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Founded: 3500-2800 BCCategory: Prehistoric and archaeological sites in Germany
Historical period: Paleolithic to Neolithic Period (Germany)
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The Great dolmen of Dwasieden is a megalithic site of the Funnelbeaker culture, which was constructed between 3500 and 2800 BC.
The dolmen lies in a roughly northeast-southwest oriented, trapezoidal hunebed about 35 metres long and 12.5 to 7.5 metres wide. Of the 54 kerb stones - including the four guardian stones - 41 have survived. The rectangular, roughly east-west oriented chamber at the wide end of the frame, with its western entrance and porch consists of seven supporting stones, a half stone the height of the uprights and five slabs, on which there are three large (on the chamber) and three small capstones. Only the central capstone of the chamber is missing. One of the four guardian stones at the southwest end, which had already been overturned in the past, has 40 cup marks, one of the kerb stones has three more. The site is a prime example of the porch dolmen (Großdolmen mit Windfang), typical of this region. A two-metre-long porch runs past the support-high half stone to the 4.0 metre long, 1.7 metre wide and 1.4 metre high chamber. The hall consists of red sandstone slabs, annealed flint and a clay floor.
Neither human bones nor cremated remains were found, but it has been established that it was later used by members of the Globular Amphora culture. The artefacts found include 1,777 shards, the largest amount of pottery in a site in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. There were also 19 blades, eleven amber beads, eight cups, six crosscutters, six scrapers, five biconical vessels, five bowls, two funnel bowls, a scraper (Schaber), a hammerstone and a narrow chisel.
References:The Cloth Hall in Kraków dates to the Renaissance and is one of the city's most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the main market square in the Kraków Old Town (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978).
The hall was once a major centre of international trade. Traveling 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.
Kraków was Poland's capital city and was among the largest cities in Europe already from before the time of the Renaissance. However, its decline started with the move of the capital to Warsaw in the very end of the 16th century. The city's decline was hastened by wars and politics leading to the Partitions of Poland at the end of the 18th century. By the time of the architectural restoration proposed for the cloth hall in 1870 under Austrian rule, much of the historic city center was decrepit. A change in political and economic fortunes for the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria ushered in a revival due to newly established Legislative Assembly or Sejm of the Land. The successful renovation of the Cloth Hall, based on design by Tomasz Pryliński and supervised by Mayor Mikołaj Zyblikiewicz, Sejm Marshal, was one of the most notable achievements of this period.
The hall has hosted many distinguished guests over the centuries and is still used to entertain monarchs and dignitaries, such as Charles, Prince of Wales and 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 still is still used as a center of commerce.
On the upper floor of the hall is the Sukiennice Museum division of the National Museum, Kraków. It holds the largest permanent exhibit of the 19th-century Polish painting and sculpture, in four grand exhibition halls arranged by historical period and the theme extending into an entire artistic epoch. 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.