St Mary's Square (Plac Mariacki), Kraków

Just a few steps from the bustle of the Main Market Square lies St Mary's Square – an intimate square around St Mary's Basilica where, until the early 19th century, the dead were buried. Pale paving now marks the area of the old cemetery, a fountain with a student figure murmurs in its southern part, and around it stand townhouses with Gothic portals, sgraffito decoration and Latin mottos. It is the best place to see the towers of St Mary's up close and hear the bugle call without the Market Square crowds.

History: a square on a former cemetery

For centuries a parish cemetery surrounded St Mary's Church. The square was created after 1802, when the cemetery was closed, and the former burial ground was paved with white stone. A reminder of that time is St Barbara's Church – originally the cemetery chapel of St Mary's parish, and since 1583 in the hands of the Jesuits. Its entrance faces the square, although its address is Mały Rynek 9.

What to see

• The student fountain in the southern part of the square. The figure is an enlarged copy of one of the prophets from the frame of Veit Stoss's altarpiece; the fountain was designed by Jan Budziło and the figure made by Franciszek Kalfas. It was a gift from Kraków's craftsmen to the city in 1958.
• Prałatówka (No. 4) – a townhouse from 1618–1619 with sgraffito decoration and a 1625 attic regarded as a textbook example of the Kraków attic. Above the entrance is the Latin motto Pateat amicis et miseris – "May it be open to friends and the poor" – and the Sulima coat of arms of archpriest Krzysztof Trzciński.
• Hipolit House (No. 3) – with Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque stone portals, beamed ceilings and stucco by Baltazar Fontana; now a branch of the Museum of Kraków.
• The House under the Garden of Gethsemane (No. 8) – with a copy of Veit Stoss's relief "Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane". Before the First World War the owner, merchant Ludwik Halski, gave the original to the National Museum.
• No. 9 on the corner with the Market Square – the earlier house on this site, "na Barszczowem", was home to Stanisław Wyspiański, painter and playwright; a plaque designed by Karol Hukan commemorates him.
• The Vicars' House (No. 5) from 1932, designed by Franciszek Mączyński, and the House of the Mansionary Priests (No. 7) from 1912, designed by Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz.

Interesting facts

In the house "na Barszczowem" Wyspiański wrote works including "Warszawianka", "Legion" and his most famous play, "The Wedding". House No. 2, home of St Mary's confessor priests, dates back to the late 14th century.

Practical information

The square is public, free and open around the clock. St Mary's Basilica has separate visiting hours and tickets for tourists, and you can check Hipolit House opening times on the Museum of Kraków website. The square itself takes 15–20 minutes. It lies within the Old Town pedestrian zone – leave your car outside the centre; the nearest tram stops include Pl. Wszystkich Świętych and Teatr Słowackiego.

Tripto tip

The hejnał bugle call is played from the taller tower of the basilica every hour – you can hear it clearly from St Mary's Square, and standing right below the tower makes it easier to spot the trumpeter at the window. Behind St Barbara's Church lies the Small Market Square with its café gardens, and from there it is only a step to Floriańska Street, St Florian's Gate and the Barbican. In the evening, when the square is lit, it is easier to photograph the towers without crowds.