St. Mary's Basilica (Bazylika Mariacka)

St. Mary's Basilica, or Bazylika Mariacka, stands on Podkramarska Street in the Main Town of Gdansk, Poland. Construction took place between 1343 and 1502, and the result is one of the largest brick churches in the world, with an interior that can hold a very large congregation. It served as the main church of the city's Lutheran community after the Reformation, and it returned to Catholic use after the Second World War. The building is a hall church in the Brick Gothic style typical of the Baltic region, with a long nave, a broad transept and a massive west tower. The exterior is plain and powerful, with tall buttressed walls, while the interior is bright, with white walls and star and net vaults. Furnishings include the 15th-century astronomical clock, one of the tallest wooden clocks of its kind, and a large triptych attributed to Hans Memling's workshop, although the original Last Judgement painting is displayed in the National Museum in Gdansk. The church also holds a stone Pieta and the carved tomb monuments of city families. The church was damaged in 1945 and restored in the following decades, with vaults and windows rebuilt and many furnishings returned from evacuation. Visitors can climb the tower, which has several hundred steps and gives a view over the Main Town roofs and the Motlawa river. Worship still takes place there, so some parts may be closed during services. The basilica is both a place of worship and a major monument, and it is a central stop on any historical walk through Gdansk.