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Krakow, once a royal city, focusing all that
was the most important not only for Poland but also for the cultural history of
the Old Continent, still radiates an unusual energy and beauty. It is no mere
chance that it is sometimes called "the Florence of the North" or
"the Polish Rome".
The monumental character of Krakow
is due to
the architectural complexes enriched and developed throughout centuries in
various styles - from Romanesque, through Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque to
Classicism and Art Nouveau - which create the unique urban structure of the
Piast and Jagiellon King's capital.
The high status and unusual artistic value of Krakow
were confirmed in 1978 when UNESCO decided to place the town on the World
List of Cultural Heritage.
The exceptionality of Krakow results from a
perfect union of the three most important architectural complexes which are
included in the List, i.e. the Wawel Hill, the mediaeval Old Town and the
mediaeval town of Kazimierz with its suburb Stradom, with other parts such
as the eighteenth-century town of Podgórze, the area of former outskirts and
enclaves such as Garbary, Kleparz, Wesola and Nowy Świat, or old suburban
settlements of antique arrangement such as Wola Justowska, Bronowice, Bielany,
Krowodrza, Zwierzyniec.
Wawel dominates over the town. It plays
an important role both in the panorama of the histroical complex of Krakow
-
symbolically - in the national conscience of the Poles as a center of state
power active for many centuries and as a focus of cultural life and artistic
patronage. In the highest, eastern part of the Wawel Hill two monumental
complexes, the Royal Castle and the Cathedral, are situated.
The Castle, transformed from a Gothic
fortress into a grand Renaissance residence in the years 1507-1536 under the
supervision of outstanding Italian architects: Francis of Florence and
Bartolomeo Berecci, is the most remarkable example of the influence of
Florentine Renaissance outside Italy. The turn of the 16th and 17th centuries
marks the next important stage of the transition towards the early Baroque
style.
The Cathedral was built in the years
1320-1364 in place of two former Romanesque churches. It represents a native
variety of Gothic architecture. It was the bishop's cathedral of Karol Wojtyla,
Pope John Paul II, until his election to the Holy See.
The mediaeval Old Town, limited by the
line of Planty - a park-like area within the former city walls, some of which
has been preserved - owns its structure to the act of foundation from 1257
issued by prince Boleslaw Wstydliwy. At that time Krakow
received the shape of a
chess-board, with a regular network of streets and squares and a four-sided
marketplace of the size of 200 m by 200 m. When the central part was planned
many older elements were incorporated into it, which added beauty to its
pictures and authenticity. The basic arrangement of the Old Town was not
changed in later times, in spite of the considerable growth of its area in the
14th and 15th centuries.
Krakow
Market Square - the largest town
square demarcated in the 13th c. in Europe - retained the atmosphere of the
pulsating heart of the city and many of its valuable monuments. The most
significant historical buildings are: the Town Hall Tower from the end of the
14th c. (a part of the Town Hall was destroyed in 1818), Sukiennice - a
fourteenth-century trading hall decorated with a Renaissance attic wall and
sculpted ornaments, and Krakow's
main church, the monument of its glory, the
basilica dedicated to the Assumption of Holy Virgin Mary. The church, the
building of which started in the middle 14th c. in the place of two older ones,
represents the Krakow Gothic style and houses the most splendid work of Wit
Stwosz - the great altar, a penaptych sculpted in the years 1477-1489, which is
the most magnificent object of that kind in Europe.
The oldest buildings of Jagiellonian
University, which was founded in 1364, are situated in the south-western part of
the Old Town.
The formerly independent town of Kazimierz,
founded in 1335 by King Casimir the Great, which lies to the east of the Old
Town and Wawel, to a great extent retained the chess-board spatial arrangement
with a fair-sized market square and a detached Renaissance town hall. At the end
of the 15th c. a large "Jewish town" was located in Kazimierz. In the
16th and 17th centuries it constituted a significant center of Jewish culture
and until World War II it preserved its specific way of life. This exotic
enclave was liquidated by Nazi homicide actions during World War
II. but among
the ruins of dwelling-houses complex of monumental synagogues and Jewish
cemetery R'emuh remained.
Between Krakow
and Kazimierz, at the foot of
the Wawel Hill, a big mediaeval suburb, Stradom, was created. Its plan was based
on the roads which linked the two towns and Wawel.
The fact that the monument complexes of Krakow have been preserved in their authentic state, with original stylistic
variations, contributes to their special historical significance. The historical
architecture of Krakow is estimated to consist nearly of 6.000 objects, with the
majority being residential houses.
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