3 October 2023 Krakow’s
Old Town
Today is our
first full day in Krakow and we will begin our exploration of the city by doing
an Old Town Walking Tour. Our little
apartment is located just outside the main Old Town plaza on a street called Szpitalna,
just a block from Florianska Street. Florianska
Street, once the city’s principal commercial thoroughfare, was also part of the“Royal Route” – the
historical coronation path of Poland’s kings from the 14th through the 16th
centuries when Krakow was the royal capital of Poland. The route ran from the Florianska Gate to the
Wawel Royal Castle on the Vistula River.
We first began
our exploration of Krakow by visiting a few of the city’s landmarks located
within a two-block radius of our apartment, but considered outside the Old Town. Just across the street from our apartment was
the Slowacki Theater. Built in 1893,
today the theater, modeled after the Paris Opera, is considered an
architectural masterpiece, but it was not without controversy. In order to build the theater, the medieval
Church of the Holy Ghost had to be demolished, which did not sit well with
other culturalists. The façade of the
theater is decorated with allegorical figures, and inside is a grand marble
staircase and a stage curtain that features paintings representing the arts –
drama, comedy, music and dance.
Unfortunately, the theater was not open when we were there. It is only
open in July and August for 1 hour tours every hour from 1100 to 1400.
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| Slowacki Theater |
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| Slowacki Theater |
Just up the
street from our apartment is the Floriańska Gate, one of eight original gates
of Krakow’s medieval defensive walls.
This was the main entrance into medieval Krakow and the beginning of the
Royal Road. Built in 1307, the Gate
stands 113 feet high. The Baroque roof
(or helmet) was added in 1657. On one
side the gate (the one facing the Barbican) is a stone eagle, while a 19th
century bas-relief of St. Florian sits on the side facing Florianska.
Perhaps this is
a good time to write about St. Florian. Both
the gate and the street were named in honor of St. Florian, the patron saint of
firefighters. St. Florian was born
around 250 AD and became a general in the Roman army, in charge of the fire
brigades. People tell the story of how
he saved a burning town by praying and throwing a single bucket of water on the
fire. In addition to being part of the
Roman army, he was also a “closet” Christian.
During Emperor Diocletian’s persecution of Christians, St. Florian
refused to execute the Christians, and was himself killed circa 304 AD by
drowning because of his faith. Many years
later (circa 1133 AD), after his remains were recovered, many of his relics
were given to priests around Europe. On
one such journey to deliver his relics, the oxen pulling the cart became tired
and stopped moving on a site in what is now Krakow. It was then decided to build a church on that
site, and St. Florian’s church was built.
(We will visit the church later in our travels). He became a saint somewhere between 900-955
AD. St. Florian had very little to do
with Poland during his lifetime, but Krakow was in need of a saint for
political reasons, to reaffirm its role as Poland’s capital. So they adopted St. Florian as one of
Poland’s saints.
After walking
through the gate we arrived at the Barbican, which along with the Floriańska
Gate are the only large remaining pieces of the medieval walls. Built between 1498-1499, this is the best
preserved of the three such fortifications in Europe. It was connected to the Florianska Gate by a
drawbridge over a moat. It measures 78
feet in diameter with 9 feet thick walls and has seven turrets and 130
defensive slots used by archers and riflemen.
One of its most famous legends surrounds a local citizen, Marcin
Oracewicz, who defended Krakow from the Russians during the Bar Confederation
in 1768 by killing the Russian commander with a coat button shot from one of
the defensive slots. On the eastern side
of the Barbican is a plaque commemorating this incident.
On either side
of the Barbican are the lush green grounds of the Planty, once the site of the
defensive walls and moat that surrounded Krakow. The walls were torn down and the moat filled
during the Austrian occupation in the 1800s.
Today it is a mile-long stretch of public parks and gardens filled with
trees, flowers, benches and historical monuments that encircles the Old Town. It takes about an hour to wander around the
entire length. As today is a busy day
for us, we did not try and walk the entire length.
On one side of
the Barbican is the Jan Matejko Monument which was erected in 2013 to
commemorate one of Poland’s greatest painters.
It was put on the side of the Barbican as this was part of Matejki’s
daily walk from his home to the Fine Arts Academy that he founded.
We continue our
walk up the path from the Barbican until we came to the Grunwald Monument. This equestrian statue commemorates the
Battle of Grunwald on 15 July 1410. The
battle between the joint armies of Poland and Lithuania against the Teutonic
Knights is considered to be one of the greatest battles (and one of the largest
and bloodiest) ever to take place in medieval Europe. The rider on the top of the monument is King
Wladyslaw Jagiello, who commanded the Polish and Lithuanian armies. After defeating the State of the Teutonic
Order, the Jagiello dynasty was considered the most important dynasty in
Europe. In front of him is his cousin,
the Lithuanian prince Vytautas with victorious soldiers on either side. The figure lying at his feet is Urlich von
Jungingen, the Teutonic Order’s Grand Master, who died in the battle.
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| Floriańska Gate |
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| Floriańska Gate |
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| Barbican |
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| Grunwald Monument |
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| Barbican |
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| Jan Matejko Monument |
We then turned around and walked back to Florianska Street. Here we took a tram to the Wawel Royal Castle. We have the advantage of using the local tram/bus system free of charge as we are over 60 – sometimes it pays to be a senior!
From the tram stop we walked up Wawel Royal Castle to the
Wawel Royal Castle. Although a medieval
castle had existed on Wawel Hill, it wasn’t until 1138, when Krakow became
capital of Poland, that the castle gained significance as the primary residence
of the Polish kings. The first Polish
king crowned in the nearby Wawel Cathedral was Wladyslaw the short (1306-1333)
followed by 35 rulers who were crowned and lived in Wawel Castle. Each of these rulers added to the castle,
making it Poland’s largest castle.
Architecturally, it is a blend of Medieval, Romanesque, Renaissance,
Gothic and Baroque styles. . When the capital of Poland was moved to
Warsaw in 1596, the Castle fell into a state of disrepair. When the Austrians occupied Poland, the
castle became a military hospital, and during WWII it was the headquarters of
the Nazi Governor General during Germany’s occupation of Poland. Today the castle is a museum housing the
royal chambers and the national crown jewels.
One of the items is the Spear (Lance) of St Maurice, the most precious
treasure in the museum and the oldest insignia of power in Poland. A 10th century copy of the original in
Vienna, it was given to King Boleslay I the Brave as a token of friendship by
Emperor Otto III, the Holy Roman Emperor, in 1000 AD.
The lines were long to get tickets to visit the various
buildings in the Castle complex and the earliest tickets we could have gotten
were for later that afternoon. As there
was still a lot of Krakow that we wanted to see, we just walked around the
Castle grounds.
We then walked down to the edge of the Vistula River where
we found the Dragon’s Lair, located at the foot of Wawel Hill where there is a
series of caves. Inhabited by man from
the Stone Age to the 16th century, this is the area’s oldest residence. As I spoke of it in my opening blog of
Krakow, this is where the dragon lived and was slain by either King Krak’s son
or a young shoemaker (whichever legend you tend to believe). In any regard, this is one of Poland’s most
famous stories. The site has a fire-belching
7 headed dragon (goes off every 5 minutes).
You can also text from your phone to make it breathe fire.
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| Wawel Royal Castle |
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| Wawel Royal Castle |
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| Dragon's Lair-Fire-breathing Dragon |
After viewing the statue of the Dragon and seeing it belch
fire, we decided to take a boat cruise on the Vistula River. It was a very relaxing way to enjoy some of
Krakow’s sites. As we left the dock, we
had a beautiful view of the Royal Castle.
A little further down the river we came to the Church and Convent of the
Nobertine Sisters. This complex of a
monastery, convent and church was founded in 1148 by the Premonstratensian
Sisters of Saint Norbert. The monastery
closed in the 16th century, but the Nobertine Sisters continue to
live in convent.
During our little cruise we passed by Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Stanislaus,
which we will visit tomorrow and came to a very interesting bridge – the Father
Ojca Bernatka Bridge. It is a pedestrian
and cyclist bridge. Built in 2010 for pedestrians
and cyclists (each has their own separate lane), the curved dividing overhang has
an art exhibition of balancing sculptures hanging from it. In addition to walkers and riders, it is also
a bridge for lovers. Couples hand their
padlocks with their names and dates engraved all over the bridge. Also seen in the river is a very unusual
sculpture of a white marble pig on a stack ready to be roasted. Entitled “Purification,” it was constructed
in 1012, but now one really knows what it is about or why it is there. Their answer to those questions – “it’s art,
man.”
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| Wawel Royal Castle from the River |
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| Church and Convent of the Nobertine Sisters |
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| Wawel Royal Castle |
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| Father Ojca Bernatka Bridge |
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| Father Ojca Bernatka Bridge |
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| Father Ojca Bernatka Bridge with the Love Locks |
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| Sculpture of a White Marble Pig |
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| Enjoying the Swans on the River |
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| Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Stanislaus |
After our cruise ended, we took a tram back up to Rynek
Glowny, Krakow’s Main Market Square.
Rynek Glowny was originally designed in 1257, and at 140,000 square
yards it is the largest medieval squares in Europe. It has been the center for public
celebrations, public executions, and revolts against foreign rule. One event that went horribly wrong was a
firework display in the 17th century that ended in bloodshed when some of the
fireworks were mistakenly fired into the crowd.
During the Nazi occupation in WWII, the square was renamed “Adolf Hitler
Platz,” and was visited by Hitler himself.
Back to its original name, today it is the site of Easter and Christmas
markets as well as outdoor concerts. The
following historical landmarks found in and around this square include the
Cloth Hall, the Town Hall Tower, St. Mary’s Basilica.
At the center of the square is the Cloth Hall. A structure has existed in this location
since the mid-13th century. Then it was
two rows of stone trading stalls with a path running between them, followed by
the addition of a roof over them in 1300.
In the mid-14th century, King Kazimierz the Great had a trading hall
built, which greatly increased Krakow’s importance as an east-west trading
area, with commodities like wax, spices, leather, silk, lead and salt being
bought and sold. Destroyed by a fire in
the mid-16th century, it was rebuilt featuring brilliantly deformed gargoyles
and was thought to be the most magnificent building in Krakow. After Poland was partitioned and occupied by
various empires starting in the 1700s, it fell into a state of disrepair. In the 1870s, the Austrian government tore
down many of the outbuildings and added colonnades and outside arcades. In 1879, the upper floor was converted into
the first Polish National Museum and the site became a focal point for protests
and celebrations of Polish patriotism.
In 2006, the entire building underwent an extensive renovation to meet
the needs of the 21st century. Today
there are terraces overlooking the square, the Polish Art Gallery, and arcades
selling handicrafts, amber and other local products – all in a 700-year old
shopping mall.
Today all that remains of the 14th century Town Hall is the
Town Hall Tower. At 230’, it survived
the countless fires, renovations, and finally demolition of the Town Hall. However, because of a strong windstorm in
1703, the Tower now leans about 22”.
Outside the tower is a small model of the old Town Hall.
Near the Tower is the Eros Bendato sculpture, a popular
meeting place and photographic backdrop for tourists’ selfies. It is known locally as “The Head,” and is a
favorite spot for adults and children to climb and stick their heads and limbs
through the eyeholes of the hollow head lying on its side.
Also located in the square is the Adam Mickiewicz Monument,
commemorating Poland’s romantic poet and national hero. It was erected in 1898 on the 100th
anniversary of his birth. However, it
was destroyed by the Germans in WWII, but a copy of the original was made in
1955. As an interesting aside,
Mickiewicz was born in Lithuania and never visited Krakow until 35 years after
his death when his body was buried in the Royal Crypts of Wawel Cathedral.
St Adalbert’s Church, built in the 11th century
and is one of Poland’s oldest stone churches, predates the construction of
Rynek Glowy. That explains why its floor
sits 6 feet below the level of the square.
The church was named for the martyred missionary St. Adalbert, once the
Bishop of Prague and later a Prussian missionary for Poland’s King Boleslaw I
who tried to convert the pagans to Christianity. The pagans resented his manner, and he was
murdered in 997. It is believed that his
body was brought back to Krakow by King Boleslaw who paid the Prussians
Adalbert’s weight in gold.
St. Mary’s
Basilica, located at the edge of the main square with its two mismatched
towers, was the site of one of Poland’s most tragic stories. Originally built in the early 13th
century in the Romanesque style, it was destroyed during the Mongol Invasion in
1259. Rebuilt in the early Gothic style
in 1290, it was completely rebuilt again in 1335 by King Casimir III the Great,
elongating the presbytery and adding stained glass windows. In the first half of the 15th
century, the northern tower, was raised to 262 feet high and made into a
watchtower for the city. In 1666, a
gilded crown was added to the top of this tower.
It is from this
northern tower, now referred to as “Hejnalica,” that a single bugler plays the
hejinal mariacki, the city’s famous bugle call, every hour on the hour in
commemoration of the Polish trumpeter who was killed while trying to warn the
city of the Mongol invasion.
The trumpeter’s
tune was cut short by an arrow to his neck, but Krakow was saved. Just as in 1259, the bugler stops playing
midway through the tune. While the
bugler plays from the taller tower, the church bell, known as Polzygmunt, hangs
in the shorter tower.
There are no
architectural plans to explain the two towers of differing heights, but as with
everything else, the Poles have a story for the two mismatched towers. As the legend goes, two brothers were
commissioned to build the towers, one for each tower. When the younger brother realized that his
tower was shorter than his brother’s, he murdered his brother in an envious
rage. This, of course, stop construction
of the towers. Remorseful for what he
had done, on the day the church was to be consecrated, he climbed to the top of
his tower, pierced his heart with the knife used to kill his brother, and fell
from his tower to the ground below. More likely, as described in a preceding
paragraph, the tower was raised so it could be used as a watchtower.
The church was
closed when we got there so we did not get a chance to see the inside. But we did get to hear the bugler play and
even heard it in the late evening and early morning hours in our apartment.
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| The Head Sculpture |
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| The Head Sculpture |
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| Rynek Glowny, Krakow’s Main Market Square |
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| St. Mary's Basilica |
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| Adam Mickiewicz Monument |
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| Cloth Hall |
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| Inside St Adalbert’s Church
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| St Adalbert’s Church |
Returning to
our apartment, we found a little pizza shop that had very good pizza. While it was not authentic Polish cuisine, it
and a glass of white wine certainly hit the spot.
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