Mariacki Square

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Did you know that walking across the squares of Kraków, you frequently tread on – believe it or not – cemeteries!? This square is one such example!

Did you know that walking across the squares of Kraków, you frequently tread on – believe it or not – cemeteries!? Such is the case here: the square adjacent to Saint Mary’s Church (Mariacki means “Saint Mary’s”) and it was the place of burial of many generations of Kraków citizens from the Middle Ages to the last years of the 18th century. Look down: the necropolis reached as far as the white limestone blocks under your feet go. The liquidation of church cemeteries, including the one situated by the main church of the city, was ordered by Austrians who governed Kraków at the time. They did so for hygienic reasons: to move burials further away from densely inhabited areas. In 1803, they opened the first municipal cemetery, today known as Rakowicki.

Be sure to see:

  • Hipolitów Mansion – with a picturesque little galleried courtyard and 17th-century stuccowork by Baldassare Fontana in the hall of the first floor; it houses a branch of the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków, presenting how wealthy Kraków burghers used to live in the past (pl. Mariacki 3)
  • The House of the Prelates of St Mary’s – built in the 17th century for the archpresbyters of the Basilica of St Mary, the only early baroque residence in Kraków that has been preserved unchanged; its portal is adorned with a Latin motto that reads Pateat amicis at miseris, that is “let this house be open for friends and the poor” (pl. Mariacki 4)
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