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Did you know that “Train your eyes and hands for the defence of your Homeland” – About the Brotherhood of the Rooster of Kraków The traditions of the Brotherhood of the Rooster in Europe date back to the 14th/15th centuries. They were the first formation tasked with preparing city residents to defend themselves in the event of danger. Along with the towns founded under the Magdeburg law, fortifications were also built (over time, both the construction and defence of individual fragments of the walls... |
Did you know that Why “The Eagle”? On the building of the branch of the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków, at 18 Bohaterów Getta Square, we cannot find any justification for the name of the Eagle Pharmacy. Neither now nor ever before has any architectural element on the façade of this historic building indicated the sense of such a name. |
Did you know that Does “the city air make you free”? What is the meaning of the well-known saying “the city air makes you free”? What is its origin? Freedom in the city? In this thicket of streets, in the ever-bustling crowd and within the space limited by the infinity of the buildings? Is freedom not associated with a rural landscape?
This saying was coined in the Middle Ages, in connection with the flourishing of cities as centres of trade exchange. Initially, people dealing with trade and handicraft did not differ from peasants in any way. They were equally subject to the feudal lord whose land they used. |
Did you know that Julian Fałat Julian Fałat (1853–1929) was the first eminent Polish painter who — despite coming from a peasant family and having no financial support — received an education in art and occupied... |
Did you know that How the first monument in occupied Kraków fell down The plan of the occupant was simple: Kraków was to become a German city. As the capital of the General Government, it could not “offend“ the Germans with such clear symbols of Polish culture: monuments commemorating great historical events and the heroes related with them. |
Did you know that “Proto-German” city of Krakau Kraków remained under German occupation for 1961 days — 5 years, from 6 September 1939 to 18 January 1945. Traces of the German past of the city can still be found in its space: air-raid shelters under today’s Inwalidów Square... |
Did you know that History of Deutsche Emailwarenfabrik Oskar Schindler’s Emalia Factory belongs to one of the branches of the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków and is located in the administrative building of the former factory of enamelware in Zabłocie. The factory was known as... |
Did you know that Amalia Krieger, photographer “She was known in broad communities by artists and citizens both in Kraków and throughout Poland. She was widely liked for her personality and artistic background... |
Did you know that The third dimension of the 19th century 19th century inventors sought for a method to render three-dimensionality of space; stereoscopic photography was one of such attempts. The technique consisted in taking two photographs from two various points of view. A print included two seemingly identical pictures... |
Did you know that Night assault on Lenin’s monument and the glaziers’ day Despite the fact that in the picture from 17 September 1989, the seven-ton bronze-cast monument of Lenin stands solidly on the ground, less than three months later (10 December1989) it had disappeared from the landscape of Kraków’s Nowa Huta. Aleja Róż [Rose Avenue], with its monumental architecture, had been the decoration for the statue for 16 years (the monument was erected in 1973)... |
Did you know that The costume of the “Lajkonik” The costume designed by Stanisław Wyspiański, which the Lajkonik (a bearded man with a hobby horse, dressed like a Tartar warrior – one of the symbols of the city’s folklore and tradition) of Kraków dons every year weighs as much as 40 kg. Despite the hot June weather, he must perform three ritual dances holding a six-meter banner... |
Did you know that History of the Ludowy Theatre The Ludowy Theatre was opened on 3 December 1995. It was intended to provide the workers of Nowa Huta contact with art and high culture, thus contributing to the propagation of correct attitudes. During the inauguration of the theatre it was said that “it shall be the pioneer of socialist culture in the newly-built city“. |
Did you know that Jadwiga Mrozowska The situation for actresses of the city theatre at the beginning of the 20th century was not easy. Work conditions were difficult; contracts obliged actors to, for example, learn two sheets of prose or one sheet of poetry within twenty four hours (up to 100 new titles and revivals were played... |
Did you know that Józef Szujski — who was he? Józef Szujski (1835–1883), born in Tarnów, was permanently associated with Kraków because of his life, academic work, and political activity. A pupil of the Saint Anna Junior High School in Kraków, he had shown many abilities since he was a child. He knew six foreign languages, wrote poetry, and, in later years... |
Did you know that ”Show trials” “Show trials” were political processes used in totalitarian states, aimed at discrediting the opposition by conducting a public trial based on trumped-up charges. They were also meant to intimidate society. During the pre-trial investigation, the defendants... |
Did you know that Different forms of besamin boxes Besamin boxes — also known as censers or scent boxes—can take on various forms; the most common ones, however, are tower-shaped besamin boxes, like the ones belonging to the collection of the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków and the Irena and Mieczysław Mazaraki Museum in Chrzanów presented on our website... |
Did you know that “A great miracle happened there” – on Chanukah, the Jewish “Festival of Lights” A special celebration has been held for several years on one December evening in Szeroka Street, located in Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter of Kraków.
After the speeches of the invited guests (usually including the Mayor of Kraków, representatives of cultural institutions, and rabbis), a lamp is lit on a large eight-branch candelabrum called the Hanukkah Menorah. There is joyful atmosphere, the participants sing and dance, and then everyone is offered a donut... |
Did you know that Theatrical connotations of the names of housing estates in Nowa Huta An interesting story lies behind the establishment of the Ludowy Theatre. When the building of Nowa Huta began, no one actually thought about... |
Did you know that In the shadow of Tadeusz Pankiewicz – Irka, Helena and Aurelia Although some things can be said about Tadeusz Pankiewicz, little is known about his three employees who assisted him in the ”Pod Orłem” [”Eagle”] Pharmacy. We know them from occupational photographs in which they were shown accompanying their manager. Smiling, amiable, young. But what do we actually know about them? |
Did you know that Following the route of the Monuments in Małopolska’s Virtual Museums — a virtual walk Monuments are the traces of memory, they remind us and bring back important figures and events, and constitute elements shaping the identity.
In the collection from Małopolska’s Virtual Museums, there are projects which have never been realised, the non-existing monuments the cult of which was verified by the changing times (the demolished monument of Lenin in Nowa Huta... |
