From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stare Miasto (English: Old Town District) is the central historical district of Kraków, Poland. It is the most prominent example of an old town district in the country, Kraków being the original capital of the country. It was added in 1978 to the UNESCO World Heritage Sites (as Cracow's Historic Centre).
The 13th-century merchants' town, former capital of Poland, features Rynek Główny, or Main Square - the largest medieval town square of any European city [1] - with numerous historic churches such as Kościół Mariacki (St. Mary's Basilica), Church of St. Wojciech and other national treasures like Sukiennice (Cloth Hall, currently housing gift shops, restaurants and merchant stalls, with the National Gallery of Art upstairs), Town Hall Tower, the Barbakan (anglicized form Barbican, a defense tower once part of a comprehensive network of fortifications encircling the city - next to Florian Gate), and Wawel Castle, the former seat of Polish kings which overlooks the Vistula river.
[edit] References
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
Poland
