The Monumental Highlights of Krakow, Krakow, Poland

The monumental highlights of Krakow is a list of interesting places to visit. With these short historical narratives I give a brief description of each place. The article will give you a short, but informative background of places to visit. Krakow is the second largest city of Poland. The city was the capital city of Poland until 1596. The Old Town centre of Krakow is an UNESCO World Heritage site.

The Sukiennice is the oldest commercial trade centre in Krakow. And also, an important renaissance monument in the city. The original Sukiennice or Cloth Hall is built in the 13th century. It started as two rows of stone stalls. The two rows of stalls formed a street in the centre of the square. During the 14th century they built a roof, and the arcades. The most significant source of income was the international trade of silk, leather, spices, clothes, and salt of the Wielizcka Salt Mines.

The original building is destroyed by a fire in 1555 and reconstructed by architects and artists. Some of them were Italians and recently arrived in Poland. The Sukiennice is strongly influenced by the Italian renaissance style. A few examples are the decorative friezes and gargoyles. The building is renovated in the 19th century and arcaded galleries were added. The trade stayed on at the ground floor of the hall. Today, the stalls inside the hall sell souvenirs. On the second floor is the Gallery of Polish 19th century Art. The museum is a part of the National Museum. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).