Skalka Sanctuary, Krakow

A five minute walk from the Vistula River brings one away from the crowd of tourists and to one of the holiest sanctuaries in Poland, the Skalka sanctuary. History records the first settlement on this hill way back in 2000 B.C. after which, the hill was habited by Slavs and then a Romanesque church was constructed to mark the arrival of Christianity in the region. In 1079, King Boleslav murdered the Bishop Stanislav for reasons that are still controversial. The Bishop was later declared a martyr by Pope Innocent IV in 1253 and canonized as the Saint of Moral Order.

A Gothic Church was built on the site in the 14th century but was not maintained. In the 18th century, the building got a Baroque styled uplift which can be seen today. Although, Stanislav’s remains were moved to the Wawel Cathedral, visitors can still see three dark spots of his blood on one of the sanctuary’s walls.

Skalka then went on to become a place for penance for kings, just before their coronations where they would repent for the misdeeds of their forefathers and seek blessings for their reign. Since the 19th century, the most eminent personalities in the history of Poland have been given ceremonial burials at the Sanctuary. Czeslaw Milosz, Henryk Siemiradzki, Karol Szymanowski and many other famous artistes have made Skalka the burial place of Distinguished Poles.