Church of St. Anne, Kraków

Church of St. Anne, Kraków tickets: which one to buy

Saint Anne's stands a couple of minutes west of the main square in Krakow, between the market and the university buildings, and it is free to enter. There is nothing to book. Walking tours of the old town usually pass the front and the better ones go in, because this is the finest baroque interior in the city and the contrast with the Gothic churches around it is the point.

Tours built around the Jagiellonian University include it as the university church, along with the medieval college courtyard a street away, which has its own ticket and a fine museum. Organ recitals and student concerts are held here and are usually free. The church is in constant use for academic ceremonies at the start and end of term and closes to visitors then. Allow half an hour, more if the light is good. The university museum a street away sells a separate ticket and has timed entry.

Visiting Church of St. Anne, Kraków: what to see

A church has stood on this site since the fourteenth century and was attached to the university by royal grant in 1407. By the late seventeenth century the Gothic building was too small for the growing cult of John Cantius, a professor and saint buried here, and it was demolished. The replacement, built between 1689 and 1705, was designed by Tylman van Gameren, a Dutchman working for the Polish court, on the model of Sant'Andrea della Valle in Rome: a Latin cross with a dome over the crossing and a tall, well-lit nave.

The decoration was done by Italians. Baldassare Fontana modelled the stucco, which covers the vaults and piers with figures, garlands and cartouches in white and gold, and the Monti brothers and Karl Dankwart painted the frescoes. The tomb of the saint stands under a canopy carried by four figures representing the university faculties. The high altar was designed by the same Italian who modelled the stucco, and the two were planned together.

Church of St. Anne, Kraków opening hours and the best time to go

Mornings are quiet and the interior needs daylight, since the stucco depends on the play of light across its relief. The church closes during services and for university ceremonies, which cluster in October and June. Krakow is busiest from June to September and over the Christmas market, which fills the main square through December. Easter is a serious occasion in Poland and the churches are full.

The old town is compact and everything of interest sits within fifteen minutes on foot, including the cloth hall, the Franciscan church with its stained glass and the castle on the hill. Winter here is cold and dark by four in the afternoon, which is when the baroque interiors, lit by candles for evening mass, are at their most persuasive. Doctoral ceremonies are held here several times a year and fill the nave with academic robes.