FORMER DISCALCED CARMELITES CHURCH OF STS MICHAEL AND JOSEPH
Archaeological Museum in Cracow (Former Discalced Carmelite Church of Sts Michael and Joseph)
Ul. Senacka 3,
31-002 Cracow
Poland
The monastery of the Discalced Carmelites was founded in 1611, and its church was consecrated in 1636. After the Partition of Poland, Austrian authorities closed the convent and converted its buildings into a prison (Fig. 1). The church, damaged by a fire in 1850, was rebuilt in 1872-1874 for new uses: the body became a courtroom and the chancel a courtyard for executions (Fig. 2). Frome 1954, the complex has been restored and transformed into a museum.
Chancel decoration
Remains of figurative reliefs, originally located on the back wall of the chancel, in the upper part closed with the barrel vault, on two sides of a window, are now situated outside on the western wall of an internal courtyard. They depict a group of the Annunciation to the Virgin, resembling the one in the Church of St. Anne. The posture of the angel, leaning forward on the right (Fig. 3), is strikingly similar, while the depiction of Mary, kneeling with hands clasped to her chest (Fig. 4), was formed differently. Although there aren’t archival sources regarding this decoration, it is known that the Carmelites maintained close ties with the university. The decoration is believed to date back to the period of documented works by Baldassare Fontana in the Church of St. Anne1. The entire architectural complex was restored in 1954-1966, with further interventions beginning in 2019. In recent years, some details of the figures were reconstructed (Fig. 5, 6).
