Market Square in Krakow
The market measures 200 on 200 meters, what gives 4 hectares of land. These figures have not changed since the Middle Ages, when the Krakow square was one of the largest in Europe. Then, just like today, three streets emerged from each side of the Market Square, two corners (except for ul. Grodzka), and every other street ended with an entrance gate to Krakow. W XIX w. The old buildings in the form of commercial buildings and the remains of the town hall have disappeared.
Over the centuries, the Market Square has been the site of many historic events. Prussian Homage (1525) is commemorated by a plaque between the church of St.. Wojciech and the Cloth Hall. Between the town hall tower and the exit of ul. Szewska, a commemorative plaque marked the place of Tadeusz Kościuszko's oath in 1794 r.
The youngest, an extremely popular monument of the Market Square is the statue of Adam Mickiewicz standing between St. Mary's Church and the eastern wall of the Cloth Hall. It is especially liked by young people coming to Krakow and local drug addicts, who in the warmer months sit on the granite steps of the plinth. The monument was designed by v 1898 r. Teodor Rygier, which surrounded the bard with four allegorical groups: the one from the east is the Homeland, from ul. Floriańska is Science (get old with the boy), from St.. Wojciech – Poetry (with a lute, next to her a girl), from the Cloth Hall – Patriotism (warrior). Not everyone liked the monument. Jan Izydor Sztaudynger expressed his opinion in a poem: Again, it was placed among the monuments and it stands beloved and ugly.
