The tomb of St Stanislaus at the crossing
of the aisles at Cracow Cathedral.
On the occasion of the preparation for canonization in 1253 the relics of the saint were taken from his grave and interred at the centre of the church, to be later raised to the altar after canonization. This symbolic act consisted of removing the remains of the person considered to be saint from the grave for purification (most often by washing with wine) and placing above the church floor level on the altar. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the appearance and furnishings which the newly established place of worship had at that time. The altar dedicated to the saint was known as the Altar of the Homeland (Latin: Ara patriae) and was situated on the intersection of two axes that were delineated by two entrances to the church from west and south. The construction of a cathedral church in Cracow (1320-1364) was of special importance for the reborn Polish Kingdom.
The structure of the site became connected with that of the lectorium, that is a choir screen which separated the part of the church reserved for the clergy (the chancel) from the area used by the congregation (the nave). Soon a silver reliquary, a gift from Queen Elizabeth of Hungary (daughter of Władysław the Short), who reigned in Cracow as regent on behalf of her son Louis of Hungary in the years 1370-1375 was placed on that site. The reliquary was in the form of a cuboid chest (dimensions: 176 x 88 x 44 cm) with a gable-roofed cover. It had supports on its corners and featured 16 decorated fields, probably framed with rich architectural ornament, on its sides. The structure was made from wood, with cast and repoussé silver ornaments and figural adornments.Around the years 1624-1629, Marcin Szyszkowski, the then Bishop of Cracow undertook to build a canopy chapel of St Stanislaus at the cross of Wawel Cathedral to the Italian architect’s Giovanni Battista Trevano’s design. The iconographic programme of the work is completed by the sculpted and painted decoration.
The tomb of St Stanislaus at the crossing
of the aisles at Cracow Cathedral.
On the occasion of the preparation for canonization in 1253 the relics of the saint were taken from his grave and interred at the centre of the church, to be later raised to the altar after canonization. This symbolic act consisted of removing the remains of the person considered to be saint from the grave for purification (most often by washing with wine) and placing above the church floor level on the altar. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the appearance and furnishings which the newly established place of worship had at that time. The altar dedicated to the saint was known as the Altar of the Homeland (Latin: Ara patriae) and was situated on the intersection of two axes that were delineated by two entrances to the church from west and south. The construction of a cathedral church in Cracow (1320-1364) was of special importance for the reborn Polish Kingdom.
The structure of the site became connected with that of the lectorium, that is a choir screen which separated the part of the church reserved for the clergy (the chancel) from the area used by the congregation (the nave). Soon a silver reliquary, a gift from Queen Elizabeth of Hungary (daughter of Władysław the Short), who reigned in Cracow as regent on behalf of her son Louis of Hungary in the years 1370-1375 was placed on that site. The reliquary was in the form of a cuboid chest (dimensions: 176 x 88 x 44 cm) with a gable-roofed cover. It had supports on its corners and featured 16 decorated fields, probably framed with rich architectural ornament, on its sides. The structure was made from wood, with cast and repoussé silver ornaments and figural adornments.Around the years 1624-1629, Marcin Szyszkowski, the then Bishop of Cracow undertook to build a canopy chapel of St Stanislaus at the cross of Wawel Cathedral to the Italian architect’s Giovanni Battista Trevano’s design. The iconographic programme of the work is completed by the sculpted and painted decoration.
The figures of saints, cast in bronze by Antonio Lagostini in Cracow and placed on pedestals over the sections of entablature depict the most important patrons of Poland and Cracow, and the founder of the Jesuit order, in groups: SS Stanislaus and Adalbert; Wenceslaus and Zygmunt; Kazimierz and Hyacinth, Florian and Ignatius Loyola. Between them in the arcades perch cast-bronze angels with their wings spread wide. On the top, flanking the splendid golden cupola, are wooden sculptures of Four Evangelists: SS John, Mark, Lucas and Mathew. Inside, on pendentives are bronze-cast multi-winged heads of angels, whilst the inside of the dome is painted in allegories of the four cardinal virtues on a golden background, along with the insignia of bishops, as well as grotesque motifs and figures
We are all well aware that to enter this Cathedral can not be without emotion. More I say, you can not enter it without the internal tremor, without fear because it contains in it - as in almost no Cathedral of the world - the enormous size, which speaks to us in all our history, our entire past.
cardinal Karol Wojtyla