The Old City with the Royal Route

ul.Floriańska ,Kraków http://www.krakow.pl/english/instcbi/18303,inst,12701,1381,instcbi.html

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A model of the old city presents the part of Kraków that used to be surrounded with defence walls and Wawel – the hill bearing the royal castle and cathedral church situated on the other end of the Royal route, and also a fragment of the Vistula River flowing at its foot. Reaching the model from the side of St Florian's Gate, we find its short description on the frieze. We localise the situation of the model in the space of the city on its right edge: near the Barbican and St Florian's Gate at the beginning of Floriańska Street. From this place, we may follow the Royal Route marked in the model with texture different from that of the remaining streets. The width of the streets signed in Braille was increased beyond the actual proportions so as to allow us to touch read their names. The successive numbers from 1 to 12 mark the places where the successive models are situated from the Barbican and St Florian's Gate to Wawel, while the letters A and B mark the models set up in Szczepański and Wszystkich Świętych squares. Even though the last two do not meet the parameters assumed for the "Royal route for the disabled tourist" project, they provide the opportunity to become familiar with the unpreserved architecture that used to stand in both the squares. The plane of the model depicts the grid layout of the streets and the developed spaces between them, with the very large Main Market Square of approximately 200 by 200 m (660 x 660 feet). It originated when Kraków was chartered in 1257 on the power of the Law of Magdeburg. The most visible deviations from the regular layout of the streets and the main square were caused by accounting for the areas that had been developed before chartering the city. Emphasised on the model and captioned are only the most important elements of Kraków's architectural heritage. The remaining buildings are marked only symbolically. For better orientation, it is worth-noting that all the churches found on the Royal Route are oriented, which means that the axis from the main entrance to the high altar leads from west to the east. The demolished mediaeval fortifications surrounding the old city were replaced by the circle of the unique city park – the garden ring known as Planty – in the first half of the 19th century. Its situation on the model is marked with a different texture, similar to that on the plan of the city published by the Municipality of Kraków and available from city information points. Much like the former defence walls, the Planty garden ring is approximately 4 km long. The Old City with the Royal Route (mp3)
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