Skałka

About

The Church of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr (Polish: Kościół św. Michała Archanioła i św. Stanisława Biskupa i Męczennika), known colloquially as the Church on the Rock (Polish: Kościół na Skałce) and Small Rock (Polish: Skałka) is a historic Roman Catholic conventual church of the Order of Saint Paul the First Hermit located at 15 Skałeczna Street in Kazimierz, the former district of Kraków, Poland.

The crypt beneath the church serves as a Panthéon to distinguished Poles 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 of the slain bishop.

Located on the Vistula River south of Wawel, 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 1733–1751 the church received Baroque 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.

The crypt underneath the church serves as one of Poland '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

- Karol Szymanowski (1882–1937), composer and pianist

- Ludwik Solski (1855–1954), theatre actor and director

- Tadeusz Banachiewicz (1882–1954), astronomer and mathematician

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

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.