🇵🇱 Kraków
St. Mary's Basilica & the Veit Stoss Altar
churchmust-seephoto spothistory
A trumpet call — the Hejnał mariacki — is played live from the tower every hour, and always cuts off mid-note. Legend says it commemorates a 13th-century trumpeter shot by a Mongol arrow.
Time your visit to the 11:50 altar opening — a small daily ceremony when the central panels of Veit Stoss's 1489 altarpiece are unfolded to reveal a 13-metre-tall scene of the Dormition of the Virgin. Above your head, the higher tower plays the hejnał trumpet call every hour, cut off mid-note in memory of a 13th-century trumpeter shot in the throat. Enter via the tourist door on the south side, not the main west doors (those are for worshippers).