Kościół pw. Świętej Katarzyny Aleksandryjskiej, Kraków

The Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria is a brick Gothic Augustinian parish and convent church in Kraków’s Kazimierz district, also dedicated to Saint Margaret. Begun in 1342, it survived earthquakes, fire, flood, Austrian military reuse, and a proposed demolition. Its carved southern porch and fifteenth-century bell tower reward a close visit.

This is the Church of Saint Catherine of Alexandria: a Roman Catholic parish and convent church in Kazimierz, shared in its full dedication with Saint Margaret and commonly known as the Augustinians’ Church. Its brick Gothic character means medieval architecture shaped chiefly in brick, and this church is among Poland’s outstanding survivals of medieval stone carving. King Casimir the Great brought the Augustinians here from Prague in 1342, beginning a monastery complex for his new town of Kazimierz.

The church took decades to build, with its main body substantially finished in 1426. Then, in 1443, an earthquake brought down the nave vaulting; rebuilding continued until 1505. This place has endured a flood, a fire, and service as a hospital during the Swedish Deluge.

Under Austrian rule, the suppressed monastery became first an arms store and then a depot for straw and hay. The church deteriorated so badly that Kraków’s senate intended to demolish it in 1827. Church and civic leaders intervened, a restoration committee formed in 1833, and the building survived.

Notice the richly carved portals of the late-Gothic porch on the church’s southern side. The separate bell tower dates from the fifteenth century, a durable reminder that this imposing church has repeatedly escaped destruction.