Cracow
History
Cracow, a former capital of Poland, is set on the Vistula River, in the South of the country. The city is an important centre of a cultural and scientific life. Numerous legends show a long and rich history hidden in the old walls of Cracow. In one of the oldest stories, the city was named after Prince Krak. First hamlets, were settled on the Wawel hill. The city played a great role in the tribal country of the Wislanie tribe who inhabited the area at that time. Around the year 1000 there was created a bishopric in Cracow; later it was turned into a princely and then a royal domicile. In 1241 the Tartar invasion destroyed the city. The city was rebuilt and following the further development was given civic rights in 1257. The Jagiellonian University (here you can find movie about the Jagillonian University) , the oldest university in Poland, founded by King Kazimierz the Great in 1364. In 1400 King Wladyslaw Jagiello had the university renovated, as required in the last will and testament of his wife, Queen Jadwiga. The history of the UJ is connected with the greatest Polish astronomer, Mikolaj Kopernik who was studying in Cracow in 1491-1495. XV and XVI are the centuries of Cracow – one of the European powers’ capital cities. That period brought significant development of the city and the castle on the Wawel hill was rebuilt. In 1596 Warsaw gained the status of the capital city, but Cracow still retained its position as a significant cultural centre in Europe, even at the time of the country’s partition. During the II World War the city did not suffer heavy material losses.
More information about the History of Cracow
Interesting places
The Wawel is an architectural complex, situated on the Wawel Hill on the left bank of the Vistula River. It consists of buildings created in different ages. The most important monuments are the Krolewski Castle (Wawel Castle) and Katedra Wawelska (Wawel Cathedral). The Wawel Castle was a royal residence from 1038 until 1596. The Wawel Cathedral is very important place for Poles, because the coronations of nearly all Polish monarchs took place there. The Wawel hill is connected with the legend of the Wawel Dragon.
More information about Wawel
Click on the photo below to see photo gallery from www.flickr.com
The renaissance Royal Castle at Wawel
Barbakan and Florian Gate
Originally the Barbakan was created as a defensive structure and includes the Florian Gate . It was built around 1300 as a part of Cracow’s defensive walls.
More information about the Barbakan and Florian Gate
The Main Market Square is the biggest market of medieval Europe. Nearby are located many monuments and remnants of Cracow’s wonderful history. You should pay attention to St. Mary's Basilica. St. Mary's Basilica is a Gothic church from the 14th century Altar piece of the famous of Veit Stoss,. It is about 13 m high and 11 m wide when the panels of the triptych are opened wide. In his Sculptur, human figures are full size. Near St. Mary’s Basilica is the statue of the romantic poet Adam Mickiewicz. This statue remnants Adam Mickiewicz is in front of the cloth market in line center of the. It is a copy from 1955 of an earlier work by sculptor Teodor Rygier from 1898. Destroyed during the II World War. In centre of Main Market is the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice). Today in the Cloth Hall are shops with souvenirs. The Cloth Hall was originally a commercial establishment for cloth trading.
More information about Main Maket Square:
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Tourist information
http://www.information.krakow.
http://www.cracow-life.com/ (EN)
http://www.cracowonline.com/ (EN)
http://www.krakow-info.com/ (EN)
http://cracow.org/ (EN)
http://krakow4u.pl/eng_index.
http://zabytkikrakowa.info/ (PL)
Important links
http://www.krakow.pl/en/
