Online camera Krakow. Market Square. Camera 2
All roads in Old Krakow lead to the Market Square, which in Polish is simply called "Rynek" ("Market"). It is a kind of "front drawing room" of the city, where tourists and citizens gather. Poles are proud that the main square in Krakow, measuring 200x200 meters, is one of the largest in Europe. Market ensemble preserved the layout of the times when Krakow traded with the whole Europe, and ambassadors, monarchs, Baghdad merchants and Saracens marched along its streets.
In the center of the square stands the building of the former Cloth Hall with magnificent lancet arches in neo-Gothic style. In the Middle Ages, these premises were used for trading cloth, but now the first floor of the Cloth Rows houses a fair with amber and silverware. The second floor of the building is occupied by the National Museum of Krakow with a collection of paintings, sculptures and coins of XIV-XX centuries.
Just behind Krakow's Rows stands the City Hall Tower. Once upon a time the first floor of the City Hall housed Krakow treasury, while in the darkest dungeons the prisoners languished. Near the Market Square, on the adjoining St. Mary's Square, stands the St. Mary's Church.
The majestic Gothic facade of the temple consists of two towers of different height. The first church on this site was built in 1221, but was soon destroyed by Tatars. The current building is the third and dates back to the 14th century. There is a tragic legend connected with the St. Mary's Church. It says that the trumpeter, carrying the watch on the tower of the church, was the first to notice the approach of Batyi's enemy troops and managed to sound the alarm. But as soon as the Krakowian began trumpeting, he was hit by a Tatar arrow that pierced his throat. Since then, in memory of the trumpeter's deed, every hour on the tower of the church sounds a melody ending on the note on which the hero's life was cut short.
