St. Mary's Cathedral (Kosciol Mariacki) description and photos - Poland: Krakow (Topic)

St. Mary's Cathedral (Kosciol Mariacki) description and photos - Poland: Krakow. Detailed information about the attraction. Description, photographs and a map showing the nearest significant objects. The name in English is Kosciol Mariacki.

Photo and description

The Gothic Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary is the main city cathedral. The modern building is already the third in a row on this site, since the second church was destroyed during the Mongol-Tatar raid in 1241. The construction of this three-aisled basilica began in the middle of the 14th century and ended in 1397 when the architect Mikolaj Werner erected the vault of the middle nave. It took, however, another century to erect two towers, attach chapels and close the vaults. The north tower is crowned with a high Gothic spire that grows out of a gilded crown, the south - a low Renaissance helmet.

The polychrome interior of the church, with an abundance of excellent paintings, sculptures and stained glass windows, presents a wide panorama of styles - from Gothic and Baroque to Art Nouveau. But the main attention here is always riveted on the greatest treasure of the temple - on the huge main altar by Vit Stwosz (second half of the 15th century). Carved out of linden, this polyptych has become a universally recognized masterpiece of late Gothic, with elements of the Renaissance.

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Topic: St. Mary's Cathedral (Kosciol Mariacki) description and photos - Poland: Krakow.