The care of the Cracow Charitable Society over the altar and painting of Our Lady at the Florian Gate in the 19th and early 20th centuries

The aim of this article is to present the actions taken by the Cracow Charitable Society in order to protect the altar and the painting in the Florian Gate. The image of Our Lady was handed over to the Society for care in 1817, which it provided until the communist authorities disbanded the Society in 1951. In order to renovate the painting and altar, the Society mainly raised funds through public sacrifices and donations of individual people. Among the benefactors there were many affluent and well-known people from Cracow, as well as anonymous individuals. Source materials reveal that the image was revered both by the inhabitants of Cracow and its surroundings and that the religious services held there in the 19th century were infused with patriotic spirit. Next to the painting an alms box was placed for financial donations to the poor who were cared for by the Society – it had the highest income among all the poor boxes in Cracow. Today, the Florian Gate still houses an altar with a painting, which is currently under the care of the Daughters of Charity.