CHURCH ON THE ROCK & THE PAULINE MONASTERY

The official name is the Church of St Michael Archangel and St Stanislaw the Bishop and Martyr.

This amazing riverside sanctuary used to be  the Site of Pilgrimages of Polish kings  and currently is  still one of the most important religious sites in Poland.

Tradition  has it  that in XI century  there was an infamous conflict between King Boleslaw II and the Bishop of Krakow, which ended up in a tragedy.

In 1079  the Bishop of Kraków, Saint Stanisław of Szczepanów, was beheaded on the order of King Bolesław II and soon after, the king was exiled and the royal family fell under a curse.

Stanisław was canonised in 1253, becoming the patron saint not only of Kraków, but of Poland and  inside of the church we may see an altar marks the place where he was killed and includes the wood stump upon which he is said to have been quartered.

Since 1472 a monastic order of Pauline Fathers has resided at Skałka, and in the 18th century the church was rebuilt and acquired a Baroque costume.

Worth visiting is also a national pantheon for distinguished Poles which  includes the remains of  writer Czesław Miłosz , painter Stanisław Wyspiański  among others.

It is a mysterious place inseparably linked with the history and tradition of Krakow.