The St. Mary’s Altar – the largest Gothic altarpiece in the world
After the great earthquake that struck Kraków and its surroundings in the 15th century, the vault of St. Mary’s Basilica collapsed, burying the old high altar under the rubble. As today, the Church – despite its powerful protector in heaven – often suffered from a lack of financial resources. The city council of Kraków decided to fund a new altar and invited Veit Stoss from Nuremberg, already a renowned sculptor of the late Gothic period.
He spent many years in the city, becoming the familiar “Wit Stwosz,” and even gave his son the Slavic name Stanisław. This is one of millions of examples showing that our homeland has always been open to guests, many of whom stayed in Poland and became part of its fabric.
Today, the altar, measuring 13 by 11 meters, is the largest Gothic altarpiece in the world.
Exploring the Old Market Square in Krakow
The St. Mary’s Altar in Kraków – two versions
The altar is made of wood: the structure from oak, the figures from linden, and the background from larch. It is a pentaptych, meaning it has five wings that could be opened or closed depending on the liturgical importance of the day. In its full glory, it appears in the golden festive version, when all five wings are open. This was the holiday setting; today it is opened in the late morning (on Sundays in the afternoon).
The closed, colorful version – also beautiful but more modest – was intended for everyday use.The theme of the altar is biblical: in the central scene, Mary, the mother of Jesus, is shown at the moment of her Dormition, surrounded by the apostles.
The story of the yellow shoe
During the renovation of St. Mary’s Basilica at the end of the 19th century, a child’s shoe was found behind the altar. Unfortunately, it has not survived to this day, and its fate is unknown. This discovery inspired Antonina Domańska’s 1913 novel The Story of the Yellow Shoe and Sylwester Chęciński’s 1961 film. In the film, Stwosz’s apprentice Wawrzek (played by the debuting Marek Kondrat) receives yellow shoes from King Casimir the Great as the most talented and hardworking student. He loses one of them during the inauguration of the altar while heroically saving the situation.
The St. Mary’s Altar – a major investment by the city of Kraków
Knowledge of who carved the altar was lost over the centuries. Only in the 19th century did Bertel Thorvaldsen, a distinguished Danish sculptor, suggest during a visit to the royal city that Wit Stwosz was the creator. Archival research confirmed his insight.
Interestingly, we know how much the city of Kraków paid for the altar – or rather, the amount of the final installment. No artist would work twelve years with assistants without advances. At the end of the project, the city paid Stwosz 2808 florins, large gold coins used at the time. This amounted to about 10 kilograms of gold – a metal far more valuable then than today, as Columbus had not yet discovered the Americas with their South American mines. These were the days when money was worth exactly the metal it contained.
It is impossible to convert this precisely into modern currencies, but it was roughly equivalent to the annual budget of the city of Kraków. For comparison, the city’s 2026 budget exceeds 10 billion złoty.
The sum shows how prosperous Kraków was in the 15th century, and it was also an investment in public relations. Foreign merchants wishing to do business with Kraków’s traders, upon seeing the splendor of the altar, could have no doubts about the solvency of their partners.