Dominican Square in Kraków

Dominican Square is a small square in the Old Town, between Grodzka and Dominikańska streets, by the Dominican church. Today it is above all a place in the network of streets around the Main Market Square, but its history reaches back to the time before the founding of the city.

From market place to Dominican monastery

Before Kraków was chartered there was a market place here. In the 12th and 13th centuries a large settlement gathered around the Romanesque Church of the Holy Trinity, in which self-governing forms of organisation developed earliest. In 1222 Bishop Iwo Odrowąż moved the parish to St Mary's Church and in its place settled the Dominicans brought from Bologna. The name of the square became established in the 1870s; earlier the place was called Szeroka Street.

Commemorative plaques

In house number 6 lived Edmund Wasilewski, regarded as the first poet to praise the charms of the town below Wawel, which is commemorated by an embedded plaque. On the opposite side, in the corner house at Grodzka 1, Helena Modrzejewska was born. The commemorative plaque was made by Wiesław Łabędzki.

Nearby

From the square it is close to the Basilica of St Francis of Assisi and the Main Market Square, and the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) is also close at hand.

Practical information

• Location: Old Town, between Grodzka and Dominikańska streets.
• The square is part of the city's public space, with no tickets or opening hours.
• Check the visiting hours of the Dominican church with the parish before your visit.