Wyniki kwerendy archiwalnej dotyczącej zabudowy handlowej Rynku w Krakowie

Abstract

THE OUTCOMES OF PRELIMINARY ARCHIVAL RESEARCH CONDUCTED TO EXAMINE THE HISTORY OF TRADE FACILITIES IN THE MARKET SQUARE IN KRAKOW

The paper presents the outcomes of preliminary research of written sources concerning trade facilities built or installed in the Kraków Market Square conducted for the purposes of archaeological research carried out in the Main Market Square from 2005 to 2007; the author also presents the results of her own research on the subject. An overview of the surviving sources and literature available is also included. The data has been divided into paragraphs – each paragraph presents research results pertaining to a different facility, such as: the Cloth Hall, the Rich Stalls, the Scales, Shoemakers’ Stalls, etc. The greatest emphasis has been put on the Middle Ages and the earliest phase of construction works which still remains partly obscure, i.e. the time when the oldest trade facilities were built. Having examined a number of sources, the author presents her own perspective on these issues. Preliminary archival research has revealed that the oldest block of buildings situated in the centre of the Market Square comprised cloth chambers, stalls and bread benches which can be traced in documents from 1300 onwards. These early structures formed a commercial precinct with blocks of trade facilities built in rows stretching from St. John’s Street to Bracka Street, intersected by a passageway in the middle (the location of the passageway was determined by the settlement urban plan and, since the mid-14th cent., had been called the “through the cross” passage). Archival materials dating from the first half of the 14th cent. suggest that each of the blocks comprised two parallel rows of buildings facing the path running in between. Already in 1302 the building of the Scales (originally known as the Lead Scales) was mentioned – its name changed to Greater Scales in the mid-14th cent. This is the complex of trade facilities which seems to have existed until the 1370s. Cloth chambers must have been transformed into an integrated hall prior to 1390 since municipal account books dating from that period mention the fact of finishing works being carried out in that facility. It was at that time that the entire complex was referred to as the Cloth Hall (Pannitheca) for the first time. Since the early 15th cent. the layout of the central facilities complex underwent further changes as new facilities (Lesser Scales) and new kinds of specialized stalls (e.g. shoemakers’ stalls, potters’ stalls, tanners’ stalls, etc.) started to appear. A silver melting furnace operated in the Greater Scales complex. There was also a market hall called Smatruz (German: Schmetterhaus) which was relocated to stand next to the Town Hall after the fire in 1445. Further expansion of the stalls took place in the 16th cent. – by that time, they had covered most of the space available in the Market Square. A significant achievement was the transformation of the Cloth Hall into a Renaissance building (1557–1559). At the end the 16th cent. the central block underwent further changes due to the thorough renovation of the buildings of the Greater and Lesser Scales and the construction of brick shoemakers’ stalls. There was a major decline in trade activity in the 17th cent. Following the Swedish invasion, many trade facilities fell into ruin and the deterioration of these buildings continued throughout the 18th cent. At the beginning of the 19th cent. the gradual liquidation of stalls and other facilities located in the central block began, symbolically inaugurated by the tearing down of the Lesser Scales in 1801. The Cloth Hall, being the most impressive element of the historical trade facilities complex, was renovated and adapted to perform other tasks (1875–1879), and the Market Square itself transformed from a dilapidated commercial centre into a modern, stately city square.