Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and St Nicholas in Sławków

The Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and St Nicholas on Kościelna Street is one of the oldest buildings in Sławków. The present church was built in 1255-1265, and from that period the brick chancel survives, in a style transitional between Romanesque and Gothic.

The medieval chancel

The founder was presumably Bishop Jan Prandota. The building was formerly linked with a foundation by Bishop Pełka in 1204, but this date is now rejected, as it may refer to an earlier church. On the rear façade of the chancel decorative bands of bricks can be seen, and the arcade frieze at the top of the wall is formed by bricks laid diagonally. It resembles the frieze of the Romanesque Dominican church in Sandomierz. The chancel closes with a straight wall, typical of Gothic churches of the mendicant orders, and inside has a cross-rib vault. The paintings in the main nave allow it to be dated to the first half of the 14th century.

Furnishings

The church has three altars. Among the more valuable monuments is the Renaissance tombstone of the starost Sebastian Nyskowski, who died in 1603, shown in armour. There is also a marble epitaph plaque of the parish priest Franciszek Miernicki, who died in 1839. In 2025 the building was entered in the heritage register again.

Nearby

The church stands in the town centre, a few hundred metres from the castle of the Kraków bishops. Also nearby are the town hall and the Regional Museum in Sławków.

Practical information

• Address: ul. Kościelna 26, Sławków.
• This is a working parish church, so the interior is visited outside services.