Hi there my Hivean friends and followers!
Welcome to my Architectural Photography series where I introduce you to interesting buildings that I get to visit on my travels.
The past few episodes of the series were dedicated to remarkable pieces of Krakow architecture because this beautiful Polish city has been our temporary home for a couple of months already and my today´s post will show you yet another impressive architectural gem of the city - the magnificent St. Florian´s Church.
As you can see in the photos, I had a slightly better weather when photographing this remarkable piece of architecture than with the St. Bernard´s Church where I actually had to put the shots in b&w because they were just too dull so I am glad that I can offer you a colored version this time :)
What also makes this episode of the series interesting is the fact that below, you fill find some pictures of the interiors of the church, which is something I don´t do very often.
As usually, let´s start out with a bit of history. The very origins of the St. Florian´s Church date back to as early as the second half of the 12th century, making it one of the oldest churches in Krakow.
However, such ancient medieval buildings rarely keep their original appearance and this church is not an exception. Throughout the centuries, the church was damaged (including several devastating fires) and reconstructed many times and it looks like its current appearance dates back to the Baroque architectural era.
As the name suggests, the church is dedicated to St. Florian, a widely venerated Christian figure who is the patron of Poland and Austria but also firefighters, brewers and chimney sweeps. But there are two more prominent figures that people come to venerate to the church - John Cantius, a renowned Polish priest, philosopher and theologian and St. Valentine, the famous patron of lovers.
The St. Florian´ s Church is located on the Matejko Square in the old city neighborhood of Kleparz, very close to the Krakow´s main train and bus station. In 1999, the official status of the church was elevated to the minor basilica so you can also see this church being referred to as the St. Florian´s Basilica.
Now as promised in the intro, let me take you inside this beautiful church. I haven´t really found out much info about the interiors but from what I saw, the decoration looks very lavish with a lot of these-golden like features, altars, statues etc.
What also makes this church interesting and quite special is the fact that Karol Wojtyla, later known as the Pope John Paul II, worked there as a vicar between 1949 and 1951. Back then, he lived in a house that is adjacent to the church (see below). Later on, as the Pope already, Wojtyla visited the church several times.
I hope that you enjoyed this episode of my Architectural Photography series and that you also learned something new from this post.
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