Cracow was noted as an important town in the middle of the 10th century, becoming a royal residence by the 11th century. Burned down completely by Tartars in 1241 (except for several churches), it was rebuilt in 1251 with its regular network of streets and squares, preserved until now as an example of the medieval city design. Starting from 1320, it was the official site of the coronation of Polish kings and the place of their burial. Cracow continued in this role even when the royal residence had been moved to Warsaw by the end of the 16th century. Since 1364, Cracow has been the site of one of oldest universities in Europe - the Jagiellonian University. It was also in the 14th century that King Casimir the Great established a twin town (called Kazimierz after his name) on the opposite bank of the Vistula river, which later became a picturesque Jewish town, unique in its character and tradition.
In the end of the 18th century Cracow fell under Austrian rule. Nevertheless, since the second half of 19th century Cracow and the southern part of Poland enjoyed relative freedom. The Jagiellonian University could use Polish as its official language. While Poland was politically non-existent, Cracow became the real centre of the Polish art, culture, and literature. After World War I, it was the first major town and the first part of restored Poland, liberated by Polish soldiers who refused service in the Austro-Hungarian army. In the years of the Nazi occupation (1939–1945) Cracow was the residence of the General Governor Hans Frank, whose summer palace was after the war transformed into the conference centre of the Jagiellonian University. Under the communist rule, science, literature, and culture in Cracow suffered from the same limitations as everywhere in the Eastern Europe, regaining full freedom after 1989.
The Old Town of Cracow is a UNESCO protected monument. From the places recommended to visit, the Wawel castle helds the first place, with a complex of buildings forming the Royal residence. Its Gothic (14th century) Royal Cathedral houses the tombs of almost all the Polish kings reigning after 1333. Their graves are partly located in the Cathedral crypt, where one can see well-preserved parts of an earlier, Romanesque church from the late 11th/early 12th centuries.
A special exhibition "The lost Wawel" shows one of the oldest churches in Poland, the St.Mary's Rotunda - constructed probably at the end of the 10th century - as well as remains of other early-medieval structures. Additionally, there is a computer animation showing the development of the Wawel castke from earliest documented times (the 9-10th century) to its present shape. Worth visiting are the collection of arms and the Royal Treasury arranged in the preserved parts of the Gothic castle, as well as the royal chambers with a collection of renaissance furniture and tapestries in the interior of the 16th century royal palace.
History amateurs should seize the opportunity and take a walk towards the centre along the Kanonicza street, enjoying a whole line of picturesque late-gothic and renaissance townhouses. On the way, one can see the best preserved Romanesque (11/12th century) building, the St. Andreas Church, then also early-gothic St. Francis and St. Dominic churches built in the 13th century. Making a small detour allows to visit Collegium Maius - the oldest (early 15th century) University building, now housing the Museum of Science.
Reaching the Main Square one passes by another very old Romanesque Church, St. Adalberts, to stop briefly at the Holy Virgin Basilica, the 14th century "pearl of the Polish Gothic art". Inside it, there is a famous altar, sculptured at the end of the 15th century by Wit Stwosz (Weit Stoss), the Great Master from Nürnberg who lived and worked in Cracow.
Continuing westward along Florianska Street leads to the picturesque relics of the 13/14th City Walls with three well-preserved medieval towers and an unique barbican, one of few such constructions preserved in Europe. In Kazimierz, worth visiting is the Old Synagogue (16 th) century, now housing the Museum of Jewish Culture and Tradition.
Tired with centuries of history, and searching for a neat souvenir from Cracow, one can enjoy shopping in the Main Square, visiting numerous shops with antiquities and jewellery, book stores and music shops. Inside the medieval cloth-market (Sukiennice) there is a line of small shops with thousands of traditionally-styled souvenirs. Resting after tiring day, evening life of Cracow comes helpful with numerous cafes and restaurants clustered around the Main Square as well as along adjacent historical streets. Many of them offer an amble selection of live music - from modern genres to traditional jazz. Don't forget to visit the district of the Old Synagogue in Kazimierz, where numerous Jewish-styled cafes are now revived, together with traditional Klezmer music ensembles.
The Jagiellonian University is one of the oldest academia in Europe. It was founded in 1364 by King Casimir the Great, who went down in history as the great reformer of Poland: a popular proverb says that "He found Poland made of wood and left it made of bricks". In fact his reign was a period of a great political and economic consolidation after two dark centuries of internal divisions and dynastic wars. Most of the towns gained solid city walls, Gothic churches and castles were built across the country. One of the important tasks was the consolidation and unification of regional and traditional laws: one major aim of the University was to educate the body of lawyers needed for this important task.
After the premature death of the king in 1370, the University went into a period of stagnation and degradation until about 1400. Then Queen Jadwiga, dying young after giving birth to a daughter, made a large donation for the restoration of the University, which then entered its golden era. In the 15th century the Jagiellonian University joined the small group of Universities in which mathematics and astronomy were the leading faculties. By the end of that century, the University had a famous student: Nicolas Copernicus. In the 19th century, when Poland was occupied by neighbouring empires, the University of Cracow was lucky to continue these traditions retaining the Polish language, and being a centre for Polish science and culture.
Astronomical Observatory of the Jagiellonian University
ul. Orla 171, 30-244 Kraków, Poland
email: cmf2014@oa.uj.edu.pl
Phone: +48 12 6238 620
Fax: +48 12 425 1318
