St. Mary's Church, Krakow

The spires of the Gothic St Mary's Church - Bazylika Mariacka - situated on the north east corner of the Rynek Glowny dominate the old town skyline & are a good landmark if you lose your bearings - not easily done in Krakow though.

It's worth taking a look around the church interior as, aside from the Gothic stained glass windows in the presbytery and the impressive paintings, the grand altar piece is the largest example of late Gothic wooden sculpture in Europe.

Every hour you can hear a bugle call being played from the taller of the Church towers which has been used as a watchtower since the Middle Ages. Don't be surprised by the abrupt end to the call as it commemorates the death of a bugler shot by an enemy arrow.

The St. Mary's Church (Mariacki) is one of the most important churches in Krakow. It was built between 1287 and 1320 on the remains of a former Romanesque church. The church is home of the largest Gothic wooden altar in Europe.

Every hour in the Marker Square you can hear trumphet sounds from the tower of St. Mary's church. Tje melody is played to all the four directions of the world and stops at the same place. This is connected with history, when trumphet used to be played as a sign of a danger (in this case Tatar's invasion) and the legend tells that an enemy shot an arrow that reached guard's troath so the melody stopped.

This is a lovely church in the main "market square". Every hour you can hear trumphet sounds spreading in all the square played by firemen from the tower of St. Mary's church. It has two unequal towers and is the second main attraction after the Wawel castle in Krakow.

This church dominates the main town square. It has two tall towers near the front. The most interesting aspect of this church to me was the Hejnal bugle that plays from the one of the towers of the church. On certain hours, a lone bugle will begin playing a tune. In the middle of the tune, it will abruptly stop. This comes from a story where a bugle player was warning people of an attack on the medieval city. Unfortunately, the musician was shot in the throat with an arrow in the middle of the warning call. The tune that one hears today recalls that story. Look up at the tower during that time and you will see the bugle player. Perhaps he will even wave to you.

The Church dominates the market square.

The altar is very beautiful and famous for its intricate carvings.

Every hour a trumpeter sounds from the clock tower and stops short mid note - signifying when a sentry sounded the alarm to wark of an attack and was struck by an arrow mid-note.

It is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to climb the tower - the views are fantastic.

Among 119 other churches in Krakow this one istn't the biggest, istn't the oldest, but is THE church you (have to) see when you come here.

From the higher of two towers the city's bugle-call is played every hour (and has a legend connected with it- the bugle ends suddenly unfinished to honor the trumpeter who was said to be killed by enemy arrow when he was signaling attack on the city).

Inside this roman-style cathedral from AD 1257 you may (again- have to!) find paintings, sculptures and architectural solutions of th highest level. The altar is one of not only local, but national treasures (built in 12 years by Wit Stwosz) and you can't miss it on yourtrip to Krakow.

Outside, on the south wall of the building there is a sundial built in 1954.

St. Mary's church with its asymetrical facade dominates the Old Town Square. It dates back to the 16th century and was the most important church in the city for many centuries.

In the lower tower five bells are housed while the higher tower served as as a watch-tower since the Middle Ages.

Inside St. Mary's is a valuable collection of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque furnishings but the most famous art work is certainly the wooden altar built by Wit Stwosz in the 15th century.