St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist’s Church in Krakow

Monuments

Od lewej trzykondygnacyjny, jasny budynek na rogu ulic. Przy nim beżowo pomarańczowy nieduży budynek kościoła. Front kościoła z drzwiami na środku, nad nimi okno i wyżej w trójkątnym szczycie obraz Matki Bożej. Koło niego idzie uliczka, po której idą ludzie. Po drugiej stronie budynki.

ul. św. Jana 7a, 31-017 Kraków Tourist region: Kraków i okolice

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The church, standing on the corner of Świętego Jana and Świętego Tomasza Streets, dates from the pre-localisation days of Kraków. It belongs to the Congregation of the Ladies of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary – the Presentation Sisters, whose founder was Blessed Sophie of Bohemia.

The first church in the 12th century was founded by Piotr Włostowic and was mentioned in the town books in 1308. A parish was founded in 1325. The temple was rebuilt in the 17th century and handed over to the congregation of the Presentation Sisters in 1715. Between 1715 and 1723, the architect Kacper Bażanka carried out a major reconstruction, frosting the church windows, extending the nave, and building a new façade and vaults. In 2015, the façade colour scheme as well as the interior colour scheme was changed from white to pink. The façade features a painting of Our Lady of Grace from the 19th century.

It is a single-nave church whose main altar, dating from 1730, contains the miracle-working image of the Mother of God with Child, which, according to tradition, was brought from Spain after 1577 by the Lithuanian Prince Stanisław Radziwiłł, known as the Pious. The Gothic-Renaissance painting was painted by an unknown artist probably in southern Poland. In 1965, Archbishop Karol Wojtyła crowned the image with papal insignia. The Baroque side altars date from the 18th century. Edward Mytnik made the polychrome of the vault in 1959.

In the former sacristy, a chapel designed by Czesław Dźwigaj was installed in 1998 to house the relics of the congregation's founder, Blessed Zofia Czeska.

The temple is a sanctuary to Our Lady of Liberty, Our Lady of the Slave Ransom, Our Lady of Saint John or Blessed Zofia Czeska.