CRACOW 187

. Altar of the Virgin
Carved by sculptor Veit Stoss
between 1477 and 1489,
this great Gothic polyptych
altarpiece is 12 m (39 ft)
long and 11 m (36 ft) high.

Gothic stained-

glass window

VISITORS’ CHECKLIST

pl. Mariacki 5. Map C2. Tel

(012) 422 0521. @ 103, 124,

179, 192, 424, 502. v 1, 7, 8,

18, 36, 38. # 11:30am–6pm

Mon–Sat, 2–6pm Sun. Altar of

the Virgin # 11:50am Mon–

Sat, 2pm Sun. & ^

Visitors’

entrance

Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an

Ermine, Czartoryski Museum

Czartoryski

Museum 5

Muzeum Książąt

Czartoryskich

ul. św Jana 19. Map D1. Tel (012)

422 5566. @ 124, 152, 424, 502,

512. v 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, 14, 15, 24.

     closed for renovations, call to

     
     

     check. & free on Sun for permanent
     exhibitions. 8

     
     

This museum has one of

Poland’s most varied art

col lections. Assembled in

Puławy at the end of the 18th

century by Princess Izabella

Czartoryska, it was the private

col lect ion of the Czartoryski

family. The col lection was

later taken to Paris and then

to Cracow, where it was put

on public view. It includes

examples of handi crafts, but

most signifi cant are the paint-

ings – among them are

Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with

an Ermine (c. 1485) and

Rembrandt’s Land scape with

Good Samaritan (1638).

Church of Sts

Peter and Paul 6

Kościół św Piotra i

św Pawła

ul. Grodzka 52a. Map C3. Tel (012)

422 6573. v 1, 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 18.

# 9am–7pm Mon–Sat, 1:30–5:30pm

Sun. &

This twin-domed church is

one of the most beautiful

exam ples of early-Baroque

architecture in Poland. It

was built for the Jesuits

after their arrival in Cracow

in the 1580s, but after a

structural disaster in 1605, the

church was almost completely

rebuilt to the designs of an

unknown architect.

The church is enclosed by

railings topped with the figures

of the apostles dating between

1715 and 1722. The interior

con tains fine stucco work by

Giovanni Battista Falconi. The

high altar and organ screen,

design ed by Kacper Bażanka,

are also note worthy. Among

the many funerary monu-

ments the 17th-cen tury mar ble

tomb of Bishop Andrzej

Tomicki is most striking.

Standing in front of the church

is the statue of Piotr Skarga, a

Jesuit preacher and champion

of the Counter-Reformation,

erected in 2001. He died in

1612 and was buried in the

crypt below the high altar.

Stanisław

Wyspiański

Museum 7

Muzeum Stanisława

Wyspiańskiego

ul. Szczepańska 11. Map C2.

Tel (012) 422 7021. @ 124,

152, 424, 502, 512. v 2, 4, 8

12, 13, 14, 15, 24. # 10am–

6pm Wed–Sat, 10am–4pm Sun.

& free on Sun. 8

This museum, devoted

to Cracow’s foremost Art

Noveau artist, Stanisław

Wyspiański, was established

in the 1980s. Exhibits of

interest here include stage

designs, textiles, pastels

and portraits of friends

and family. The stained-

glass windows he pro duced

for the Franciscan church

display his ingenuity.

Baroque façade of the Jesuit

Church of Sts Peter and Paul