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 Csaba Nemes, “Far from the Sea” Józsefváros, the Budapest district no. 8 still carries the marks of having been bombed during World War II and the Hungarian Uprising of 1956. The buildings which are no longer there are conspicuous for their absence. For Nemes, these void spaces are more authentic than the buildings which are there, because their appearance has not changed in half a century. The levitating residents are a metaphor for all his compatriots – distrustful, introverted, alienated. |
 Krzysztof Wodiczko, “The Homeless Vehicle” |
Did you know that A glance at Kraków By virtue of the incorporation charter of 5 June 1257, duke Bolesław the Chaste revived the city devastated after the Mongol invasion and determined its shape, which was preserved for centuries.
How did Kraków develop, based on the Magdeburg Law? How did its landmark buildings change? Finally, what was the image of the city held by travellers, drawers and cartographers? The vistas of Kraków stored in museums and archives can drop some hints. Through our intermediary, a wider audience can admire them. We would like to call particular attention to a few of our exhibits about Kraków. |
 Ogawa Shinji, “View of Delft (“Behind You” series)” Ogawa using the classic medium reproduces the work of the Dutch master Jan Vermeer's View of Delft. Realistic, 17th-century image shows a fragment of the city along the waterfront of the river Schie. |
 Escutcheon of Gorlice city This consists of an oval shield, which decorated the entrance to the municipal council of Gorlice from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
The shield has numerous bullet holes, being clear evidence of the battles which took place in the city and its surroundings for six months, at the turn of 1914 and 1915. |
Did you know that The importance of Biecz Biecz is a town that evokes longing for past times. Traces of the past can be found here almost at every step.
In 1311, Biecz became the royal city. Then, King Władysław I the Elbow-high joined it permanently to the royal property. In parallel, the bourgeois Biecz, the Biecz of merchants and craftsmen, was also developing... |
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 Koszyce, the royal city The first source of information about Koszyce is contained in the data on Peter’s pence from the year 1328, where a record states: “Peter’s pence was donated jointly by the parish of Witów–Koszyce”.
A breakthrough in written sources regarding the city took place in 1374. That year, a city charter under Magdeburg law was granted to Koszyce by Elizabeth, daughter of Władysław I the Elbow-high. |
 Wojciech Gilewicz, “Revitalisations” The project, Revitalisations, was implemented Wojciech Gilewicz in Sanok in 2007. The long-term marginalization of the city and its exclusion from comprehensive modernization projects prompted the artist to undertake his own, non-standard intervention, using the illusionistic potential of painting. The intention of the action was to repair the visual deficiencies of the urban fabric, to supplement its defects with the help of images, and by doing so, lead at least its temporary and provisional revitalization. During the artist’s several-week work in the public space of Sanok, pictorial mock-ups of reality covered the progressing degradation and neglect of buildings and streets. They replaced missing tiles of wall claddings, hid glaring dirt and lichen on elevations, filled plaster gaps, fitting perfectly into their shape. |
 Crucifix for swearing in city counsellors The silver cross with a full figure of Christ, placed on a cuboid profiled plinth, decorated with plaques with the coat of arms of Kraków (SIGILLUM CIVITATIS CRACOVIAE METROPOLIS REGNI POLONIAE) and the coat of arms of the Segnitz family. |
 Pitcher of the City Council of Tarnów Among the memorabilia of the old town authorities stored in the collection of the Museum in Tarnów, a special place is occupied by a set of three identical tin jugs. These vessels were created in Gdańsk in 1639, probably in the workshop of the master Assmus Virian. |
 Wojciech Doroszuk, “Reisefieber” A project by Wojciech Doroszuk called Reisefieber concerns the problem of economic migration. During his stay in Berlin, the artist played the role of a newcomer from the East and was employed in the service sectors which are usually entrusted to emigrants. Based on his experience, five films and photography have been created, that form a multi-layered story of everyday, ordinary life in a foreign country, including both paid work and leisure activities, for example, participation in mass events organized in the city space. In each situation, the hero is shown as a stereotypical stranger, deprived of the will and the possibility of joining indigenous members of the community. |
 Painting “View of Mikołajska's Gate” by Teodor Baltazar Stachowicz This is a view of a part of Mikołajska Street, closed by Mikołajska's Gate. On the left, you can see the characteristic window grates and the gutter protruding on the street, and, on the right, a fragmentary view of the Church of Our Lady of the Snows in Gródek can be seen. The gate is covered with a tent roof with a break—the hole in the base is topped with a sharp arch. |
 Painting “City Hall north view” by Teodor Baltazar Stachowicz The view shows the edifice of the city hall on the Main Square in Kraków, according to its state before its demolition in 1820. In the foreground, you can see the Renaissance part of the complex with the characteristic attic; on the left, the upper parts of the city hall tower. |
 Copperplate engraving “View of Kraków from the south, from the Krakus Mound” The inscription in the field of view, at the top, in the middle, in the cartouche: CRACOVIA / MINORIS POLONIAE METROPOLIS.; in the central part, against the river: VISTULAFL. REGNVM DIVIDENS; in the lower left corner a cartouche with a legend in two columns, which explains the type and name of the fourteen buildings marked with letters in the view; on the frame of the cartouche on the left the date, “A(nn)o 1617”; below the legend “Depictum ab Egidio vander Rye / communic Georgius Houfnaglius”. |
 Cooper’s guid chest The chest is made of oak, with inlaid work made of ash. The inlaid work presents two angels, and between them there is a wooden bathtub (on the lid) and two mallets, callipers, and an axe (on the front wall). There are metal handles on the sides of the chest, and, in the middle, there is a compartment for guild privileges. |
 Statute of the Great Guild in Koszyce given by the City Council The City Council, the mayor and his deputy played a significant role in the development and functioning of the city. The City Council had the right to issue statutes of guilds. |
 Seal of Koszyce The seal of Koszyce imprinted in green wax, hanging on a parchment belt attached to a document probably issued for coopers in Koszyce. In the stamp field, there is a figure of Saint Stanislaus — another symbol of the town, along with two little baskets. |
 “Danube channel — Vistula — 2” Kraków was to become an important hub for water transport. The idea came to light in 1901, when the Vienna State Council adopted the so-called the Koerber Act (from the name of the Austrian Prime Minister Ernst von Koerber, initiator of its adoption). The venture had a huge budget (1 billion kroner); it assumed the construction of new waterways... |
 Photograph “Ludowy Theatre” by Henryk Hermanowicz The black and white photograph shows the building of the Ludowy Theatre in Kraków-Nowa Huta from the side of the main entrance on Władimira Majakowskiego Street (today: Obrońców Krzyża Street). |
