Kraków Defence Walls, Stare Miasto, Poland

The defences of Kraków date back to the 13th century and consisted of a wall with 39 towers and 8 gates, surrounded by a moat. The Wawel Castle defended one end of the town, and the Barbican the other. Today you can still see the Castle and the Barbican, and a small section of the wall by St Florian's Gate.

But the site of the old wall has been replaced by a garden, The Planty, that encircles the city. As you walk around the garden you can still see fragments of the walls and the gates.

User Reviews

Viorel Ciuna (3 years ago)
The renovated defensive wall of Krakow citadel, became one of the main touristic attraction of the town. Near this wall, the the artists expose their paints or different other art manufactures. It is a very nice place to be visited!

Torben Mauch (3 years ago)
Die Verteidigungsmauer ist eine schöne Abwechslung beim Besuch von Krakau. Allerdings sehr klein. Der Film zur Geschichte der Stadt ist leider sehr einfach. Das Highlight ist dann die Kapelle direkt oben im Florianstor UND die Aussicht auf die Florianska Straße. Nichts für Menschen mit Gehbehinderung. Eintritt angemessen.

Róbert Maták (3 years ago)
Just took photo and moved to the next thing

Ryszard P (4 years ago)
Po zniszczeniu miasta przez Tatarów w 1241 roku ustalono nowe granice miasta o wymiarach 800x700 metrów. Na początku XIV wieku system murów obronnych posiadał 8 bram wjazdowych: Rzeźniczą 1280 r. Grodzką 1298 r. Floriańską 1307 r. Sławkowską 1311 r. Mikołajską 1312 r. Szewską 1313 r. Wiślną 1314 r. i Nową 1328 r. Dodatkowo w 3 km. pasie murów wybudowano 47 baszt. Zabór austryjacki nakazał wyburzenie umocnień co trwało do 1814 roku. Dzisiaj idąc plantami możemy zaobserwować udostępniony obrys murów oraz baszt z ich ówczesną nazwą.

Emi Svemir (4 years ago)
Bestens gespendete 16 Zlots für Familien Eintrittskarte. Für die 16pln bekommt man Eintritt zu gleich 3 Monumente

Featured Historic Landmarks, Sites & Buildings

Photo from Flickr, copyright Giåm

Historic Site of the week

Glimmingehus

Glimmingehus is the best preserved medieval stronghold in Scandinavia. It was built 1499-1506, during an era when Scania formed a vital part of Denmark, and contains many defensive arrangements of the era, such as parapets, false doors and dead-end corridors, 'murder-holes' for pouring boiling pitch over the attackers, moats, drawbridges and various other forms of death traps to surprise trespassers and protect the nobles against peasant uprisings. The lower part of the castle's stone walls are 2.4 meters (94 inches) thick and the upper part 1.8 meters (71 inches).

Construction was started in 1499 by the Danish knight Jens Holgersen Ulfstand and stone-cutter-mason and architect Adam van Düren, a North German master who also worked on Lund Cathedral. Construction was completed in 1506.

Ulfstand was a councillor, nobleman and admiral serving under John I of Denmark and many objects have been uncovered during archeological excavations that demonstrate the extravagant lifestyle of the knight's family at Glimmingehus up until Ulfstand's death in 1523. Some of the most expensive objects for sale in Europe during this period, such as Venetian glass, painted glass from the Rhine district and Spanish ceramics have been found here. Evidence of the family's wealth can also be seen inside the stone fortress, where everyday comforts for the knight's family included hot air channels in the walls and bench seats in the window recesses. Although considered comfortable for its period, it has also been argued that Glimmingehus was an expression of "Knighthood nostalgia" and not considered opulent or progressive enough even to the knight's contemporaries and especially not to later generations of the Scanian nobility. Glimmingehus is thought to have served as a residential castle for only a few generations before being transformed into a storage facility for grain.

An order from Charles XI to the administrators of the Swedish dominion of Scania in 1676 to demolish the castle, in order to ensure that it would not fall into the hands of the Danish king during the Scanian War, could not be executed. A first attempt, in which 20 Scanian farmers were ordered to assist, proved unsuccessful. An additional force of 130 men were sent to Glimmingehus to execute the order in a second attempt. However, before they could carry out the order, a Danish-Dutch naval division arrived in Ystad, and the Swedes had to abandon the demolition attempts. Throughout the 18th century the castle was used as deposit for agricultural produce and in 1924 it was donated to the Swedish state. Today it is administered by the Swedish National Heritage Board.

On site there is a museum, medieval kitchen, shop and restaurant and coffee house. During summer time there are several guided tours daily. In local folklore, the castle is described as haunted by multiple ghosts and the tradition of storytelling inspired by the castle is continued in the summer events at the castle called "Strange stories and terrifying tales".

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