Looking twice at the Holy Cross presbytery

A reason to pause here

The patched brick and stone of the Holy Cross presbytery make us want to look twice. We would give the building its own short pause beside the church, then follow the lane towards the theatre area.

Beside the former Holy Spirit complex

The Holy Cross area belonged to a larger religious and hospital quarter associated with the Canons of the Holy Spirit. Much of the Holy Spirit church and monastery complex was demolished for the late nineteenth-century theatre development, while Holy Cross Church survived.

The presbytery remains part of that older corner beside the Planty. Our photographs draw attention to mixed brick and stone rather than establish dates for individual repairs. We would read the surviving buildings together before turning towards the newer theatre.

Look at the patched materials

The gallery follows the older wall, small windows and narrow passage beside the building. We like giving this less prominent frontage its own pause: differences in masonry are easier to notice close to the pavement.

Continue around Holy Cross Church, then towards the Słowacki Theatre if you want to compare what survived with what replaced part of the older complex. Keep residential doors clear.

Plan the visit

View the presbytery from public streets and paths. It is not an unrestricted museum interior, so do not enter private doors or courtyards. Church opening and theatre visits have their own arrangements. Use the Planty approach when you want to keep the walk within the quieter pedestrian routes.

• Look closely at the masonry from the public pavement.
• Respect residential entrances and enclosed spaces.