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Krakow
As It Looked in the 15th Century.
The first panoramic view of
Krakow
appeared in Hartmann Schedl's Liber
cronicarum, published in Nuremberg in 1493.
It was just a year after Christopher Columbus had
left for India and found himself in the New World
to everybody's surprise. And two years later Nicolaus Copernicus completed his
studies at the famous Krakow university.
Medieval representation
of Krakow and Kazimierz
This half-realistic and half-fanciful picture
shows the medieval Poland's metropolis Cracovia from the
north alongside its twin city of Kazimierz
(Casimirus). Above them hovers
the magic castle of Polish kings atop the Wawel Hill. In general terms the image
rather faithfully represents the 15th-century features of the
cities of Krakow and Kazimierz, their topography and main
buildings.
Krakow,
the medieval capital of Poland
The last decade of the 15th century marked the
beginning of Poland's Golden Age when the
democratic kingdom commanded a vast territory
from the Baltic to the Black Sea and became a
major European power as well as a powerhouse for
the continent's economy while its culture
flourished like never before. At the same time
Krakow, the country's capital since 1038, entered
upon one of its best periods in history. Its burghers could
even afford to fund the world's largest and
grandest altarpiece ever for the city's
central basilica of the
Virgin Mary's.
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