Churches & monasteries

St. Mary’s Tower and the Hejnał in Kraków

Hejnalica, the taller of the two towers of St. Mary’s Basilica, rises more than 80 metres above the Main Market Square and ranks among the most recognisable symbols of Kraków. It is crowned by a late-Gothic spire with a gilded crown. It is the only tower in the world from which, for over 600 years, the hejnał call has been played every hour — to the four corners of the world.

The Highest Post in the Republic

The tower is manned by trumpeters — officers of the State Fire Service. Every full hour they climb 239 steps to play a live concert. The melody breaks off abruptly mid-phrase: legend says this is how the call of a watchman struck by a Tatar arrow ended during the 13th-century raid. The first written mention of the playing comes from the municipal pay registers of 1392.

A melody known around the world

Since 16 April 1927 the noon hejnał has been broadcast on the radio — the world’s oldest continuous radio music programme. The custom of marking noon itself was introduced in 1838 thanks to the calculations of Professor Maksymilian Weiss of the Astronomical Observatory of the Jagiellonian University. In 1993 the hejnał was played by a woman for the first time — Anna Kula, breaking a tradition of more than seven hundred years.

In practice

The tower can be visited from April to October, daily except Mondays. After climbing, 54 metres above the Market Square, you will see the trumpeter’s chamber and the instrument used for the call. Check current hours and tickets on the parish website before your visit. Once you descend, all that remains is to listen for the next call from the level of the square — ideally on the hour, standing in the shade of the Cloth Hall.