The Main Market Square at night
par Leszek Cuper
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The Main Market Square at nightThe World > Europe > Poland > Krakow |
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The Main Market Square in Kraków (Polish: Rynek Główny w Krakowie) is the most important market square of the Old Town in Kraków, Poland and a principal urban space located at the center of the city. It dates back to the 13th century, and – at roughly 40,000 m² (430,000 ft²) – it is the largest medieval town square in Europe. Rynek Główny is a spacious square surrounded by historical townhouses (kamienice), palaces and churches. The center of the square is dominated by the Sukiennice (the Cloth Hall or Drapers' Hall), rebuilt in 1555 in the Renaissance style, topped by a beautiful attic or Polish parapet decorated with carved masks. On one side of the Sukiennice is the Town Hall Tower (Wieża ratuszowa), on the other the 10th century Church of St. Wojciech (St. Adalbert's) and 1898 Adam Mickiewicz Monument. Rising above the square are the Gothic towers of St. Mary's Basilica (Kościół Mariacki).
Old men, the world over, feeding the pigeons on the town square.
This place is full of pigeons and therefore full of kids. Or maybe it's the opposite. Anyway, you can...
Pigeons attacked the Market Square in Krakow, maiming dozens. I barely got away with my life.
Photo's taken on may 29, 2011.
Back in 2005 they were doing a major archaological dig in the center of Krakow, uncovering the earlie...
Europe is generally agreed to be the birthplace of western culture, including such legendary innovations as the democratic nation-state, football and tomato sauce.
The word Europe comes from the Greek goddess Europa, who was kidnapped by Zeus and plunked down on the island of Crete. Europa gradually changed from referring to mainland Greece until it extended finally to include Norway and Russia.
Don't be confused that Europe is called a continent without looking like an island, the way the other continents do. It's okay. The Ural mountains have steadily been there to divide Europe from Asia for the last 250 million years. Russia technically inhabits "Eurasia".
Europe is presently uniting into one political and economic zone with a common currency called the Euro. The European Union originated in 1993 and is now composed of 27 member states. Its headquarters is in Brussels, Belgium.
Do not confuse the EU with the Council of Europe, which has 47 member states and dates to 1949. These two bodies share the same flag, national anthem, and mission of integrating Europe. The headquarters of the Council are located in Strasbourg, France, and it is most famous for its European Court of Human Rights.
In spite of these two bodies, there is still no single Constitution or set of laws applying to all the countries of Europe. Debate rages over the role of the EU in regards to national sovereignty. As of January 2009, the Lisbon Treaty is the closest thing to a European Constitution, yet it has not been approved by all the EU states.
Text by Steve Smith.
