The Legend
Legend has it that in 1184 oxen carrying the remains of St. Florian – the future patron saint of Poland – came to a halt at a place where the Church now stands. The relics miraculously grew too heavy to be taken any further into the city and remained in Kleparz until it was decided for the Church to be built at that exact spot. The martyr had had nothing do with Poland before his relics were brought from Rome to Kraków. Kraków needed a saint for political reasons, in order to reaffirm its role as Poland's capital, which was contested by the city of Gniezno.
The district of Kleparz was founded by Casimir the Great in 1366 as a separate town, around St. Florian's Church. It was named by King Casimir as Florencja (English: Florence) after its centrally located church, or in Latin, Clepardia. Kleparz remained an unofficial suburb of Kraków till 1792, when the Polish Parliament incorporated it within the city.
Read more about this topic: St. Florian's Church
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