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The City of Krakow

 
Middle Ages | Jagiellonian Epoch | The 17th Century
The 18th and 19th centuries | The 20th Century
 

In the pre-Piast period, two dates from the city's history are known. Between 876 and 879, Swietopelk, Duke of Grand Moravia, occupied the region what was later to be named "Little Poland". After 955 Boleslaw the Cruel, the ruling Czech Duke, brother of St. Vaclav, introduced Czech rule here. In the 10th century Krakow was incorporated into the Polish state. However, it is difficult to say for sure whether it occurred during the rule of Mieszko I in 990 or Boleslaw Chrobry in 999.

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In 1142, the Robert consecrated the "second" Wawel cathedral, which had been built to replace the destroyed Romanesque church. The body of St. Stanislas, after it had been moved from the church at Skalka, and the relicts of St. Florian, were solemnly laid to rest at the new cathedral.

The feudal division of Poland and continuous fighting between regional dukes did not interrupt the city's rapid development. In 1138 Krakow Castle became more important as the official home of the highest duke and, to some degree, the capital of Poland, according to the last will of Boleslaw the Wry-Mouthed. The buildings destroyed during the invasion of the Tatars in 1241 were replaced by new ones built in Gothic style. The location of the city according to the Magdeburg law in 1257 gave it a new layout with a centrally situated marketplace. In the 13th century the city was provided with a new fortification system of city walls, towers and fortified city gates. This system was gradually added to and modernized over the next centuries. On 20th January, 1320, the first coronations followed this one during the next five centuries. The cathedral also became the Royal burial site.

Kazimierz III the Great

The reign of Kazimierz III the Great (1310-1370), patron of the arts and sciences, proved to be of great importance for the city. The King founded two new cities, Kazimierz and Kleparz, which were closely connected with Krakow. Gothic, Franciscan and Dominican churches were built and St. Mary's Church, as well as the Corpus Christi Church and St. Catherine's Church in Kazimierz. Renovation of the cathedral and castle on the Wawel Hill, and the Cloth Hall, Townhall and other public buildings was continued. In 1364, Kazimierz the Great founded the Krakow Academy, which was the origin of the later Jagiellonian University.

Jagiellonian Epoch

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Wladyslaw Jagiello, Grand Duke of Lithuania, was crowned King of Poland in 1386 and started the greatest Polish dynasty, which ruled Poland for over 200 years. Krakow became the capital of a monarchy spreading over genuinely Polish territories as well as vast Lithuanian-Russian areas.

Sepulchral Sculpture

The royal court played an important role in sup porting artistic and cultural life. Outstanding humanists, scientists and artists came here from Italy, Germany and other countries. Veit Stoss, a famous sculptor, came from Nurnberg in 1477 to carve a large altar for St. Mary's Church on the citizens' order. After further rebuilding between 1499 and 1536, Wawel Castle was a pearl of Renaissance architecture, boasting the "Zygmuntowska" Chapel - the most beautiful sepulchral chapel in Poland. The castle was decorated with a collection of Arras tapestries ordered from Flanders. It proudly played the role of the royal seat of a powerful country well up in the fashionable world of its time.

At the end of the 16th century Warsaw became the capital of Poland. Krakow lost its importance and preserved its formal role as the site for royal coronations and burials.

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Krakow became a provincial center of small-scale trade and skilled crafts. Only the Church was the patron of the arts at the time. The destroyed churches and monasteries were rebuilt in the new baroque style. The greatest architectural achievement at the time was St. Anne's Church, designed by Tylman of Gameren and Baldassare Fontana.

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Due to the first partition of Poland in 1772, the southern part of Little Poland was seized by the Austrian army. On 24th March, 1794 Kosciuszko's Insurrection began in Krakow. Temporarily included into the Warsaw Duchy, it was given the status of a "free city" after Napoleon's downfall. Krakow developed rapidly. The "Planty" (a green land ring) was set up in place of the city walls (which had been pulled down). New districts developed on the city outskirts. After the defeat of the November Insurrection (1831), Krakow preserved its autonomy as the only part of Poland. In 1846, it was included into the Austrian Monarchy again. De spite being under foreign control, the city enjoyed some freedom. At that time Krakow became the symbol and center of Polish traditions and the spiritual capital for all part of a divided Poland. Scientific and cultural establishment developed dynamically. The Scientific Association of Krakow (Towarzystwo Naukowe Krakowskie) was the origin of the Academy of Sciences. In 1818 the Academy of Fine Arts was established and in 1854, the Society of the Friends of Fine Arts.

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Although World War II did not destroy the historical monuments, it ravaged the city in other ways. On 6th November 1939 professors of the Jagiellonian University and the most outstanding representatives of the city's intellectual elite were arrested and transported to the concentration camp in Sachsenhausen. After the war Krakow lost its privileged position. The communist authorities wanted intellectual circles dominated by the working class. This purpose was to be fulfilled by the construction attracted workers to Krakow in their masses. How ever, it is the artistic and scientific circles that create the image of the city, which has now over 800 thousand inhabitants.