Theatrum Passio sancti Stanislai. Kilka uwag na temat roli katedry krakowskiej jako mauzoleum świętego Stanisława

Abstract

On 8 September 1253 bishop Stanisław of Szczepanów was canonised in the basilica of St Francis at Assisi. A year later his relics were elevated to the altar in the centre of the crossing of the so-called second Romanesque cathedral on the ancient Wawel hill at Kraków. This elevation transformed the church, which had functioned for centuries as the seat of the second most important bishop in the country, into the centre of St Stanisław’s cult. In time the cathedral acquired other functions, becoming the Polish coronation church and royal necropolis, a true Kónigskirche, as well as undergoing numerous architectural transformations. All the transformations, especially in the western part of the church, were to a great degree linked with the presence of the saint’s shrine. Yet in the past students of the cathedral focused mainly on the changes in the structural fabric of the building. Only a few scholars have devoted their attention to other issues such as patronage or an ideological programme and, most importantly, to the study of the church as the main sanctuary of St Stanislaw.