General Information

St Mary’s Square, neighbouring the Main Square, was created in 1802, after the close-down of the cemetery around St Mary’s Basilica. The square is graced by the so-called “pigeons’ well” with a bronze replica of one of the prophets from Veit Stoss’s altarpiece. The well is a work of Jan Budziłło and the figure was cast by Franciszek Kalfas. Both were presented to the city in 1958 by Krakow artisans as a gift.

Additional Information

There are several historic tenements on the square. Among them are:

At 2 – A house built in the late 14th century, with finishing touches done in the 19th century.

At 3 – Hipolit Manor, a bourgeois tenement with many old architectural details, such as Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque stone portals; ceilings; stuccos, and paintings from the 18th century, etc. The Hipolit Manor houses a division of the Historical Museum of Krakow dedicated to old Krakow bourgeoisie.

At 4 – Prałatówka, a presbytery constructed in 1618-1619. It has sgraffito elevation, topped with an attic that is considered typically Cracovian. There is a Latin inscription on the building: “Pateat amicis et miseris” (Open to friends and miserables).

At 8 – An old tenement that once housed “Christ in Gethsemane”, a sculpture by Veit Stoss. Before World War I, the owner, well-known merchant and community worker Ludwig Halski gave the sculpture to the National Museum and replaced it with a replica that stands there to this day.