Świętego Ducha Square

Świętego Ducha Square is not, as some believe, a relatively recent development whose history dates back to the 1890s. An undeveloped space was already present here in the so-called Kołłątajowski Plan (1785). The square was, however, limited from the north by the Church of the Holy Spirit, standing at an angle to Szpitalna Street, more or less in the place of today’s green. The church was connected to a monastery that used to house a hospital run by the Canons of the Holy Spirit De Saxia, locally known as “Duchacy”. This precious complex of mediaeval buildings was demolished in 1892-1893 by a decision of the City Council to make room for the development of the future municipal theatre. The decision was carried out despite the protests of numerous luminaries of Kraków learning and culture headed by the painter Jan Matejko.

Luckily, standing somewhat deeper, and closer to the Planty, the Gothic Church of the Holy Cross was saved. Erected in the 14th century, this had a massive frontal tower added in the mid-15th century. The unusual variety of vaulting is specific to this church. The nave is supported on a single central pillar and features the rarely found palm vault, the choir makes use of the Lierne vault, while the Chapel of St Andrew is topped with a stellar vault. Gothic portals, and rich furnishings are also preserved in the church, some of which date back to the 15th century.

Kraków might easily have lost the little Świętego Ducha Square irretrievably after the competition for the construction of the new city hall announced in 1904 envisaged its construction on this spot. As the contestants did not care much for the historical context and particularly the ancient development within the Planty, their submissions were criticised for the seemingly omnipresent “cosmopolitan tendencies”. As Klemens Bąkowski, a historian and chronicler of the city, wrote: most of the designs evaluated could equally well be fit for the municipal palace in Nice, and the seats of government in Pretoria and Bucharest. Thus, luckily, the competition turned out to be a huge fiasco.

The so-called “Dom pod Krzyżem”, literally “The House Under the Sign of the Cross”, stands with its side to the square, at ul. Szpitalna 19. Concealed within it are remnants of the mediaeval hospital and the Chapel of St Roch. In the 18th century, it was a refuge for the poor. Probably the construction of the Kraków-style Polish roof (i.e. with two roof planes) dates back to that time. Purchased by the City Council early in the 20th century, the “Dom pod Krzyżem” was given to the Association of Polish Artists in 1917. Once the artists moved to a new building in ul. Łobzowska in 1935, it was taken over by the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków, whose Theatrical Branch has operated here since 1969.

The Pollera Hotel standing nearby (ul. Szpitalna 32) is worth a mention. A spacious inn “Pod Złotą Kotwicą”, literally “Under the Golden Anchor”, was opened here around 1820, in a few townhouses joined together. Its heyday is closely linked to Kasper Poller, an Austrian who purchased the inn in 1834. His son, Adolf, continued his father’s business, expanding and modernising the hotel, which, thanks to the Pollers, gained renown as one of the best hotels among the hotels in 19th-century Kraków.