|
The side door on the south side of the chancel brings you into plac Mariacki (St Mary's Square), a small courtyard replacing the old church cemetery closed down by the Austrians in the last century. On the far side of the courtyard stands the fourteenth-century Kosciol sw. Barbary (St Barbara's Church; rarely open except during services), among its contents a remarkable late-Gothic pieta group, sculpted in stone and attributed to the anonymous local artist known as "Master of the Beautiful Madonnas". During the Partitions, the ruling Austrians took over the Mariacki, so the locals were forced to use this tiny place for services in Polish. The back of the church looks onto the tranquil Maly Rynek , whose terrace cafes make an enjoyable venue for postcard sessions or a quiet beer. From Maly Rynek, the narrow ul. Sienna offers an alternative route back to the main square. On the street outside no. 5 there's usually a bunch of students touting political books and badges, alternately amusing, informative or impenetrable to the foreigner. The first floor of the building houses the local branch of the Catholic Intellectuals Club (KIK), an organization that's more approachable than it sounds. Founded in the wake of the post-Stalinist political thaw of the 1950s, the KIK was for over thirty years one of the few officially sanctioned independent structures in the country, and its national network played an important part in the last decade's political events. It was to the KIK offices in Krakow, for example, that local steelworkers and farmers came for help when setting up the first Solidarity organizations in 1980. Today, a number of KIK people are now prominent politicians, ex-prime minister Tadeusz Mazowiecki included.
Your Tip for Plac Mariacki and Kosciol sw. Barbary
Help other backpackers! Write your own guides and backpacking tips to Plac Mariacki and Kosciol sw. Barbary - they will appear instantly on this page - Please only write a tip/guide to Plac Mariacki and Kosciol sw. Barbary - visit the main Plac Mariacki and Kosciol sw. Barbary forum to ask a question!
Please do not post links to your site here (they won't work) - please use the Plac Mariacki and Kosciol sw. Barbary webguide section below! Thanks.
| 
