The Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (), known colloquially as the St. Mary's Church (), is a historic Roman Catholic parish church located at Mariacki Square at the north-eastern corner of the Main Market Square in the Old Town of Kraków, Poland.
It is a Brick Gothic church. Built in the 14th century, its foundations date back to the early 13th century and serve as one of the best examples of Polish Gothic architecture. Standing 80 m (262 ft) tall, it is particularly famous for its wooden altarpiece carved by Veit Stoss (Wit Stwosz). Some of its monumental polychrome murals were designed by Poland's leading history painter, Jan Matejko (1838–1893). In 1978, it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site alongside the Historic Centre of Kraków.
On every hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, a trumpet signal—called the Hejnał mariacki—is played from the top of the taller of Saint Mary's two towers. The plaintive tune breaks off in mid-stream, to commemorate a famous 13th-century trumpeter who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before a Mongol attack on the city. The noon-time hejnał is heard across Poland and abroad broadcast live by Polish Radio Jedynka.
Saint Mary's Basilica also served as an architectural model for many of the churches that were built by the Polish diaspora abroad, particularly those like Saint Michael's and Saint John Cantius in Chicago, designed in the Polish Cathedral style.
The church is familiar to many English-speaking readers from the 1928 book The Trumpeter of Krakow by Eric P. Kelly.
History
According to chronicler Jan Długosz, Saint Mary's Basilica in the Main Square in Kraków was founded in by the Bishop of Kraków, Iwo Odrowąż. The building was destroyed during the Mongol invasion of Poland. Between 1290 and 1300 the new early Gothic church was built on the remaining foundations. It was consecrated twenty years later, in 1320.
The church was completely rebuilt during the reign of Casimir III the Great between 1355 and 1365 with substantial contributions from wealthy restaurateur Mikołaj Wierzynek. The presbytery was elongated and tall windows added. The main body of the church was completed in 1395–97 with the new vault constructed by master Nicholas Wernher from Prague.
In the 18th century, by the decision of vicar Jacek Augustyn Łopacki,
At the beginning of the 19th century, the city decided that a cemetery near the basilica was to be shut down and replaced by a public square. Today, it is known as Plac Mariacki (Marian Square).