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Wawel

Wawel is a fortified architectural complex erected over many centuries atop a limestone outcrop on the left bank of the Vistula river in Kraków, Poland, at an altitude of 228 metres above sea level. The complex consists of many buildings and fortifications; the largest and best known of these are the Royal Castle and the Wawel Cathedral . Some of Wawels oldest stone buildings, such as the Rotunda of the Virgin Mary can be dated to 970AD. There are also wooden parts of the complex which date to about the 9th century. The castle itself has been described as "one of the most fascinating of all European castles." Wawel is a place of great significance to the Polish people: it first became a political power centre at the end of the first millennium AD and in the 9th century, the principal fortified castrum of the Vistulans tribe . The first historical ruler Mieszko I of Poland of the Piast dynasty and his successors: Boleslaw I the Brave and Mieszko II chose Wawel to be one of their residences. At the same time Wawel became one of the principal Polish centres of Christianity. The first early Romanesque buildings were erected there including a stone cathedral serving the bishopric of Kraków in the year 1000. From the reign of Casimir the Restorer Wawel became the leading political and administrative centre for the Polish State. Until 1611, the Wawel was the formal seat of the Polish monarchy; this was because Kraków was the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1569 and of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1596. Later, it became the Free City of Kraków from 1815 to 1846; the Grand Duchy of Cracow from 1846 to 1918; and Kraków Voivodeship from the 14th century to 1999. It is now the capital of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Therefore, the fortress-like Wawel complex which visually dominates the city has often been viewed as seat of power. Wawel Cathedral was not only a place of coronation for the Kings of Poland, but also their mausoleum. Later, it became a national pantheon. During the 20th century, the Wawel was the residence of the President of Poland; after the invasion of Poland at the start of World War II, Kraków became the seat of Germanys General Government, and the Wawel subsequently became the residence of the Nazi Governor General Hans Frank. Following the cessation of hostilities, the Wawel was restored and once again become a national museum, a place of worship and centre depicting Polands complex history.

Kupa Synagogue

Kupa Synagogue is a 17th-century synagogue in Kraków, Poland. It is located in the former Jewish quarter of Kazimierz developed from a neighborhood earmarked in 1495 by King Jan I Olbracht for the Jewish community, which has been transferred from the budding Old Town. Kupa Synagogue serves Krakóws Jewish community as one of the venues for religious ceremonies and cultural festivals, notably the annual Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków. The Synagogue was founded in 1643 by the Kazimierz Jewish districts kehilla, as a foundation of the local qahal. A contribution of 200 zlotys by the Jewish goldsmiths guild helped to bring the construction to its successful completion. The Synagogue was built in a baroque style with a square prayer hall inside. The building underwent many renovations throughout the centuries. In 1830-1834 the two-storey annex was added with entrance hall and washrooms. In 1861 the western wing was built. At the end of the 19th century, the synagogue was joined with the adjacent building. Following ravages of World War II, it has been meticulously restored. Its northern wall connects with the remnants of the medieval city-wall of Kazimerz while its southern flank faces Warchauera Street. The colorful interior of the Kupa Synagogue serves as an exhibition hall and the venue for musical events. The Synagogue is richly decorated with paintings from the 1920s featured on walls, the ceiling and in the womens section. The depictions include the holy places of Hebron, Tiberias, and Jerusalem. There are also Biblical scenes and illustrations to verses in Psalms, such as the painting showing people standing by the rivers of Babylon, or musical instruments . Another painting depicts Noahs ark including the figure of Noah – quite unusual since the use of human images was very rare in Jewish art. The signs of the Zodiac are painted over the womens gallery. The artist, although unidentified, was clearly professional. There are also remnants of earlier paintings from the 17th to 18th centuries. The older drawings are ornamental, with leaves and fruit surrounding texts. A carved wood and stucco Torah Ark, from the early 17th century, adorns the interior.

Kraków

Kraków also Cracow, or Krakow is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life and is one of Polands most important economic hubs. It was the capital of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1038 to 1569; the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1596; the Free City of Kraków from 1815 to 1846; the Grand Duchy of Cracow from 1846 to 1918; and Kraków Voivodeship from the 14th century to 1998. It has been the capital of Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999. The city has grown from a Stone Age settlement to Polands second most important city. It began as a hamlet on Wawel Hill and was already being reported as a busy trading centre of Slavonic Europe in 965. With the establishment of new universities and cultural venues at the emergence of the Second Polish Republic in 1918 and throughout the 20th century, Kraków reaffirmed its role as a major national academic and artistic centre. The city has a population of approximately 760,000 whereas about 8 million people live within a 100 kilometres radius of its main square. After the invasion of Poland at the start of World War II, Kraków became the capital of Germanys General Government. The Jewish population of the city was forced into a walled zone known as the Kraków Ghetto, from which they were sent to German extermination camps such as the nearby Auschwitz never to return, and the Nazi concentration camps like Płaszów. In 1978, Karol Wojtyła, archbishop of Kraków, was elevated to the papacy as Pope John Paul II – the first Slavic pope ever, and the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. Also that year, UNESCO approved the first ever sites for its new World Heritage List, including the entire Old Town in inscribing Cracows Historic Centre. Kraków is classified as a global city by GaWC, with the ranking of High sufficiency. Cited as one of Europes most beautiful cities, its extensive cultural heritage across the epochs of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture includes the Wawel Cathedral and the Royal Castle on the banks of the Vistula river, the St. Marys Basilica and the largest medieval market square in Europe, the Rynek Główny. Kraków is home to Jagiellonian University, one of the oldest universities in the world and traditionally Polands most reputable institution of higher learning. In 2000, Kraków was named European Capital of Culture. The city will also host the next World Youth Day in 2016.

Old Synagogue

Old Synagogue is an Orthodox Jewish synagogue in the Kazimierz district of Kraków, Poland, in Yiddish it was referred to as the Alta Shul. It is the oldest synagogue building still standing in Poland, and one of the most precious landmarks of Jewish architecture in Europe. Until the German invasion of Poland in 1939, it was one of the most important synagogues in the city as well as the main religious, social, and organizational centre of the Kraków Jewish community. In 1794 General Tadeusz Kościuszko spoke from the synagogue to gain the Jewish support in the struggle for Polish independence. A plaque in the entrance hall commemorates this event: "The Jews proved to the world that whenever humanity can gain, they would not spare themselves." – General Tadeusz Kosciuszko The Synagogue was built in 1407 or 1492; the date of building varies with several sources. The original building was rebuilt in 1570 under the watchful eye of an Italian architect Mateo Gucci. The rebuilding included the attic wall with loopholes, windows placed far above ground level, and thick, masonry walls with heavy buttressing to withstand siege, all features borrowed from military architecture. The Old synagogue is a rare, surviving example of a Polish Fortress synagogue. The synagogue was completely devastated and ransacked by the Germans during World War II. Its artwork and Jewish relics, looted. During the occupation, the synagogue was used as a magazine. In 1943, 30 Polish hostages were executed at its wall. The Old Synagogue was renovated from 1956 to 1959 and currently operates as a museum. It is a Division of the Historical Museum of Kraków, with particular focus on Krakóws Jews. The exhibits are divided into themes dealing with birth, prayer rituals, diet, divorce and death. "The beautiful womens prayer room, which dates from the 17th century, is often used to hold temporary exhibitions."

Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków

The Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków is an annual cultural event organized since 1988 in the once Jewish district of Kazimierz by the Jewish Culture Festival Society headed by Janusz Makuch, a self-described meshugeneh, fascinated with all things Jewish. The main goal of the festival is to educate people about Jewish culture, history and faith, which flourished in Poland before the Holocaust, as well as to familiarize them with modern Jewish culture developing mostly in the United States and Israel, and finally, to provide entertainment. Each festival is held in late June or early July and takes nine days, from Saturday to Sunday. During that time concerts, exhibitions, plays, lectures, workshops, tours, etc. are organized. The two most important concerts are: the inaugural concert on the first Sunday, and the final concert on the last Saturday of the festival. The former usually takes place in one of seven synagogues of Kazimierz and features cantoral music; the latter is always held outdoors, in Ulica Szeroka, the main street of the Jewish part of Kazimierz, and features klezmer music. In between there are many more concerts, usually with some variations of klezmer music. The workshops provide an occasion to learn about traditional Jewish cuisine, dance, music, calligraphy and other aspects of Jewish culture. More about Jewish culture, as well as about topics related to the Holocaust, is taught at numerous lectures. Exhibitions of Jewish art, particularly paper-cut, are also organized. The program of the festival also includes tours of the synagogues and cemeteries of Kazimierz as well as the former Nazi-era Kraków Ghetto in the nearby district of Podgórze. During the festival Gentiles are also invited to watch or participate in Jewish prayers at the synagogue. Jewish Culture Festival brings together artists of Jewish culture from all over the world music bands, soloists, choirs, jazz musicians and dance teachers. The festival promotes a whole variety of different styles of Jewish music: synagogue song, hasidic, classical, Jewish folk and – very popular in Krakow nowadays – klezmer. For the Poles this event is a way of promotion of Jewish culture and paying a homage to the community that used to live in Poland, although many Jews were reportedly offended by the commercialization of Polish Jewish culture. "Others argue that there is something deeper taking place in Poland as the country heals from the double wounds of Nazi and Communist domination." It is one of Polands major annual cultural events and one of the biggest festivals of Jewish culture in the world. Artists and entertainers usually associated with the festival include: Benzion Miller, Yaakov Stark, David Krakauer, Frank London, Leopold Kozłowski, Michael Alpert, Theodore Bikel, Paul Brody and many others. Jewish dances are led by Steven Weintraub.

Wawel Castle

The Gothic Wawel Castle in Kraków in Poland was built at the behest of Casimir III the Great, who reigned from 1333 to 1370, and consists of a number of structures situated around the central courtyard. In the 14th century it was rebuilt by Jogaila and Jadwiga of Poland. Their reign saw the addition of the tower called the Hens Foot and the Danish Tower. The Jadwiga and Jogaila Chamber, in which the sword Szczerbiec, was used in coronation ceremonies, is exhibited today and is another remnant of this period. Other structures were developed on the hill during that time as well, in order to serve as quarters for the numerous clergy, royal clerks and craftsmen. Defensive walls and towers such as Jordanka, Lubranka, Sandomierska, Tęczyńska, Szlachecka, Złodziejska and Panieńska were erected in the same period. The Wawel Royal Castle and the Wawel Hill constitute the most historically and culturally important site in Poland. For centuries the residence of the kings of Poland and the symbol of Polish statehood, the Castle is now one of the country’s premier art museums. Established in 1930, the museum encompasses ten curatorial departments responsible for collections of paintings, including an important collection of Italian Renaissance paintings, prints, sculpture, textiles, among them the Sigismund II Augustus tapestry collection, goldsmith’s work, arms and armor, ceramics, Meissen porcelain, and period furniture. The museum’s holdings in oriental art include the largest collection of Ottoman tents in Europe. With seven specialized conservation studios, the museum is also an important center for the conservation of works of art.

Muzeum Farmacji Collegium Medicum Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego

Muzeum Farmacji Collegium Medicum Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego is a museum on Floriańska Street, Kraków, Poland, specializing in the history of pharmacy and pharmaceutical technology. It was established in 1946. The founder and first director of the museum was Dr. Stanislaw Pron, legal counsel and administrative director of the Regional Chamber of Pharmacists in Kraków. Until the late 1980s, the museum was housed in the building at 3 ul. Basztowa. It was then transferred to the newly renovated building at ul. St. Florians, where it remains today. The museum occupies all five floors of the building, including the basement and the attic, in a manner appropriate to the historical use of such premises in as an apothecary. On the first floor is a room dedicated to Ignacy Łukasiewicz, a pharmacist, pioneer in the field of crude oil, and the inventor of the modern kerosene lamp. The room on the second floor of the exhibition is devoted to Tadeusz Pankiewicz, a Roman Catholic who ran the "Under the Eagle" pharmacy in the Kraków Ghetto during the Nazi occupation of Poland. Among the various exhibits of pharmaceutical technology are weights of less than one gram as patented by Marian Zahradnik, the shape of which indicates their importance. Such weights were adopted in the countries of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and later across Europe, and with minor modifications are still used. Another interesting invention is an electrical device to sterilize prescriptions. It was to protect the pharmacist from infection by germs transferred on the prescription.

Armia Krajowa Museum in Kraków

The Home Army Museum in Kraków was created in Kraków, Poland in 2000, to commemorate the struggle for independence by the underground Polish Secret State and its military arm Armia Krajowa, the largest resistance movement in occupied Europe during World War II. The Museum is named after general Emil August Fieldorf ”Nil”. It is the only such institution in Poland promoting knowledge about the Polish Underground State and its armed forces during World War II. The idea behind the Home Army Museum is to provide a holistic picture of the Polish underground, its spiritual origins and the shape of patriotic heritage to the present day. The Museum was established in 2000 as a local self-government unit but the formal establishment was preceded by a ten-year effort of collecting the historical items of the Home Army Veterans. So far, the Museum brought together more than 8000 exhibits and more than 12 000 archives – mostly gifts of Army Soldiers and their families around the world – historical memorabilia, often with tenor of relics. The library resources reach about 11 500 volumes. The permanent exhibition presents the history of Polish Underground State and Home Army in their complexity. The main section of the exhibition begins with the so-called September Campaign . The division of Poland into two occupied zones, German and Soviet, consists of several sections and are well documented with photographic displays. Day-by-day life, both civilian and military, and the policy of both occupants is shown in the rich narrative scenography of the exhibition, based on documents and artefacts such as uniforms, munitions, many documents and decorations. The main part of the exhibition is situated in the basement. Visitors are confronted with hundreds of photos and memorabilias telling stories of selected Home Army members. One of the most precious exhibits is the diary of a famous major „Hubal” – Henryk Dobrzański, the first guerilla commander of the World War II in Europe. Among other artefacts there is a replica of a fuselage section of Halifax and a reconstructed inner structure of a V-2 rocket. The reconstruction of a detention cell in which after 1944 Polish Urząd Bezpieczeństwa held members of the Home Army and postwar Freedom and Independence organisation gives the opportunity to experience the communist terror. The Museum has a rich weapon collection, including homemade projectiles. The Museum is located at ulica Wita Stwosza 12 street, in the Grzegórzki District of Kraków.

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