Kraków from the north-west

1603-1605.

copper-plate and etching, coloured, paper

size. 107.3 x 40.4 cm

ANK, Cartographic Collection, ref. no. 29/663/517

The view of Krakow from the artwork of Georg Braun and Franz Hogenberg Civitates Orbis Terrarum. It presents Kraków together with the neighbouring towns of Kazimierz and Kleparz, as well as the suburbs and villages (Stradom, Łobzów and Prądnik). The picture of the town is faithful to the original and very precise, and surprises with its detail. It contains the most important buildings (names placed in the legend or directly in the picture). Roads, rivers, agricultural fields, meadows, gardens and ponds are all designated. The picture also contains typical scenes from the life of the town – a march of royal attendants to the palace in Łobzow, or the palace servants and raftsmen at work.

In the game, we present only a few details of the picture, above all, the buildings of the royal residence in Łobzow: 

• the house of the royal gardeners (Habitatio Hortularii S[erenissimae] R[egiae] M[aiesta]tis),
• the apartment of the royal guards (Habitatio Hayducor[um]),
• the house of the royal kitchen master (Magister Culinae S[erenissimae] R[egiae] M[aiesta]tis),

and further:

• the Church of Saint Stephen (S[ancti] Stephani), which no longer exists,
• the gate of Saint Anna (Portula S[anctae] Annae),
• the royal stables near Wawel (Stabula S[erenissimae] R[egiae] M[aiesta]tis),
• the Jewish school (Schola Iudeorum),
• the Rękawka hill in Krzemionki (Tumulus dictus Rekawka),
• the Na Skałce Church, known as the Church of Saint Stanislaus (Rupella Sancti Stanislai) with a gallows visible in the background.

The view contains much more. It is possible to find many buildings that no longer exist and also identify those which still exist today. If you are interested in a longer walk around 17th-century Kraków, a great guide is Jerzy Banach who, in the book Dawne widoki Krakowa (Former views of Krakow), Kraków 1983, described this view of Krakow. The picture was issued in print in, among others, Atlasie historycznym miast polskich. Kraków, t. V: Małopolska, z. 1: Kraków (Historical Atlas of Polish towns. Krakow, v. V: Malopolska, p. 1: Krakow), Kraków 2007.