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Kosciol na Skalce Review

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Kosciól na Skalce

Address: Between uls. Paulinska and Skaleczna on the Vistula embankment, Stare Miasto, Kraków

Church on the Rock

Category: Religious Sites
Location: Kazimierz

Write a review | Avg. member rating: 4.6/5

Fodor's Review:

Standing on the Vistula embankment to the south of Wawel Hill, this church is the center of the cult of Saint Stanislaw. The bishop and martyr was beheaded and dismembered by order of the king in the church that stood on this spot in 1079—a tale of rivalry similar to that of Henry II and Thomas à Becket. The story goes that the saint's body was miraculously reassembled, as a symbol of the restoration of Poland's unity after its years of fragmentation. Beginning in the 19th century, the church also became the last resting place for well-known Polish writers and artists; among those buried here are the composer Karol Szymanowsk, and the painter and playwright Stanislaw Wyspianski, and poet Czeslaw Milosz.

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Member Reviews and Ratings

Reviewed by blues1977 from London, England on 5/16/07
I only spotted Skalka church because I was staying at iloveKrakow apartment, which is just across the road from it. It was really worth seeing. The church itself is very picturesque, but the history of the place is just fascinating. You have to make sure that you go there with a guide. I also recommend walking around the whole area, especially along the Vistula River and visiting the Jewish District, which is only minutes away. I think that seeing Krakow is a must, but I find the area around the Main Square far too commercialised. In my opinion the area around the Skalka church and the Jewish District are far more interesting.