I had the opportunity to walk all over the center and of course have other posts on the city. Somehow I left it out and found a picture of it in my vault, Therefore, I will now tell you a bit on the Cloth Hall at the Main Square and the nice museum there. Therefore here is my brief story on the Cloth Hall of Krakow !!
The Sukiennice or Cloth Hall is one of the most iconic historical monuments in the city of Krakow, Poland. This imposing two-story commercial hall, erected in the 13C and then remodeled in the Renaissance period, occupies the central square of the large Rynek Główny or Main Square , On the ground floor, the Halle now houses craft shops, then ,its first floor houses the Gallery of 19C Polish Art, a branch of the National Museum with the largest collection of Polish works in the world. Among them, the famous painting The Torches of Nero, offered at the opening of the museum by its painter, Henryk Siemiradzki and the giant painting Tribute Prussian by Jan Matejko.
The Cloth Hall brings together architectural elements from very different periods, and constitutes a global synthesis of the city’s architecture , The first hall, erected in the 13C, after the city was granted a charter of law of Magdeburg, was limited to two rows of stone shops that formed a street in the middle of the Main Square.The ground floor of the building is lined with galleries with neogothic ogival arcades, resting on columns with sculpted capitals. More than two hundred paintings and sculptures are exhibited in the four halls of the gallery representing the most important currents of Polish art of the late 18-19C, such as romanticism, historicism, realism, impressionism as well as beginnings of symbolism, Under the surface of the Square, a unique archaeological reserve, with an area of almost 4000 m2, allows you to discover the turbulent history of Krakow in the Middle Ages in the museum, Beneath the surface of the Main Square, between the Cloth Hall and the Church of Our Lady, (see post) a few meters deep lies a veritable treasure trove of knowledge of Krakow’s past.
A bit of history I like. In 1358, Kazimierz III the Great built the first 100 meters long building with two ogival portals located in the center of the main facades. After a fire that consumed the building in 1555, the Cloth Hall renewed in the Renaissance style then had a long attic decorated with a crest with gargoyles, stylized as human heads, dividing the building into two floors and connected by stairs covered by loggias located on the shorter sides, The last major works were carried out in the 19C transforming the hall on the ground floor by installing wooden shops along the walls. The ceiling will later be adorned with coats of arms of Polish cities, guild emblems and seals. Also, adds neogothic stone arches to give elegance to the building, as well as mascarons representing caricatures of the presidents of the city’s era.
The official museums of Poland on the Cloth museum of Krakow : https://mnk.pl/branch/gallery-of-the-19th-century-polish-art-the-sukiennice-the-cloth-hall
The Krakow tourist office on the main square: https://visitkrakow.com/krakows-market-square/
The Poland tourist board on Krakow: https://www.poland.travel/en/cities/krakow
There you go folks, I feel better to have told you about this wonderful Cloth Hall or Sukiennice monument, and a great satisfaction for me to have them in my blog. The visit to Krakow was very nice and looking forward one of these days to be back. Hope you enjoy the post as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 