Description of the attraction
Pauline Church on Skalka, or the Church of Saints Archangel Michael and Stanislav, is a Catholic church located in Krakow, also known as Skalka (translated from Polish as "small stone"). The church has this name because of its location on a hill where in 1079 Archbishop Stanislav was killed by order of King Boleslav II the Bold.
On the site of the church, there was once a pagan temple, rebuilt in the Gothic style in the 14th century under King Casimir III the Great. Since 1472, the church has belonged to the Pauline community. The second church was destroyed during the Swedish invasion in the 17th century, after which the construction of the church of Saints Archangel Michael and Stanislav began. Construction work was carried out from 1733 to 1751 by the architect Antonio Munzer. In 1740, the architect was fired, and Antonio Solari continued the work in his place, who made changes to the interior of the church. In 1748, facade work was carried out under the direction of Jan Rojovski: stucco decoration appeared.
In 1792, the burial place of the remains of the Polish historian and diplomat, author of the "History of Poland" - Jan Dlugosh took place in the church.
In 1889, a major overhaul of the internal interiors began in the church, designed by the architect Julian Nedzelski. A year later, the solemn consecration of the church by Cardinal Albin Dunaevsky took place, a memorial plaque was installed on the facade of the building.
During World War II, silver reliquaries made in the 16th century were stolen from the church. Five years after the end of the war, restoration work began in the church to renew the facade and restore the stucco decoration.
In 2005, Pauline Church received the title of a minor basilica.
