Rynek Główny Kraków through time

Kraków 1939–2024 18 photos of this spot

18 photographs taken at the same spot in Kraków, spanning 1939–2024 — 6 of them from before 1980. Line them up and watch the place change.

A section of Kraków's medieval defensive walls together with the Florian Gate, photographed in 1939. The gate is one of the few surviving fragments of the city's fortifications after most were demolished in the early 19th century.

EU: Krakow. Fragment of defensive walls with Florian Gate (1939) 1939 A section of Kraków's medieval defensive walls together with the Florian Gate, photographed in 1939. The gate is one of the few surviving fragments of the city's fortifications after most were demolished in the early 19th century.

EU: Krakow. Gothic cloister of the courtyard of the Jagiellonian Library (1939) 1939 The Gothic cloister in the courtyard of the Jagiellonian Library in Kraków, Poland, photographed in 1939, shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War.

EU: Kraków. Motyw przed Kościołem Św. Barbary (1939) 1939 A view near St. Barbara's Church in Kraków, Poland, taken in 1939. The small Gothic church stands beside the Main Market Square, close to St. Mary's Basilica.

EU: Kraków. Kościół Mariacki, z przodu fragment Sukiennic (1939) 1939 St. Mary's Basilica in Kraków, Poland, with a section of the Cloth Hall visible in the foreground, photographed in 1939. Both buildings stand on the city's Main Market Square, one of the largest medieval town squares in Europe.

EU: Kraków. Attyki Sukiennic i Kościół N. M. P. (1939) 1939 The decorative parapets of the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) in Kraków, Poland, with St. Mary's Basilica behind them, photographed in 1939. The Renaissance attic parapet was added to the medieval trading hall in the 16th century.

EU: Kościół św. Barbary. Widok z przed 1944 roku. Kraków (1940) 1940 St. Barbara's Church in Krakow, photographed in 1940 showing its appearance before 1944. The Gothic church stands beside the city's Main Market Square and dates back to the fourteenth century.

Kraków - Sukiennice 01 2008 The Sukiennice, or Cloth Hall, in the main market square of Krakow, Poland, photographed in 2008. The Renaissance-era building has served as a center for trade since the medieval period and now houses shops and a gallery.

Wandering around Cracow's main square III 2009 Krakow's Main Market Square (Rynek Glowny), shown in this 2009 photograph, dates to the 13th century and remains one of the largest medieval town squares in Europe, ringed by historic townhouses and churches.

Stare Miasto, Kraków, Poland 2013 Kraków's Old Town, photographed in 2013 from another section of the historic center.

Krakow OldMarketSquare27 2013 Kraków's Main Market Square, laid out in 1257, is one of the largest medieval town squares in Europe and remains the heart of the city's historic center. This photograph was taken in 2013.

Kraków 2013 This 2013 photograph shows part of Kraków, the former royal capital of Poland whose old town is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Kraków dachy Starego Miasta 07 2017 Snow dusts the red-tiled rooftops of Krakow's Old Town in this 2017 photograph, with chimneys and dormer windows stretching across the historic skyline.

Rynek Główny Kraków 2017 Pedestrians walk across the wet cobblestones of Rynek Glowny in this 2017 photograph, with a row of pastel-colored townhouses and shopfronts lining Krakow's Main Market Square.

Rynek Główny Kraków 2017 A corner building on Rynek Glowny is decorated with red banners in this 2017 photograph of Krakow's Main Market Square, taken during the winter holiday season.

Szara kamienica w Krakowie 2017 The Grey Tenement House stands on Krakow's Main Market Square in this 2017 winter photograph, its facade overlooking a Christmas market set up along the square.

Main Market Square, view from S, Old Town, Kraków, Poland 2021 Kraków's Main Market Square, or Rynek Główny, viewed from the south side of the Old Town. Laid out in 1257, it is among the largest medieval town squares surviving in Europe and remains the ceremonial center of the city.

Saint Mary Basilica in Kraków 2023 St. Mary's Basilica overlooks Kraków's Main Market Square in Poland, a Gothic church famed for the hourly trumpet call sounded from its taller tower; this photograph was taken in 2023.

Kraków Cloth Hall, Café Noworolski, 3 Main Market square, Old Town, Krakow, Poland 2024 Café Noworolski, a long-established café inside the Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) on Kraków's Main Market Square, Poland, photographed in 2024.