Page 112 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Krakow

110  KR AK OW AREA B Y AREA

t Church of St Anne

A professor of the Krakow Academy, John of Kęty
(Jan Kanty) was already considered a saint at the time
of his death in 1473, when he was buried in the Gothic
Church of St Anne. Following his beatification, the senate
of the academy commissioned Tylman van Gameren
to build a new church. The construction began in 1689
under the supervision of Father Sebastian Piskorski.
The Italian architect and sculptor Baldassare Fontana
contributed the decoration and most of the furnishings,
including the altars, between 1695 and 1703. He was
assisted by the painters Carlo and Innocente Monti and
Karl Dankwart. St Anne’s, with its sumptuous interior,
is considered to be a leading example of Baroque
ecclesiastical architecture in Poland.
Nave
The architecture, sculpture
and painting all contribute
to the decoration of the
nave and vault, and
exemplify particularly
well the wholeness
of the Baroque design.

Procession Commemorating St John
of Kęty, 1767
To mark the canonization of John of Kęty,
a procession with his holy relics was held
in Krakow. The saint’s relics were carried
into the Church of St Anne with great
pomp and ceremony.

West Portal
The “scenographic” effect
of the main entrance to
the church is a result
of the superimposition
of three portals, one Main entrance
within another.