Basilica of Saints Michael the Archangel and Stanislaus the Bishop, also known as Skałka, which means "a small rock" in Polish, is a church situated on a small outcrop in

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 ...

atop of which a Pauline monastery is also located. The crypt beneath the church serves as a Panthéon to distinguished

Poles Pole or poles may refer to: People *Poles (people), another term for Polish people, from the country of Poland * Pole (surname), including a list of people with the name * Pole (musician) (Stefan Betke, born 1967), German electronic music artist ...

and citizens of Kraków. It is said to be the place where Saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów, Bishop of Kraków, was slain by the order of Polish king Bolesław II the Bold in 1079. This action resulted in the king's exile and the eventual

canonization Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christianity, Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon ca ...

of the slain bishop.

History

Located on the

Vistula The Vistula (; ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest in Europe, at in length. Its drainage basin, extending into three other countries apart from Poland, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra i ...

River south of

Wawel The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established o ...

, Skałka was part of the island city of Kazimierz until the nineteenth century, when the Old Vistula River was filled in. The original church was built in the Romanesque style. King Casimir III replaced it with a Gothic church, and since 1472 that shrine has been in the possession of a monastic community of Pauline Fathers. In 1733-51 the church received

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 ...

decor. It is one of the most famous Polish sanctuaries. The Pauline "Church on the Rock" is primarily associated with the martyrdom of Saint Stanisław of Szczepanów. Each newly elected King of Poland made a pilgrimage to Skałka on the eve of his coronation as penance for the disgraceful action of his predecessor who had personally killed St. Stanisław.

Interior

The crypt underneath the church serves as one of

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 ...

's "National Panthéons" (alongside the Wawel Cathedral, St. John's Archcathedral and the Church of Saint Peter and Paul), a burial place for some of the most distinguished Poles, particularly those who lived in Kraków. * Jan Długosz (1415–1480), diplomat and historian * Wincenty Pol (1807–1872), poet, geographer and freedom fighter * Lucjan Siemieński (1809–1877), poet, writer and freedom fighter * Józef Ignacy Kraszewski (1812–1887), writer and historian * Teofil Lenartowicz (1822–1893), poet and sculptor * Adam Asnyk (1838–1897), poet, playwright and freedom fighter * Henryk Siemiradzki (1843–1902), painter * Stanisław Wyspiański (1869–1907) poet, playwright and painter * Jacek Malczewski (1854–1929), painter * Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937), composer and pianist * Ludwik Solski (1855–1954), theatre actor and director * Tadeusz Banachiewicz (1882–1954), astronomer and mathematician *

Czesław Miłosz Czesław Miłosz ( , , ; 30 June 1911 – 14 August 2004) was a Polish Americans, Polish-American poet, prose writer, translator, and diplomat. He primarily wrote his poetry in Polish language, Polish. Regarded as one of the great poets of the ...

(1911–2004), poet and essayist, Nobel Prize recipient

Exterior

Outside the church is the Well of Saint Stanislaus. According to legend, this well is where King Bolesław discarded the bishop's dismembered body, which then miraculously reassembled. Water from the well is dispensed from a fountain for pilgrims to drink. In 2008, the Pauline fathers added the open-air Altar of the Three Millennia, with statues representing seven important people in Polish history.Weigel, George. ''City of Saints''. IMAGE Press, 2015, p. 150. * Augustyn Kordecki (1603–1673), prior of Jasna Góra Monastery during the Siege of Jasna Góra * Jadwiga of Poland (1374-1399), first female monarch of the

Kingdom of Poland The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385. Background The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...

* Adalbert of Prague (956-997), bishop of

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

and martyr * Stanislaus of Szczepanów (1030-1079), bishop of

and martyr *

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

(1920-2005), archbishop of

, elected Pope in 1978 * Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938), nun whose mystical revelations inspired the Divine Mercy devotion * Jan Kanty (1390-1473), priest and professor of philosophy and theology at the Kraków Academy Six of these people (the exception being Kordecki) are venerated as saints in the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

External links

*
Official site

'Sowa' Licensed Krakow Guides

Panorama of the Altar of the Three Millennia

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skalka Christian holy places Roman Catholic churches in Kraków Basilica churches in Poland Rococo architecture in Poland 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Poland

History

Interior

Exterior

See also

External links

References