St. Mary's Basilica occupies the northeast corner of the Market Square and is the parish church of Krakow's Old Town. Its two towers, unequal in height, have defined the city's skyline since the 14th century — the taller one belongs to the city and was used as a watchtower; the shorter belongs to the church. The exterior is imposing; the interior is breathtaking.
The church's great treasure is the Veit Stoss altarpiece, a carved Gothic masterwork completed in 1489. The altarpiece stands 13 metres tall and nearly 11 metres wide when open — the largest Gothic altarpiece in the world — and its painted and gilded figures depict the death and assumption of the Virgin Mary. Stoss spent twelve years carving it from 200 cubic metres of limewood, and it remains one of the supreme achievements of late Gothic sculpture. The altarpiece is opened each day at noon to the sound of a bugle, and the priest reads a brief prayer before the panels are separated. Arrive a few minutes before noon to get a good position.