Barbican in Kraków

The Barbican is the northernmost part of Kraków's city fortifications. It stands in Planty Park, in front of St Florian's Gate, on the south side of Basztowa Street, and is today a branch of the Museum of Kraków.

When and why it was built

The Barbican was built in 1498-1499 during the reign of John I Albert as a defensive forward position for the gate. It has the form of a round section with an inner diameter of 24.4 m, and the thickness of its brick walls exceeds 3 m. The perimeter was reinforced by seven towers, alternately round and hexagonal, and the loopholes made it possible to deliver flanking fire. A moat 24 m wide and 3.5 m deep, lined with stone, ran around it, and drawbridges connected it with St Florian's Gate.

How the defence worked

The Barbican was connected to St Florian's Gate by a long neck. Inside, the walls of the neck had hoardings resting on arcades and loopholes. The moat was stone-lined, and two drawbridges led to the gates. The main task of the structure was to defend St Florian's Gate, and the entrance was placed almost parallel to the perimeter walls so that attackers could be fired on from the side.

How it survived

In 1816 the Barbican was threatened with demolition. Senator Feliks Radwański argued that the walls shelter the city from the north winds, and the structure remained. Thanks to this it can still be seen today in its entirety.

The 19th century also brought another threat: an imperial decree of 1806 recommended demolishing the barbican for sanitary reasons, and in 1816 Senator Radwański's arguments proved stronger. In 1910 there were plans to place in the barbican the Panorama of the Battle of Grunwald by Jan and Tadeusz Styka, but the Central Commission in Vienna rejected the project.

What happens here today

The Museum of Kraków runs a permanent exhibition in the Barbican. According to the museum's website the site can be visited as part of the "Medieval Kraków" route, which also includes a stretch of the defensive walls, and for groups there are guided tours of the exhibition and the walls. Inside there are also exhibitions, historical shows, fencing competitions and the summer film screenings "BarbaKino".

On the other side of Basztowa Street, along Planty, begins the park encircling the Old Town. In a few minutes you can walk from here to the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) and the Czartoryski Museum.

Practical information

• Address: ulica Basztowa 1, Kraków.
• The museum gives opening from Tuesday to Sunday between 10:30 and 18:00, with entry at the latest 30 minutes before closing, closed on Mondays. Check the current hours before your visit.
• The site is marked as partly accessible for wheelchair users, which is worth confirming on the spot.
• The Barbican lies right next to St Florian's Gate, so the two sites are easy to combine in one walk.