A randomish square across from the Saints Peter & Paul Church, Plac Św. Marii Magdaleny connects ul. Grodzka to ul. Kanonicza along the famed 'Royal Route' and is a favourite among local skateboarding youths, who pay no heed to the stern sculpture of Jesuit priest Piotr Skarga watching over the area. Its name comes from the long-gone St. Mary Magdalene Church, which stood in this spot from roughly the 13th century until 1809 or 1811 (with a few breaks for burning down and getting rebuilt), when it was demolished after falling into a state of hopeless disrepair. A house was built on the freed plot of land, only to succumb to a fire in 1945, whereafter the gap in ul. Grodzka was simply turned into a public square. A closer look will reveal the old St. Mary Magdalene Church foundations outlined on the ground. As for our buddy Piotr Skarga, his severe-looking memorial has been the subject of quite a bit of controversy since its unveiling in 2001, due to both the aesthetics (it even won an award for Kraków's worst architectural structure) and the circumstances surrounding its commissioning (done by the 'Archbrotherhood of Mercy,' not by the city) and will likely be moved during the next renovation of the square.