KRAKOW TOURS - WALKING TOUR
Walk through Krakow begins on the Matejko Square. The so-called King’s Way, along which the royal entourage proceeded on its way to Wawel Hill for a coronation or a funeral, began here. This was also the way that foreign envoys took. The route led from the Matejko Square through part of the town fortifications, along St. Florian’s Street, across the market square and through the Grodzka and Kanonicza Streets up to the Wawel, to the Cathedral or the Royal Palace. The King’s Way is one of Krakow’s most important tourist attractions; the historical buildings that line it are important cultural monuments.
The Matejko Square forms part of the market square of the old town of Kleparz, which was founded in the year 1366 by King Casimir the Great. A monumental equestrian statue of King Wladyslaw Jagiello, which is called the Grunwald Monument, stands in the centre of the square. Erected in 1910 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the victory over the Knights of the Cross in the battle near Grunwald it was donated by the famous pianist, composer and statesman Ignacy Jan Paderewski. After being destroyed by Nazis in 1940, the monument was reconstructed in the year 1976. Standing before it, you can see on the left the monumental building of the Academy of the Fine Arts, dating from the year 1880 with which a group of leading Polish artists was closely linked. The north side of the Matejko Square is formed by the St. Florian’s Church. In its present shape it dates from the second half of the seventeenth century, but its earlier buildings go back to medieval times. From here we come to the town fortifications.
The walls surrounding medieval Krakow were built in stages, beginning in the late thirteenth century. In the course of time this defence system was often extended. The fortifications consisted of a double wall and a broad moat. In this form they survived, though much neglected, until the beginning of the nineteenth century, when the Austrian government ordered the razing of the fortifications. This order was carried out during the existence of the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. Only the Barbican with the St Florian’s Gate and three bastions were saved. The Krakow Barbican is one of the most interesting European examples of fortification architecture. This round Gothic edifice, which is crowned by seven towers, was built between 1498 and 1499. Originally the Barbican was also torn down in the first half of the nineteenth century. The whole complex was surrounded by a broad moat. The St Florian’s Gate is one of Krakow’s oldest gates; it is first mentioned in documents at the beginning of the fourteenth century.
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