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Medieval
Fortifications of Krakow
Medieval Krakow had round it
two-mile-long walls with 39 towers and 8 gates.
Their construction began in the late 13th
century. The city walls proper were as high as ten meters and
2.5-meter thick. Alongside them additional
lower walls ran. And an eight-meter-deep and
22-meter-wide moat protected both.
In the first
decades of the 19th century Krakow's imposing if
outdated fortifications were largely pulled down.
Fortunately, the main city gate called Brama
Florianska survived together with three adjacent
towers, the walls between them, the 16th-century
city arsenal, and a giant barbican in front of them
all.
Brama
Florianska, the main gate of the medieval Krakow
The Brama Florianska gate, built about 1300
as a rectangular Gothic tower of wild stone, is 33.5 m tall. In the Middle Ages
the Krakow furriers
defended it. Its present baroque roof dates from
1694 and a big 16th-century bas-relief of St.
Florian adorns the south wall. The famed 19th-century
painter Jan Matejko designed a stone eagle on
the other side of the gate tower. At the Brama
Florianska gate Krakow's Royal Road begins. Here
entered kings and princes, foreign envoys and
guests of distinction, coronation processions and
other parades, to move up the Florianska Street
to the central Grand
Square (Rynek Glowny), and further down the
Grodzka Street to the Wawel Royal
Castle.
Tour
of the Krakow fortifications
Visitors
may tour the Brama Florianska gate tower and the adjacent
medieval fortifications every day from 10:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Entrance for the sightseers is situated in the Baszta Pasamonikow tower at the eastern end
of Pijarska street at Szpitalna street. The 180-meter
tour runs through a parapet walk via the neo-Gothic upstairs chapel
of the Brama Florianska gate to the Brama Stolarska tower and
it also includes the barbican
(Barbakan). A normal ticket is six zlotys.
Wawel Royal Castle
Home to three dynasties of Poland's
monarchs. Its stately halls and exquisite
chambers are filled with priceless art, best
period furniture and rare ancient objects. The
collection of the 16th-century monumental Flemish
tapestries is
matchless.
Wawel Cathedral
Poland's impressive national shrine
shelters plenty of superb church art. Its giant bell of 1520
ranks with the world's largest. Most Polish kings
and their family members are buried in the
cathedral, its chapels and crypts.
Grand Square
Krakow’s central Grand Square (Rynek
Glowny), the largest plaza of medieval Europe and
one of the world’s finest with its spectacular
landmarks, has remained the hub of the city since
the 13th century.
Basilica of the
Virgin Mary's
The immense Gothic church, Krakow's
principal temple since the 13th century, shelters
the world's greatest
Gothic sculpture among its many excellent
works of art
Cloth Hall
The world's oldest shopping mall has
been in business for 700 years. The present
Renaissance edifice dates from 1555.
Town Hall Tower
Krakow's leaning tower was built by the
end of the 13th century.
Great Barbican
Awesome 500-year-old unmatched
masterpiece of medieval military engineering
Planty Garden Ring
Park of 30 varied gardens among old
trees round Krakow's Old Town historical district
Collegium Maius
15th-century impressive Grand College of
the Krakow university where Copernicus once
studied.
Krakow mummies
Picturesque 17th-century church and
monastery shelter numerous naturally mummified
bodies in their crypts.
Kanonicza Street
The most beautiful of Europe's ancient streets,
arguably.
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