In time

Origins

The scarcity of sources on Krakow’s origins have left plenty of space for folk legends. The story of the city’s first centuries, however, is fascinating on both historic and mythological levels!

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Golden Age

It was then that Krakow gained what defines it to this day – a world heritage. From the Gothic of St Mary’s Church to the Renaissance of the Cloth Hall, the period from the 14th to the 16th century was the city’s golden age and its founding myth.

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Early modern period

The Union of Lublin sealed the fate of Krakow, which was gradually losing political importance to Warsaw. However, its symbolic significance remained great and influenced the further development of the city.

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In Austria

For Krakow, the entire 19th century was a period of changing fortune. The Austrian partitioner attempted to reduce the city to the status of a garrison, but at the same time it was a period when the Young Poland cultural and artistic movement flourished.

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In the inter-war period

In the inter-war period, Krakow had to fight with other metropolises for its position as an important city for the newly restored country. It made use of its assets and, despite the difficult times, avoided falling into malaise.

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Occupation

The 6 years of Nazi occupation defined the drama of the local population, including above all the community of Krakow’s Jews. Let’s add to that the troublesome legacy of architecture left behind by the invaders.

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In the Polish People’s Republic

The heritage of Polish People’s Republic evokes a full spectrum of emotions: some associate it with the difficult times of privation and oppression, others are captivated by the functionality of the architecture and the quality of the design of the time.

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Currently

Can we consider the architecture of the 1990s and the turn of the millenniums as a heritage? And what actually is heritage, to begin with? Something permanent or, on the contrary, subject to constant change?

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