Kraków

The Dominican Church (Kosciol Dominikanow Sw. Trojcy) was the site of the original wooden church of the Krakow burghers, dedicated to the Holy Trinity and erected in place of the former pagan temple. In 1222 the Bishop of Krakow, Iwo Odrowaz, at the instigation of his kinsman St. Hyacynth installed the Dominicans; their first base in Poland. The basilica with a nave and two aisles was erected in the 13th century - in its construction brick was used for the first time in Krakow - and rebuilt several times; the imposing stepped gable of the east front was added in 1462. There is a beautiful late 14th century stone portal with exceptional filiate and animal carving inside the neo-Gothic vestibule. The 1850 fire ravaged the interior and the vault of the nave. In the chancel is the bronze stele of the humanist scholar Filippo Buonaccorsi (Kallimach) designed by Stwosz, and a copy of the tombstone of Leszek Czarny (“the Black”), Duke of Krakow. The chapel of St.Hyacinth, 1614-18, (at the head of the flight of steps in the north isle) has stucco decoration and contains the tomb of St.Hyacinth by Fontana. The Kaplica Myszkowskich, 1603-14, (fifth chapel in the south aisle) makes striking use of black and white marbles; the busts of the family are in the dome. The next chapel contains a miraculous image of Our Lady of the Rosary; the crypt is the resting place of Teofilia Sobieska - mother of Jan Sobieski. The monastery cloisters with preserved fragments of walls are among the oldest in Krakow.

(by bazylek100)