Plac imienia Ojca Adama Studzińskiego, Kraków

Here, the triangular Plac imienia Ojca Adama Studzińskiego fits into a remarkable corner at the foot of Wawel Hill, between Grodzka Street, Saint Giles Street, and Saint Giles Church. The mass of Wawel Royal Castle rises over the square’s western side. On the northern side, notice the Katyn Cross and the church; on the eastern edge stands the former Royal Arsenal, now used by the Jagiellonian University’s Faculty of Polish Studies.

It previously housed the university’s Institute of Geography. Until November two thousand and nine, this was Saint Giles Square. It was then renamed for Father Adam Studziński, a Dominican friar whose life joined religious, military, and scouting service.

He served as a chaplain with the Second Corps of the Polish Armed Forces in the West, became a brigadier general in the Polish Army, and was a scoutmaster in the Scout Association of the Republic of Poland. In this little wedge of ground, Kraków’s royal hill, university life, wartime memory, and one priest’s public service meet almost shoulder to shoulder.