Kraków Cloth Hall

Coordinates: 50°3′42″N 19°56′14″E / 50.06167°N 19.93722°E / 50.06167; 19.93722
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Sukiennice
Kraków Cloth Hall
Construction
PeriodRenaissance in Poland
StatusCentral feature of UNESCO World Heritage Site

The

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

in Ypres, Belgium; Braunschweig, and in Leeds, England
.

Gallery, with stalls
Sukiennice by night

Kraków was Poland's capital city and was among the largest cities in

Sejm of the Land. The successful renovation of the Cloth Hall, based on a design by Tomasz Pryliński and supervised by Mayor Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz, Sejm Marshal, was one of the most notable achievements of this period.[1]

The hall has hosted many distinguished guests over the centuries and is still used to entertain monarchs and dignitaries, such as

Emperor Akihito of Japan, who was welcomed here in 2002. In the past, balls were held here, most notably after Prince Józef Poniatowski
had briefly liberated the city from the Austrians in 1809. Aside from its history and cultural value, the hall is still used as a center of commerce.

Upper-floor museum

Sukiennice Museum, upstairs

On the upper floor of the hall is the

National Museum, Kraków. It holds the largest permanent exhibit of 19th-century Polish painting and sculpture, in four grand exhibition halls arranged by historical period and the theme extending into an entire artistic epoch.[2]
The museum was upgraded in 2010 with new technical equipment, storerooms, service spaces as well as improved thematic layout for the display.

The Gallery of 19th-Century Polish Art was a major cultural venue from the moment it opened on October 7, 1879. It features late Baroque, Rococo, and Classicist 18th-century portraits and battle scenes by Polish and foreign pre-Romantics; the art of partitioned Poland with famed Prussian Homage by Jan Matejko; mythological and biblical scenes with the monumental Nero's Torches by Henryk Siemiradzki, the art of representative members of Young Poland from the turn of the 20th century including Jacek Malczewski, Józef Chełmoński; prominent impressionists Józef Pankiewicz and Leon Wyczółkowski; paintings by Wojciech Gerson and Julian Fałat, as well as large, and controversial Ecstasy, or Frenzy of Exultations by Władysław Podkowiński among other masterpieces.[3]

Historical images

  • Before 19th-century restoration
    Before 19th-century restoration
  • Kraków Cloth Hall in 1915
    Kraków Cloth Hall in 1915
  • Kraków Cloth Hall in 1930
    Kraków Cloth Hall in 1930

See also

References

  1. ^ Aleksandra Krypczyk (2009). "History of the Gallery in the Sukiennice". About the Museum. National Museum in Krakow. Archived from the original on November 1, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  2. ^ Aleksandra Krypczyk (2009). "Galeria Sztuki Polskiej XIX wieku w Sukiennicach (Gallery of Polish Art in Sukiennice)". About the museum (in Polish and English). National Museum in Krakow. Archived from the original on October 21, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2012.
  3. ^ National Museum in Krakow (2009). "Sala Chełmońskiego: Realism, Polish Impressionism and Symbolism". Gallery of Polish 19th century art in the Sukiennice (in Polish). Official website. Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved November 29, 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sukiennice.

50°3′42″N 19°56′14″E / 50.06167°N 19.93722°E / 50.06167; 19.93722

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