Corpus Christi Church

The church was founded as a parish church for the new town of Kazimierz, established by King Casimir the Great (Kazimierz Wielki) in 1335. Its construction was completed in stages from 1340 until mid-15th century. The church was situated on a large plot far from any other developments and surrounded by a cemetery – proof that it was most probably not earmarked for monastic use. Yet in 1405, King Ladislaus Jagiełło entrusted it to the Lateran Congregation of Canons Regular brought here from Kłodzko in Lower Silesia. The order of Canons, the first in antiquity, holds the church in its care to this day.

Built of brick, the church is a classical basilica, with a nave and two aisles covered with cross-ribbed vaulting and an elongated chancel. Especially representative is the western façade with the crow-stepped parapet decorated with pinnacles and panels with figures of the Suffering Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and St John the Evangelist. The height of the tower was increased and it was capped with a late-Renaissance spire in the mid-17th century.

Around that time, King Charles Gustav of Sweden turned it into his headquarters during the siege of Kraków at the time of the Swedish invasion (1655). All the monks were gathered, or rather imprisoned, in a single cell and the vestry. The interior of the church, and especially its treasury, suffered great losses, as they were pilfered by the soldiers: a reason why the interior of this magnificent Gothic church has a predominantly baroque overlay. The silver lining of this story, however, lies in the fact that the lush trimmings are in perfect harmony with the noble appearance of the severe Gothic architecture. Especially imposing is the pulpit in the shape of a boat: with masts, rigging, and all (!), supported by mermaids and dolphins. The eye is also attracted to the paintings which decorate the backs of the stalls, presenting scenes from the lives of the Canons and St Augustine – the patron saint of the order and author of its rules. The interior would be incomplete without the large high altar, whose grandeur and dignity are emphasised by the dimmed light flowing down upon it from the windows of the chancel decorated with 15th-century stained-glass windows.

Among the plentiful tombs and epitaphs in the church, two are particularly noteworthy: the mausoleum of the Saint Stanisław Kazimierczyk, who died in the 15th century and the last resting place of the architect Bartolommeo Berrecci (the latter is in the St Anne’s Chapel), to whom we owe e.g. the Sigismund Chapel in Wawel. The Italian was buried here for a reason, as he was a citizen and councillor of Kazimierz. He died in mysterious circumstances, killed with a dagger in the Main Square by an envious compatriot.

The picturesque covered walk connects the church to a multi-wing monastery complex built from the 15th to the 17th century. The entire compound is surrounded by stone and brick walls built in the 17th century.