The Cloth Hall
how the cloth stalls found the roof overhead
The 100 m long Cloth Hall is situated centrally on the Main Market Square and cuts the square along the North - South line.
History
In 1257 by location of Cracow prince Boleslaw Wstydliwy undertook to build the cloth stalls. They were almost like a lane with stalls which was closed for the night time with iron gratings. The cloth merchants were placed on the ground floor, and on the first floor small objects made of metal, clay or wood were sold. In 1300 the whole structure was covered with a roof and in this form the Cloth Hall was preserved until the first half of the 14th century.
A new, bricked Cloth Hall was built by king Kazimierz III Wielki. The middle hall was 108 m long and 10 m wide. There were two rows of stalls, 18 on each side. It was covered with vaults, and from the inside opened with ogival or semicircular portals. From the southern and northern side the double, ogival arcade was built. The Gothic building was consumed by fire in 1555.
The reconstruction of the Cloth Hall in the style of the Renaissance was started by master Pankracy who arched the large hall of the Cloth Hall. At that time the characteristic attic with arcade sections, the masks sculpted by Santi Gucci showing human heads (wry, deformed by suffering, supposed to symbolize any human faults) and stone loggias, designed by Giovanni Maria Padovano, were created.
In 1601, to improve communication between the western and eastern part of the Market Square, a passing was punched in the middle of the length of the Cloth Hall. Such a move was made on the initiative of municipal councillor Joachim Ciepielowski.
The next reconstruction of the Cloth Hall took place in 1875 - 1879, and it was managed by Tomasz Prylinski. All the stalls were pulled down, and the lower hall was transformed into a line of wooden trade stalls placed along the walls. The passing in the middle of the length of the Cloth Hall was decorated with breaks, on top of which masks were put showing the caricatures of the then presidents of Cracow. On the whole length of the Cloth Hall, the ogival arcades were created.
The Museum
In September 1883 the National Museum was opened on the storey of the Cloth Hall. Nowadays there is the Gallery of Polish Paintings and Sculpture of the 19th century. The Museum is currently being renovated, and the opening is planned for spring 2008.
Your opinion
Share your thoughts
justyna1207962008-10-16
drzewostan
jak dla mnie to jest OKrudy2008-05-27
plot
co za idiotyczny pomysłmaniek2008-04-28
plot
chyba nigdy, ponieważ jest tam w celach zachowania bezpieczeństwa oraz by nie było tam np graffitiqratka2008-01-04
Ogrodzenie sukiennic
Czy wie ktoś może, kiedy z placu zniknie ten płot?The come2europe.eu publishers are not taking responsibility for the statements of the Netizens published on the service websites, and reserves the right to correct, shorten or remove comments that contain prohibited by law, also recognized offensively or infringing rules of social intercourse content