In the further part of Grodzka Street there is the Church of St.. Andrew, who, in its Romanesque majesty, endures without complexes the vicinity of the magnificent Jesuit temple. Two twin towers soar up from the ascetic façade – quadrilateral bottom, and the top is octagonal, which although covered with baroque cupolas, are rooted in the 11th century. The church performed a defensive function, what to know from the thickness of the walls (1,6 m) and tall narrow windows, which on the west side and on the towers have typically Romanesque hammer capitals. During the first Tatar invasion of 1241 r. many inhabitants of Krakow took refuge in the church.
The contrast between the outer walls and the interior of the temple is a complete surprise – a real baroque gem. The most important element of the decor is not – as usual – main altar (marble from the first half of the 18th century, probably designed by Franciszek Placidi), but a great rococo pulpit depicting the boat of Peter, over which a baroque artist, Baltazar fontana, put in the stucco scenes from the life of Bl. Salome, patroness of the Poor Clares. Recently, one of the oldest Polish inscriptions from the 12th century was discovered in the northern tower at the height of the first floor..
W 1316 r. at the church of St.. Andrew, a female order of Poor Clares settled down with a very strict rule, strictly isolated from the outside world, which allowed to protect many unique monuments to this day: a portable mosaic with the Mother of God from the turn of the 12th and 13th centuries., 13th-century reliquaries and one of the oldest nativity plays in Europe from the beginning of the 14th century. donated to the church by the sister of Casimir the Great – Elizabeth.
Wanting to see two of the nativity figurines (only this much is made available to the general public), you should ask the archivist sister in person, who will make a restrained presentation of Madonna and St.. Joseph.
A friend of St.. Francis, Clear Sci-fi, formed the female version of his movement in 1212 r. The extremely pious Bolesław the Chaste in 1245 r. he brought Poor Clares to Poland and settled in Zawichost. then Bl. Kinga moved them to Stary Sącz. Currently, their seat is the Church of St., Andrew. Poor Clares are famous for their extremely strict rules and strict enclosure.
On the same side of the street as St.. Andrew, modestly between the buildings is the facade of the Evangelical-Augsburg church of St.. Martin. He is an early Baroque descendant of the Romanesque, 12th-century Catholic Church, where there was a shelter for old and sick priests. W 1816 r. not much, but the elegant church was taken over by the Evangelical commune. To visit the interior of the temple, you must be lucky, to hit, when the gate is open – preferably during church services. Inside, it is worth seeing a 19th-century painting by Henryk Siemiradzki “Calming the storm at sea”, which is located in the main altar.
The miniature gothic church of St.. Giles from the first half of the 14th century. picturesquely closes the western side of ul. Grodzka. It stands on the site of a small Romanesque temple, which was created thanks to Władysław Herman and his wife Judyta. A royal couple, having prayed at St.. Giles' son, Bolesław Krzywousty, she repaid the gracious saint with a tiny church. The most valuable of the sixteenth and seventeenth-century furnishings are the sixteenth-century stalls from the Dominican Church from the original tombstone of St.. Jacket.
