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KRAKÓW – THE OLD CITY
The Main Square with the Cloth Hall and Our Lady Basilica (Gothic style) 200 years ago
Kraków/Cracow, an ancient city, and formerly the capital of Poland, is one of the most attractive cities in the world owing to the wealth of historic monuments and richness of museums. The Old City, surrounded partially by the city walls and towers, is preserved in its original, Gothic and Renaissance style. In the Old City the visitor may encounter the abundance of pre-Romanesque, Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and liberty style architecture.
The city walls and towers built of blocks of limestone and bricks in medieval times, are partially preserved in their original style. St. Florian’s Gate, named after St. Florian, is one of the best known Gothic towers in Poland and a focal point of Krakow Old town. The main city gate was protected by the Barbican - a powerful defensive structure.
The Barbican, a military construction to protect the main city gate (late Gothic style, 15th century)
The Main Square situated in the city centre belongs to the largest in Europe. The Cloth Hall in the Main Square represents the superposition of Gothic and Renaissance art. The 108 m long construction was erected by the king Casimir the Great in 14th century. After the fire which occurred in 1555 the upper part of the building was reconstructed by Italian artists in the Renaissance style. Nevertheless, the upper part of the building with arcadic attic and mascarons typical for Renaissance art remains in harmony with Gothic arcs and columns of the lower part of the construction.
The Cloth Hall at the Main Square (Gothic and Renaissance style, 14th and 16th century)
The spectacular Our Lady Basilica located on the corner of the Main Square and erected in 14th century represents a unique object of the Gothic architecture. The 82 m high tower with the Gothic helmet, made by Matias Heringkanaun in the year 1485, is unique in the world. Every hour, on the hour the trumpeter pokes his head out its windows to play so-called ‘Heynal’ known also as the ‘Cracovian Anthem’, a traditional five-note Polish tune closely tied to the history and traditions of the city.
The Interior of Our Lady Basilica with a star-type vault (Gothic style, 14th century)
The church is constructed in the form of a three-nave basilica with slim columns, Gothic arcs, and narrow and high windows closed by elaborate traceries. The spectacular presbitery with a star-type dome construction contains the stalls made in 16th century, and the largest late Gothic altarpiece in the world.
The polyptych made of linden wood and carved by the sculptor Vit Stoss in 15th century constitutes a wonderful object of the late Gothic art. The central part of the altar presents the Assumption of Mary, mother of Jesus. The altar,being an example of realistic art represents the transition of late Gothic style into Renaissance. Ugly faces of the Apostoles are ‘artistic copies’ of faces of genuine city inhabitants suffering from various diseases. Their hands and legs were shown by the artist in a very naturlistic manner, involving explicit defects implied by advanced gout disease.
Main altar in Our Lady Chuch (late Gothic style, 15th century)
The St. Trinity basilica built in 14th century is another example of Gothic architecture in the Old City. It is a three-nave construction with Gothic arcs, tall pilers, and narrow and enlarged vertical windows closed by traceries.
The interior of St. Trinity Church in Krakow (Gothic style, 14th century)
St. Andrew’s church is an excellent example of Romanesque architecture, it is one of oldest ones in Poland, erected at the end of 11th century. The church built of limestone makes the impresion of severe, semi-military construction typical for early medieval times.
The St. Andrew Church in Kraków (Romanesque style, 11th century)
The St. Peter and Paul’s Church was the first object of the Baroque architecture in Krakow. It is a huge, a one-nave construction with a transept closed by a huge prolate eliptic dome. The concept of facade made of yellow dolomite is similar to Santa Susanna and II Gesu churches in Rome.
The St. Peter and Paul Church in Kraków (Baroque style, 17th century)
A spectacular object of non-sacral architecture of old Krakow is Collegium Maius, the oldest university building preserved in the original style. The University, founded in 1364 belongs to the oldest ones in central Europe. It expanded at the beginning of 15th centrury. The construction made of bricks and stones in 15th century has an arcadic courtyard with Gothic, crystal-type vaults
Arcadic courtyard of Collegium Maius, a building of miedieval University (Gothic style, 15th century)
The Wielopolski Palace erected in 16th century is an example of the Renaissance non-sacral architecture. At present it is the settlement of the Mayor of Krakow.
The Wielopolski Palace (Renaissance style, 16th century), at present the settlement of the Mayor of Kraków
In the Old City the visitor may also encounter a number of Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, and 19th style civil buildings. Numerous shops, restaurants and cafés with tea-gardens are situated in the buildings.
A street in the Old City
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