Church on the Rock (Skalka)

The Church on the Rock (Skalka), at ul. Skaleczna 15 in Krakow's Kazimierz district, belongs to a Pauline monastery and stands on a low rocky rise above the Vistula, about ten minutes' walk from Wawel Hill in Lesser Poland. According to tradition, Bishop Stanislaw of Szczepanow was killed here in 1079 by order of King Boleslaw the Bold, and he was later canonised as the patron saint of Poland and of Krakow. The present Baroque church was built in the 18th century and reached through a pilgrim-style approach with a staircase and a pond in front of the facade, where the bishop's martyrdom is remembered. Its most notable feature is the Crypt of the Distinguished (Krypta Zasluzonych), which holds the tombs of well-known Poles, among them the painter Jacek Malczewski, the poet Czeslaw Milosz and the composer Karol Szymanowski, as well as other writers and artists. The church is free to enter, though the crypt has its own hours, so visitors should confirm times at the sacristy. A visit takes about 30 minutes. The riverside setting is quiet compared with the tourist centres of the Old Town, and the church is used for worship, so Mass times limit sightseeing. Visitors commonly combine it with a walk to the nearby Bernatek footbridge or along the Vistula Boulevards. The area is generally calm at all hours and best seen in daylight. Dress modestly, keep noise low, and avoid photographing worshippers. The church is reached on foot from Wawel via ul. Krakowska, or by tram to a nearby stop in Kazimierz.