The Bishop's Palace in Kraków ( pl, Pałac Biskupi w Krakowie) is the seat of
Kraków
Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...
metropolitan
Curia
Curia (Latin plural curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally likely had wider powers, they came ...
, Poland, and the traditional residence of
Kraków bishops since the late 14th century. It is the second largest palace in the city after
Wawel
The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established o ...
, former seat of the
Polish monarchs. It is part of a monastery complex of the
Franciscan
, image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg
, image_size = 200px
, caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans
, abbreviation = OFM
, predecessor =
, ...
religious order. Bishop's Palace is best known for being the residence of
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
during his stays in the city. He used to give his blessings and talk to his followers from a window above the main entrance at night.
, the archbishop is
Marek Jedraszewski.
History
Before the palace was built, the
bishopric
In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop.
History
In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...
of Kraków had been located at
Wawel
The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established o ...
since the year 1000, where the remains of earlier buildings still exist. The palace, erected in its present location at ul. Franciszkańska 3 street across from the historic Franciscan Church in Kraków, was mentioned for the first time in the 14th century.
It was consumed by fire in 1462 and then rebuilt.
The palace was reconstructed with a new staircase and rusticated portals by Bishop
Piotr Gembicki
Piotr Gembicki (10 October, 1585 – 14 July, 1657), Deputy Crown Chancellor and Bishop of Przemyśl from 1636, Grand Crown Chancellor from 1638, Bishop of Kraków from 1642 in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
Biography
Piotr Gembicki was bo ...
in 1642-1647. It was renovated after the
Swedish invasion in 1655, and refurbished again in 1817-1820 by Szczepan Humbert. In 1850
a citywide fire burned most of the furnishings and exhibits of national mementoes. Architect
Tomasz Pryliński supervised the renovation of the palace in 1881–1884.
In spite of its turbulent history including fires and various national calamities such as
the Partitions, the palace always served its original purpose.
In March 20222 Archbishop
Marek Jedraszewski welcomed some refugees from the
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. ...
to live with him there.
Architecture
The palace is a example of 19th century architecture, with elements of
Polish Renaissance
The Renaissance in Poland ( pl, Renesans, Odrodzenie; literally: the Rebirth) lasted from the late 15th to the late 16th century and is widely considered to have been the Golden Age of Polish culture. Ruled by the Jagiellonian dynasty, the Crown ...
and
Baroque decorations including
arcaded loggia
In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior gallery or corridor, usually on an upper level, but sometimes on the ground level of a building. The outer wall is open to the elements, usually supported by a series of columns ...
in the courtyard, added by architect Gabriel Słoński around 1567. The general layout of the palace established by the mid 17th century remains the same despite later renovations.
John Paul II
The palace, usually closed to the visitors except for a museum, is one of the more popular religious destinations connected with the life of Pope John Paul II. Between 1958 and 1978
the palace was a residence of
Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, who in October 1978 became the first Slavic Pope in history, adopting the name John Paul II.
Wojtyła had first lived in the complex during World War II, when he was a student of the clandestine Kraków Archdiocese Seminary run by Cardinal
Adam Stefan Sapieha
Prince Adam Stefan Stanisław Bonifacy Józef Cardinal Sapieha (; 14 May 1867 – 23 July 1951) was a senior-ranking Polish prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Archbishop of Kraków from 1911 to 1951. Between 1922 and 1923, he was a se ...
during the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
Occupation of Poland
Occupation commonly refers to:
* Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment
*Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces
*Military occupation, t ...
. Following an August 6, 1944 Nazi roundup of thousands of men and boys in Kraków, in which Wojtyła narrowly escaped capture, Sapieha insisted that the seminary students stay in the Bishop's Palace until the Germans left the city.
Wojtyła was ordained to the priesthood soon after the end of war, on November 1, 1946, by Sapieha in his private chapel.
Housed not far from the palace (at ul. Kanonicza 19 street) is the Archdiocesan Museum ( pl, Muzeum Archidiecezjalne) where many relevant artifacts can be found.
Following John Paul II's death on 2 April 2005, some 40,000 Catholics gathered in front of the palace for a night vigil and prayer (pictured).
On each anniversary of his death, thousands of flowers are placed around the building and many fires are lit.
The window above the entrance is known as the "papal window", as from here John Paul II spoke to the crowds that gathered to see him.
In the courtyard stands a statue of John Paul II sculpted and gifted to the palace by artist Jole Sensi Croci in May 1980.
See also
*
Palace of the Kraków Bishops in Kielce
The Palace of the Kraków Bishops in Kielce ( pl, Pałac Biskupów Krakowskich w Kielcach), was built in the 17th century as a summer residence of bishops of Kraków in Kielce, Poland. The architecture of the palace constitutes a unique mélange o ...
*
Miodowa Street (Warsaw)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop's Palace, Krakow
History of Kraków
Palaces in Kraków
Episcopal palaces of the Catholic Church
Christianity in Kraków