St. Mary's Basilica
St. Mary's Basilica was built from the ruins of a church that was previously on the same site in the 13th Century. The original structure had been destroyed during the Tartar invasions.
The interior of the church is particularly exquisite with its, the altarpiece, stained glass windows of the nave, and incredibly detailed ceiling. The splendid altarpiece created by the 15th century German artist Veit Stoss - it is said to have taken 15 years to complete. The altar is surrounded with paintings by Wyspianski, Matejko and Mehoffer. There are a number of elaborate folktales associated with the basilica. One tells the story of the two brothers who built the towers. Apparently one brother murdered the other in a fit of rage over the details of the building. The murderer then threw himself off of the roof because he felt so guilty for what he'd just done.
These days the taller of the two towers is associated with one of Krakow's oldest traditions. Every hour a bugle sounds in remembrance of 1241, when a lone soldier blew his horn to alert the townsfolk of the invading Tartar forces. He was apparently shot in the neck by an arrow, his bugle call being cut off in mid phrase, but the town had awoken were ready for the invading forces.
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