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The two towers of unequal height give the outside of the church an idiosyncratic air, this asymmetry prompting feelings of friendliness and comfort. The building looks welcoming.

The interior of the church is highly decorated in bright colours, reds, blues, greens and gold, with the choir stalls backed by low-relief carvings of intricate detail.

For many, the most astonishing part of the church will be the High Altar, made by Wit Stwosz between 1477 and 1489. The altar screen is like a large cabinet with huge doors which can be opened out. Both the outside and inside of the altar screen are wonderfully carved and decorated, showing scenes from the lives of Jesus and the Virgin Mary. The figures are life-like, the detail fantastic and the whole effect vigorous.

The huge outer doors are opened at midday so it is worth visiting the church a little before that so you can witness both the outer and inner decoration as well as the ceremony when the doors are open.

Every hour the bugle call (hejnal) is sounded from the taller of the two towers. According to legend this is to commemorate a bugler who saved the city from the threat of a Tartar invasion in the mid-13th Century. A Tartar arrow shot the bugler before he could finish, however, he had already played enough for the citizens to be alerted.

Today the henjal is stopped at the note on which the bugler was shot. And like St. Mary’s Church it soon becomes an easily identifiable and rather affecting symbol of the city itself.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1881 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1604 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/1604 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/6288
The cemetery, though damaged, managed to survive the Nazi occupation when other cemeteries were almost entirely destroyed. Excavations in the past years have revealed many buried gravestones and tombs and although it was suspected that this may have been due to neglect or vandalism it appears that they were deliberately buried to save them from an earlier threat, possibly Swedish invasion in the 19th century.

Some of the gravestones are decorated with motifs and topped with metal coverings. Many have stones or candles placed on them holding pieces of paper on which prayers and blessings are written.

Walking around the cemetery it is easy to contemplate things such as the human race’s capacity for inhumanity, for resilience, for fortitude, for kindness, for forgiveness and for reconciliation. A profoundly moving yet peaceful place.]]> http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/6288 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5795 http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/5795