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Krakow's
Greatest Window
Krakow is well worth visiting just for its
masterpiece stained-glass windows if nothing
else. Splendid medieval examples of that ancient
art, monumental and delicate at the same time,
grace the chancel of the basilica of Virgin Mary’s that towers over
the city’s central Grand Square. Yet the world’s
arguably greatest modern stained-glass window can
be admired barely a block away, where the
powerful depiction of the Creation has shone
above the entrance to the basilica of St. Francis’ opposite the
Archbishops’ Palace at the Franciszkanska
street since the turn of the last century. The
design of Krakow’s artistic and literary genius
Stanislaw Wyspianski (1869-1907), entitled ‘Become!’
but known also as ‘Our Father’,
radiates creative energy. It topped his other
outstanding works in the same imposing Romanesque
temple dating back to the 13th century. In the
years 1897-1902 he also designed six
stained-glass widows in the chancel–the four
elements plus saints Francis of Assisi and
Salomea of Krakow–as well as the nave’s
impressive fresco decor of giant wild flowers.
Wyspianski’s last stained-glass masterpiece is
the 1904 representation of ‘Apollo: the
Copernican solar system’ in the Medical
Society House at 4 Radziwillowska street. Yet his
most stunning set of designs, commissioned for
Krakow’s Wawel Cathedral
in 1900 and left unrealized for over a century, graces the
windows of the Wsypianski 2000 building, completed in 2007 at
the corner of Plac Wszystkich Swietych square and Grodzka
street, almost next door to the basilica of St. Francis.
Stanislaw
Wyspianski's original life-size pastel designs for stain-glass
windows are exhibited in the Wyspianski
Museum, 11 Plac Szczepanski square at Szczepanska street, alongside the rest
of the artist’s momentous and diverse output.
Many
Krakow churches as well as some
secular buildings can boast stained-glass widows of
excellent design. Although the art reached its
pinnacle a century ago, contemporary Krakow
artists, together with collaborating artisans,
strive to breathe new life into it.
Other Krakow Curios:
Prettiest
Leonardo da Vinci
World's
greatest medieval sculpture
Subterranean
wonder world
Renaissance
pearl
Giant
bell
Miraculous
images
8-foot
golden crown
Signal
trump
Deity of prehistoric Slavs
Nativity
beauties
Krakow
mummies
Kmita's
chasuble
Ice-age
rhino
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Krakow
Poland's prime tourist attraction and a
must in Central Europe boasts numerous
world-class monuments, charming vistas,
delightful atmosphere, and the best restaurants.
Krakow
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