Bell Tower in Wiślica

To the left of the basilica entrance in Wiślica stands a square tower whose upper half is wrapped in a lattice of dark brick diamonds. It was funded by Jan Długosz – chronicler, canon and tutor to the royal princes – and under its roof he placed what amounts to a stone political map of his age: a frieze with the arms of the Polish Crown, Lithuania, Bishop Oleśnicki and several noble families.

History: Długosz's foundation and three disasters

The bell tower was built in 1460–1470, at the same time as Długosz founded the house for the collegiate church's vicars and canons next door (now known as Długosz House). The chronicler had been linked with Wiślica since the 1440s, and it was on his initiative that a plaque commemorating King Casimir the Great's foundation was placed above the basilica's south portal in 1464. The tower had little luck with fire and war. In 1858 a blaze gutted it so badly that the bells melted, and after rebuilding in 1872 it received a neo-Gothic spire. During the First World War it was shelled by Austrian artillery; when it was repaired in 1919, the 19th-century spire was not restored.

What to see

The tower is square in plan and has four storeys. The lower part is built of limestone blocks, the upper of brick with a diamond pattern of zendrówka – hard-fired, dark glazed brick. The tower holds three bells cast after the Second World War and named Jan, Maria and Paweł. From outside, look out for:

• the heraldic frieze – partly reconstructed – with the shields of the Crown and Lithuania and the arms Wieniawa (Długosz), Dębno (Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki), Nałęcz, Poraj, Rawicz, Grzymała, Ogończyk and Pilawa,
• the pointed windows and tracery,
• the south portal with its stepped frame.

The Wiślica heritage ensemble

The bell tower belongs to an ensemble that in 2018 – together with the basilica, the remains of St Nicholas's Church and the early medieval hillfort – was declared a Monument of History, Poland's top national heritage listing. Next to it stands the Gothic Długosz House of 1460, with brick gables and stone shields bearing the Wieniawa arms; tradition says the sons of King Casimir IV Jagiellon were taught here. The Archaeological Museum in Wiślica (a branch of the National Museum in Kielce) runs a route around the basilica and into its crypts, where the remains of two Romanesque churches and the 12th-century Orants Slab survive.

Tripto tip

You see the bell tower from outside, free of charge – 10–15 minutes is enough. The frieze is easiest to read from the square in front of the basilica's west front in morning or afternoon sun, when the relief of the coats of arms casts shadows. Allow 2–3 hours for Wiślica as a whole, including the museum and the crypts. The town lies about 15 km south of Busko-Zdrój on regional road 776; there is no railway, so come by bus from Busko, Kielce or Kraków, or by car.