Gary Kirkpatrick
Wawel Castle in Krakow- nearly 1000 years in the making
June 15, 2018
We climbed Wawel Hill today, as people have been doing for the last 50,000 years. Only since circa 1000, however, has this climb served to gain the entrance to the castle. Now it’s a museum (1931), sitting in a complex of structures including the Royal Cathedral, atop the modest hill overlooking the Vistula River.
Today there are ten collections, including important Italian Renaissance paintings, prints, sculptures and textiles, including the Sigismund II Augustus tapestry collection, gold, Oriental art including Ottoman tents, armor, ceramics, Meissen porcelain, as well as period furniture. There are specialized conservation studios, making it a significant restoration center.
Krakow: the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque
Krakow is replete with finely preserved notable architecture. The Rynek Glowny (Main Square) is in the center of the old town (Stare Miasto). Sukiennice (The Cloth Hall, 1400) is a fine example of the Renaissance. The Cloth Hall was a center for the export of salt (there is a huge salt mine nearby), textiles and lead and the import of spices, silk, leather and wax. The Rynek Glowey is normally full of visitors, horse drawn carriages, and outdoor seating at the many restaurants.
A short distance away is St Mary’s Basilica is late Gothic church with two unmatched spires at 80 m (260′). One was originally a city watch tower. The Basilica’s foundations date to the early 13th century. The church has a famous wooden altar piece by Veit Stross (Wit Stwosz). Every hour a trumpet plays from taller tower, the former watch tower. It commemorates the 13th c. trumpeter shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before a Mongol attack on the city. The noon hejnał is broadcast Polish national Radio 1 Station.
The Royal Cathedral is another Gothic structure dating from 1100. Pope John Paul II gave his first performance as a priest here in 1946.
The Church of St. Adalbert, which is one of the few remaining examples of the Polish Romanesque style in Krakow, and the oldest Christian chapel in the city to boot.
The pointed arches show the Gothic character of the Collegium Maius
The Barbican is a fortifcation once connected to the city walls just behind it.
The Church of St Peter and Paul is Baroque in style.
Pegs in the Night Cafe
My wife Peg is in the Night Cafe in Arles, France, made famous by Van Gogh. Original digital painting.
Woman (With Red Lips) Walks Dog
The original drawing is in pen and ink, below. With Red Lips is the same drawing but painted digitally.
Polish cuisine
Polish food has long since been a part of American cuisine, even if a small part. Who has not had kielbasa sausage or dill pickles. Polish cuisine is a calorie and fat rich cuisine, heavy on pork, chicken and beef to a lesser extent. Cabbage is a major item — there were three types of cabbage served with the huge platter we shared on our first night. They use a lot of cream and eggs, as well as grains. Bigos is a hearty stew made of finely chopped meats sauerkraut and cabbage. Pirogi are a major feature, stuffed noodles or rolled pancakes– I had one stuffed with cheese and spinach. You can get a variety of pretzel (but soft) in food carts and bakeries everywhere. Sour dough breads are common, including its use in soups. In the main square there are booths. At one we tried a grilled smoke cheese with cherry jam. It was excellent!
A small place open just for lunch is called Lunch- that’s right, Lunch. We noticed that locals were piling in so figured it was probably both good and a good value, and it was indeed. This meal plus a beer and coke was just $15.00, and either would have been enough for two people. The pirogi had a potato pancake on top and another on the bottom.
Goulash was borrowed from the Hungarians, becoming an integral part of the cuisine.
I have my doubts about spinach as a traditional ingredient.
I’ll have more to add as we go.
Krakow: city of architecture and culture
Krakow sits on the banks of the Vistula. Settlement dates from the 7th century, finding Wawel hill a defensible position. and has long been a major center of Polish culture and economy. It was a member of the Hanseatic league despite not being coastal and thus had its own fleet during that period (circa 1000-1500). It was the capitol of Poland from 1038-1569, when Wawel Castle
castle burned, after which the capital was moved to Warsaw. It was capitol again during the Nazi era. In 1978, Karol Wojtyła became Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian in 455 years. Auschwitz is close by, and Schindler had his factory here, which is now a museum. Its current population is 760,000, with a total regional population of 8 million. On our first day it seemed like a few million children were taking a field drip to the city, long lines of them being moved about by teachers trying to show them the town.
https://garyjkirkpatrick.com/krakow/Wawel Castle at nightKrakow means “town of Krakus,” a legendary ruler of the country. The area’s first named inhabitants, the Vistulian tribe (700 CE), gave the river its name. However, there is evidence of habitation dating well before, to 50,000 years. Wawel Castle, now a fine arts museum, was built circa 1350 and much renovated in the 16th century, when King Sigusmund brought in Italian architects, German decorators as well as local craftsmen.
In 1364 Casimir III founded the University of Krakow, the second oldest in central Europe after Charles University in Prague. By the 15th century the city had entered its golden age, whence the examples of Polish Renaissance architecture. The architecture includes fine examples of Gothic, Renaissance and the Baroque.
Carol — 1954-2018 (Version 2)
My previous painting of Carol was in watercolor whose shimmering qualities gives a kind of what one might call a ‘spirit shimmer.’ This rendition tells more about her fiery qualities, her strength, her defiance.
Thyssen Bornemisza Museum in Madrid- fabulous paintings
This first is a Toulouse-Lautrec, if you can believe it
These next two are Sorollas from the Sorolla Museum
