The Royal Road or Royal Route ( pl, Droga Królewska, ) in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, begins at the northern end of the medieval Old Town and continues south through the centre of town towards Wawel Hill, where the old royal residence,

Wawel Castle The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established on ...

, is located. The Royal Road passes some of the most prominent historic landmarks of Poland's

royal Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, Iowa, a cit ...

capital, providing a suitable background to coronation processions and parades, kings' and princes' receptions, foreign envoys and guests of distinction traveling from a far country to their destination at Wawel. The Royal Road starts outside the northern flank of the old city walls in the medieval suburb of Kleparz, now a central district of Kraków.St. Florian's Church
a
www.krakow4u.pl
/ref> It begins at

St. Florian's Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

(''Kościół św. Floriana''), containing the relics of St. Florian – the Patron Saint of Poland – miraculously saved numerous times in the 12th, 16th and 17th centuries.Story of St. Florian's relics (Polish language only)
a
sgsp.edu.pl
/ref> St. Florian's Church was also the starting point for royal

funeral procession A funeral procession is a procession, usually in motor vehicles or by foot, from a funeral home or place of worship to the cemetery or crematorium. In earlier times the deceased was typically carried by male family members on a bier or in a cof ...

s, concluding at

Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral ( pl, Katedra Wawelska), formally titled the Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus, is a Roman Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it is part of the ...

. The Royal Road crosses Matejko Square (''pl. Matejki''), passes the Academy of Fine Arts (''Akademia Sztuk Pięknych'') on the right-hand side and crosses Basztowa Street – to the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

barbican A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer fortifications, defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe ...

(''Barbakan''). The Gothic-style

Barbakan A barbican (from fro, barbacane) is a fortified outpost or fortified gateway, such as at an outer defense perimeter of a city or castle, or any tower situated over a gate or bridge which was used for defensive purposes. Europe In the Middle A ...

, built in 1499, is one of only three such fortified outposts still surviving in Europe and also, the best preserved. The Road passes the old fortifications through Floriańska Gate under a defensive tower. It is the original entrance to the city and the only gate, of the eight city gates built in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, not dismantled during the 19th century modernization of Kraków.Florian Gate and the City Walls at www.krakow4u.pl
/ref>
/ref> Inside the Old Town (''Stare Miasto''), the Road continues along

Floriańska Street Floriańska Street or St. Florian's Street ( pl, ulica Floriańska, la, platea Sancti Floriani) is one of the main streets in Kraków Old Town and one of the most famous promenades in the city. The street forms part of the regular grid plan of '' ...

and enters the

Main Square Main Square may refer to: * Main Square, Plzeň * Main Square (Bratislava) * Main Square, Kraków * Main Square, Maribor * Main Square Festival, named after the Grand-Place in Arras, France * Main Square (Toronto), a building complex See also * ...

(''Rynek Główny''), the largest medieval market square in Europe. Rick Steves' Europe Through the Back Door
Avalon Publishing, 2005; 641 pages On the left-hand side, at the northeast corner of the square stands St. Mary's Basilica, home of the oldestIngrid Gustafson
Let's Go: Eastern Europe
Published by Macmillan, page 444. Let's Go Publications, 2008. and the largest Gothic altarpiece in the world. At the center of the plaza, surrounded by row houses ('' kamienice'') and

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

residences, stands the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

cloth hall Sukiennice flanked by the Town Hall Tower (''Wieża ratuszowa''). The Road passes the Romanesque

Church of St. Wojciech Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * C ...

in the south-eastern corner of the square, and leads down Grodzka Street along a number of historic landmarks and two smaller squares featured on both sides. Grodzka ends at the foot of the Wawel Hill; with the Wawel

architectural complex Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings o ...

spread above, featuring

with an

armoury An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

, and the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

Landmarks of the Royal Road

Some of the most revered as well as the lesser known points of interest and historic landmarks of the city stand on the path of the Royal Road. A more complete list of them would also include the following:

Battle of Grunwald The Battle of Grunwald, Battle of Žalgiris or First Battle of Tannenberg was fought on 15 July 1410 during the Polish–Lithuanian–Teutonic War. The alliance of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, led respec ...

Monument at the centre of pl.

Matejki Matejki () is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sterdyń, within Sokołów County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately east of Sterdyń, north-east of Sokołów Podlaski, and north-east of Warsaw ...

, next to the Academy of Fine Arts, right across from

at Basztowa Street; Arsenal of the

Czartoryski Museum The Princes Czartoryski Museum ( pl, Muzeum Książąt Czartoryskich ) – often abbreviated to Czartoryski Museum – is a historic museum in Kraków, Poland, and one of the country's oldest museums. The initial collection was formed in 1796 in P ...

on Pijarska Street adjacent to

Florian Gate St. Florian's Gate or Florian Gate ( pl, Brama Floriańska) in Kraków, Poland, is one of the best-known Polish Gothic towers, and a focal point of Kraków's Old Town. It was built about the 14th century as a rectangular Gothic tower of "wild sto ...

at the foot of Floriańska Street; the Matejko Manor division of the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

as well as the

Jagiellonian University The Jagiellonian University (Polish: ''Uniwersytet Jagielloński'', UJ) is a public research university in Kraków, Poland. Founded in 1364 by King Casimir III the Great, it is the oldest university in Poland and the 13th oldest university in ...

Museum of Pharmacy on Floriańska; and the Hipolit House division of the

Historical Museum of Kraków The Historical Museum of the City of Kraków ( pl, Muzeum Historyczne Miasta Krakowa) in Kraków, Lesser Poland, was granted the status of an independent institution in 1945. Originally, it was a branch of the Old Records Office of Kraków, in oper ...

across from St. Mary's Basilica (including a smaller Church of St Barbara), at the entrance to Main Market Square. On the east side of Sukiennice Cloth Hall with the free-standing Town Hall Tower protruding from behind, there is the Adam Mickiewicz Monument, one of the best known bronze monuments in Poland.About Adam Mickiewicz Monument at inyourpocket.com
/ref> At the beginning of Grodzka: the

(''St Adalbert's'') and not far behind, the All Saints Square (''pl. Wszystkich Świętych'') with Wielopolski Palace (the seat of Kraków's mayor) and the Church of St. Francis of Assisi on its west side with

Shroud of Turin The Shroud of Turin ( it, Sindone di Torino), also known as the Holy Shroud ( it, Sacra Sindone, links=no or ), is a length of linen cloth bearing the negative image of a man. Some describe the image as depicting Jesus of Nazareth and bel ...

exact replica. Just three small city blocks down Grodzka, there's the St. Mary Magdalene Square with the Church of Saints Peter and Paul (first Baroque church in Poland) and the Church of St. Andrew; and, at the end of Grodzka (one block further), the Church of St. Giles at Podzamcze Street. The Royal Road opens up to Wawel Hill towering from above, with the

and the

accessible by two ascending roads, the east and the west side entrances.

Photo tour

References

External links

Find your paths in the Royal City of Cracow
a
cracow-paths.eu

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poland.gov.pl

in the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080608142246/http://www.wieninternational.at/en/node/4756 Krakow – City portraita
wieninternational.at

a

* Beata Moore
Cracow: City of Treasures
Published by Frances Lincoln Ltd __NOTOC__ {{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Road, Krakow Tourist attractions in Kraków Streets in Kraków