In time – Kraków Heritage

Contact

Urząd Miasta Krakowa
Wydział Kultury i Dziedzictwa Narodowego

ul. Wielopole 17A , 31–072 Kraków

kd.umk@um.krakow.pl

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Origins

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!

Golden Age

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.

Early modern period

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.

In Austria

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.

In the inter-war period

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.

Occupation

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.

In the Polish People’s Republic

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.

Currently

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?

I see you, Kraków!

I see you, Kraków!

by Kraków Heritage team

On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the inscription of Krakow on the UNESCO World Heritage List, which falls this year, the City of Krakow, in cooperation with the International Cultural Centre, has prepared a unique, bilingual publication in which specialists and enthusiasts involved in the heritage of the city under Wawel Hill play the role of “collective narrator”.

The Future of the Past. How Krakow celebrates 45th anniversary of its inscription on the World Heritage List?

The Future of the Past. How Krakow celebrates 45th anniversary of its inscription on the World Heritage List?

by Krzysztof Żwirski

The 45th anniversary of Kraków being listed as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites is the perfect opportunity to look back at how far our city has travelled since 1978. It also allows us to answer the question whether present-day Kraków is as ambitiously self-aware as it was almost half a century ago.

“Black Art” – 550 years of printing in Poland

by Krzysztof Żwirski

In 1844, while moving one of the bookcases in the Jagiellonian Library, an inconspicuous sheet of paper slipped to the ground. Densely printed on one side in Gothic characters, it turned out to be the oldest known print in Poland.

A city re-written, or The Krakow Modernism Route

A city re-written, or The Krakow Modernism Route

by Krzysztof Żwirski

“A Guide to the Architecture of 20th Century Krakow” can be understood as an invitation to discover “our own” Krakow. The one outside the tourist brochures, where the daily life of its inhabitants actually takes place.

Conservation of the Veit Stoss Altarpiece with Europa Nostra Award 2023!

Conservation of the Veit Stoss Altarpiece with Europa Nostra Award 2023!

by Kraków Heritage team

The European Commission and Europa Nostra today announced the winners of the European Heritage Award / Europa Nostra Award 2023. This year, 30 exceptional heritage achievements from a total of 21 countries were honoured with this highest European award. This year’s laureates in the Conservation category include the Veit Stoss Altarpiece at St Mary’s Basilica in Krakow.

Through Krakow to Central Europe

Through Krakow to Central Europe

by Krzysztof Żwirski

There is much more than a geographical fact hidden in the simple observation that Krakow is a similar distance from Warsaw as it is from three other Central European capitals – Vienna, Budapest and Bratislava.

Turning to the local

Turning to the local

by Krzysztof Żwirski

Could the antique-book shop in the old pharmacy on Zwierzyniec be a place as worthy of mention in guidebooks as the nearby Talowski townhouses, or the annual indulgence at Emaus?

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