Skalka, Kraków, Poland - SpottingHistory.com

Church of St Michael the Archangel and St Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr and Pauline Fathers Monastery, Skałka, which means 'a small rock' in Polish, is a small outcrop in Kraków where the Bishop of Kraków saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów was slain by order of Polish king Bolesław II the Bold in 1079. This action resulted in the king's exile and the eventual canonization of the slain bishop.

Originally, a Romanesque church was built there. King Casimir III raised a new gothic church in its place and since 1472 this shrine has been in the possession of a monastic community of Pauline Fathers. In 1733-1751 the church received a baroque decor. It is one of the most famous Polish sanctuaries.

The crypt underneath the church serves as a 'national Panthéon', a burial place for some of the most distinguished Poles, particularly those who lived in Kraków.

References:

Wikipedia

Religious sites in Poland

User Reviews

Niko Gritchiano (4 years ago)
Nice place. But I didn't got the purpose of the stone with guy from Scream movie?

PJ Rain (4 years ago)
Nice building, though it wasn’t possible to enter. The gardenarea around was nice, even in winter.

Ntombifuthi Nzimande (4 years ago)
Some pictures I HD to take using SnapChat has the quality was so much better than using my phone camera. But anyways, the church is relatively easy to find. About a 5 minutes walk from the Castle. You do not need to pay to enter the yards or the church itself. I came here a day before Christmas and the decorations inside the church were beautiful.

Frederic PELIN (5 years ago)
A bit outside of the tourist track (not that much though). Stylish basilica

Rob Szarek (5 years ago)
Wonderful basilica with a large courtyard that features a sunken gated fountain and pool as well as a semi-circular monument site.

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The Château de Foix dominates the town of Foix. An important tourist site, it is known as a centre of the Cathars. Built on an older 7th-century fortification, the castle is known from 987. In 1002, it was mentioned in the will of Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, who bequeathed the fortress to his youngest child, Bernard. In effect, the family ruling over the region were installed here which allowed them to control access to the upper Ariège valley and to keep surveillance from this strategic point over the lower land, protected behind impregnable walls.

In 1034, the castle became capital of the County of Foix and played a decisive role in medieval military history. During the two following centuries, the castle was home to Counts with shining personalities who became the soul of the Occitan resistance during the crusade against the Albigensians. The county became a privileged refuge for persecuted Cathars.

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As seat of the Governor of the Foix region from the 15th century, the castle continued to ensure the defence of the area, notably during the Wars of Religion. Alone of all the castles in the region, it was exempted from the destruction orders of Richelieu (1632-1638).

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Since 1930, the castle has housed the collections of the Ariège départemental museum. Sections on prehistory, Gallo-Roman and mediaeval archaeology tell the history of Ariège from ancient times. Currently, the museum is rearranging exhibits to concentrate on the history of the castle site so as to recreate the life of Foix at the time of the Counts.

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