Kościół pw. Niepokalanego Poczęcia Najświętszej Maryi Panny, Kraków

The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is a Baroque former Carmelite church on Kraków’s Kopernika Street, also known as St Lazarus Church through its hospital connection. Its façade carries figures of Mary, Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross, while its interior preserves an exceptional ensemble of black Dębnik marble furnishings.

The Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary is the former Carmelite church on Kopernika Street, now closely tied to the surrounding hospital complex and often known as St Lazarus Church. Its Baroque design takes its cue from the façade of Santa Maria della Scala, the Carmelite church in Rome. On the triangular gable, the Virgin Mary occupies the centre, with Teresa of Ávila and John of the Cross at the corners.

Construction began when Bishop Tomasz Oborski blessed the foundation stone in sixteen thirty-four. War with Sweden interrupted the work, but the church was finished and consecrated in sixteen eighty-three. It was damaged during the Bar Confederation in seventeen seventy-two, restored by the Carmelites eight years later, and handed to the Sisters of Charity in seventeen eighty-seven.

Their hospital gave the church its additional dedication to St Lazarus. Inside, the single nave opens through tall arches into side chapels. The high altar is devoted to Mary’s Immaculate Conception, while the Baroque altars, portals and railings form Kraków’s richest ensemble in black Dębnik marble, made between sixteen eighty-five and sixteen eighty-eight.