|
Main Square, Kraków
The main square ( pl, Rynek Główny ) of the Old Town of Kraków, Lesser Poland, is the principal urban space located at the center of the city. It dates back to the 13th century, and at is the largest medieval town square in Europe. The Project for Public Spaces (PPS) lists the square as the best public space in Europe due to its lively street life, and it was a major factor in the inclusion of Kraków as one of the top off-the-beaten-path destinations in the world in 2016. The main square is a square space surrounded by historic townhouses ( ''kamienice'') and churches. The center of the square is dominated by the Cloth Hall (''Sukiennice''), rebuilt in 1555 in the Renaissance style, topped by a beautiful attic or ''Polish parapet'' decorated with carved masks. On one side of the cloth hall is the Town Hall Tower (''Wieża ratuszowa''), on the other the 11th century Church of St. Adalbert and 1898 Adam Mickiewicz Monument. Rising above the square are the Gothic towers of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kraków Cloth Hall
The Kraków Cloth Hall ( pl, Sukiennice, ), in Lesser Poland, dates to the Renaissance in Poland, Renaissance and is one of the city's most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the Main Market Square, Kraków, main market square in the Kraków Old Town (the historic center of Kraków), which since 1978 has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site). History It was once a major centre of international trade. Travelling merchants met there to discuss business and to barter. During its golden age in the 15th century, the hall was the source of a variety of exotic imports from the east – spices, silk, leather and wax – while Kraków itself exported textiles, lead, and salt from the Wieliczka Salt Mine. In the immediate vicinity of the hall, the Great Weigh House and the Small Weigh House existed until the 19th century. Other, similar cloth halls have existed in other Polish as well as other European cities such as Cloth Hall, Ypres, in Ypres, Belgium; Braunschweig, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas and achievements of classical antiquity. It occurred after the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages and was associated with great social change. In addition to the standard periodization, proponents of a "long Renaissance" may put its beginning in the 14th century and its end in the 17th century. The traditional view focuses more on the early modern aspects of the Renaissance and argues that it was a break from the past, but many historians today focus more on its medieval aspects and argue that it was an extension of the Middle Ages. However, the beginnings of the period – the early Renaissance of the 15th century and the Italian Proto-Renaissance from around 1250 or 1300 – overlap considerably with the Late Middle Ages, conventionally da ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Poland (1138–1320)
The Kingdom of Poland ( pl, Królestwo Polskie; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a state in Central Europe. It may refer to: Historical political entities *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1025 to 1031 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1076 to 1079 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom in Greater Poland existing from 1295 to 1296, under the rule of Przemysł II *Kingdom of Poland, a confederal kingdom existing from 1300 to 1320 *United Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1320 to 1386 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom existing from 1386 to 1569 *Kingdom of Poland, a kingdom which from 1569 to 1795 was a member state of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth See also * List of Polish monarchs * General Confederation of the Kingdom of Poland * Congress Kingdom of Poland * Kingdom of Poland (November Uprising) * Regency Kingdom of Poland A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time bein ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capital (political)
A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses the government's offices and meeting places; the status as capital is often designated by its law or constitution. In some jurisdictions, including several countries, different branches of government are in different settlements. In some cases, a distinction is made between the official (constitutional) capital and the seat of government, which is in another place. English-language news media often use the name of the capital city as an alternative name for the government of the country of which it is the capital, as a form of metonymy. For example, "relations between Washington and London" refer to " relations between the United States and the United Kingdom". Terminology and etymology The word ''capital'' derives from the Latin word ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kraków Town Hall
The historic Town Hall of Kraków, known as Ratusz in Polish, was demolished in 1820. It was constructed of brick and mortar for the first time in 1316 as one of its subsequent several versions built over the following centuries. It was the city's administrative hub and seat of the great council, magistrate, and mayor from the 14th until the early 19th century. It was located in the centre of Main Square in the Kraków Old Town. It used to be one of Poland's oldest seats of civic government. Of the building, only the Town Hall Tower remains, serving as prominent example of the Polish Gothic architecture in the city.Kamil Janicki (2012)Co się stało z krakowskim ratuszem?(History of Kraków Town Hall) Ciekawostki turystyczne. The building was situated next to the Kraków Cloth Hall in the south-western part of the Main Square. The construction and reconstruction periods stretched across centuries, with various parts of the building enlarged and remodelled. The Town Hall was demo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Casimir III The Great
Casimir III the Great ( pl, Kazimierz III Wielki; 30 April 1310 – 5 November 1370) reigned as the King of Poland from 1333 to 1370. He also later became King of Ruthenia in 1340, and fought to retain the title in the Galicia-Volhynia Wars. He was the last Polish king from the Piast dynasty. Casimir inherited a kingdom weakened by war and made it prosperous and wealthy. He reformed the Polish army and doubled the size of the kingdom. He reformed the judicial system and introduced a legal code, gaining the title "the Polish Justinian". Casimir built extensively and founded the Jagiellonian University (back then simply called the University of Krakow),Saxton, 1851, p. 535 the oldest Polish university and one of the oldest in the world. He also confirmed privileges and protections previously granted to Jews and encouraged them to settle in Poland in great numbers. Casimir left no sons. When he died in 1370 from an injury received while hunting, his nephew, King Louis I of Hunga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Of Poland
Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16th to 18th centuries). The first known Polish ruler is Duke Mieszko I, who adopted Christianity under the authority of Rome in the year 966. He was succeeded by his son, Bolesław I the Brave, who greatly expanded the boundaries of the Polish state and ruled as the first king in 1025. The following centuries gave rise to the mighty Piast dynasty, consisting of both kings such as Mieszko II Lambert, Przemysł II or Władysław I the Elbow-high and dukes like Bolesław III Wrymouth. The dynasty ceased to exist with the death of Casimir III the Great in 1370. In the same year, the Capetian House of Anjou became the ruling house with Louis I as king of both Poland and Hungary. His daughter, Jadwiga, later married Jogaila, the pagan Grand Du ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wawel Castle
The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established on the orders of King Casimir III the Great and enlarged over the centuries into a number of structures around an Italian-styled courtyard. It represents nearly all European architectural styles of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. The castle is part of a fortified architectural complex erected atop a limestone outcrop on the left bank of the Vistula River, at an altitude of 228 metres above sea level.Dr. Jan Urban, "Geological foundation of Kraków"retrieved from the Internet Archive, May 21, 2008 The complex consists of numerous buildings of great historical and national importance, including the Wawel Cathedral where Polish monarchs were crowned and buried. Some of Wawel's oldest stone buildings can be traced back to 970 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bolesław V The Chaste
Bolesław V the Chaste ( pl, Bolesław Wstydliwy; 21 June 1226 – 7 December 1279) was Duke of Sandomierz in Lesser Poland from 1232 and High Duke of Poland from 1243 until his death, as the last male representative of the Lesser Polish branch of Piasts. Birth and nickname Bolesław V was born on 21 June 1226 at Stary Korczyn, as the third child and only son of Leszek I the White by his wife Grzymisława, a Rurikid princess of disputed parentage. Named after his great-grandfather Bolesław Wrymouth, the numeral V was assigned to him in the ''Poczet królów Polskich''. His nickname of "Chaste" (Latin: ''Pudicus''), appeared relatively early and was already mentioned in the ''Rocznik franciszkański krakowski''. It was given to him by his subjects because of the vows of chastity that Bolesław V and his wife Kinga of Hungary had jointly taken; for this reason, their marriage was never consummated. Youth Father's death On 24 November 1227, during the Congress of Gąsawa, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magdeburg Rights
Magdeburg rights (german: Magdeburger Recht; also called Magdeburg Law) were a set of town privileges first developed by Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor (936–973) and based on the Flemish Law, which regulated the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages granted by the local ruler. Named after the German city of Magdeburg, these town charters were perhaps the most important set of medieval laws in Central Europe. They became the basis for the German town laws developed during many centuries in the Holy Roman Empire. The Magdeburg rights were adopted and adapted by numerous monarchs, including the rulers of Bohemia, Hungary, Poland and Lithuania, a milestone in the urbanization of the region which prompted the development of thousands of villages and cities. Provisions Being a member of the Hanseatic League, Magdeburg was one of the most important trade cities, maintaining commerce with the Low Countries, the Baltic states, and the interior (for example Braunschweig). ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mongol Invasion
The Mongol invasions and conquests took place during the 13th and 14th centuries, creating history's largest contiguous empire: the Mongol Empire ( 1206- 1368), which by 1300 covered large parts of Eurasia. Historians regard the Mongol devastation as one of the deadliest episodes in history. In addition, Mongol expeditions may have spread the bubonic plague across much of Eurasia, helping to spark the Black Death of the 14th century. The Mongol Empire developed in the course of the 13th century through a series of victorious campaigns throughout Asia, reaching Eastern Europe by the 1240s. In contrast with later "empires of the sea" such as European colonial powers, the Mongol Empire was a land power, fueled by the grass-foraging Mongol cavalry and cattle. Thus most Mongol conquest and plundering took place during the warmer seasons, when there was sufficient grazing for their herds. The rise of the Mongols was preceded by 15 years of wet and warm weather conditions from 1211 to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prussian Homage
The Prussian Homage or Prussian Tribute (german: Preußische Huldigung; pl, hołd pruski) was the formal investment of Albert of Prussia as duke of the Polish fief of Ducal Prussia. In the aftermath of the armistice ending the Polish-Teutonic War Albert, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights and a member of the House of Hohenzollern, visited Martin Luther at Wittenberg and soon thereafter became sympathetic to Protestantism. On 10 April 1525, two days after signing of the Treaty of Kraków which officially ended the Polish–Teutonic War (1519–21), in the main square of the Polish capital Kraków, Albert resigned his position as Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights and received the title "Duke of Prussia" from King Zygmunt I the Old of Poland. In the deal, partially brokered by Luther, the Duchy of Prussia became the first Protestant state, anticipating the Peace of Augsburg of 1555. The investiture of a Protestant fief of Duchy of Prussia was better for Poland for strategic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
