but when we consider that architectural activity had been displayed for several decades before in connection with the convents of the Cistercians, Franciscans, Dominicans, and others, we cannot but admit that native hands, as well as foreign ones, were employed in the work: thus, e.g., the ground-plan of the choir, with its garland of chapels, reminds us of French models; in the measures, we find the Paris foot besides the Brunswick and the Hanover one; in the masonry and the structure of the pillars we find proofs of local workmanship.
The cathedral served as coronation church: the coronation of a Polish king is illustrated by a miniature (illustration 20) of the middle of the sixteenth century. A special feature of the act was the solemn penitential procession to the neighbouring Skalka where St. Stanislas had been murdered by a Polish king.
In the lower church we find, besides the Romanesque crypt already described (illustration 2), the tomb where most of Poland's kings, from Ladislaus Lokietek down, lie buried. Their monuments, which will be dealt with in the description of sculpture, stand in the church itself, From the reign of Casimir the Great it had become customary for each king residing at Cracow to add a chapel of his own to the cathedral.
Of particular interest are the additions, likewise in Gothic style, that were made in the fifteenth century.
Thus there is the treasury building, close to the vestry; it was founded by the Cardinal and Secretary of State Zbigniew Oleśnicki, and abounds in precious objects of art. Originally in two stories, it was changed into a hall with a stone wainscoting, by Bishop Rzeszowski in the years 1471 to 1482. To the left of the entrance-door of the cathedral, there is the chapel of the Holy Trinity, built by Queen Sophia in 1431-1433, and containing also her tomb. On the outside this is cased with ashlars and lined with trellis tracery; the interior has been frequently renovated, and adorned by later monuments. The Holy Cross Chapel, opposite this to the right, was built by King Casimir of the Jagellons and his wife, Elizabeth of Austria, in the years 1461-1471. The exterior of this chapel is also covered with
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