Średniowieczne przedproże przed pałacem „Pod Krzysztofory” – najnowsze odkrycia

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THE MEDIAEVAL PRZEDPROŻE IN FRONT OF THE „POD KRZYSZTOFORY” PALACE – LATEST DISCOVERIES

The “Pod Krzysztofory” palace (35 Main Market Square) which today houses the Historical Museum of the City of Kraków is deeply rooted in the city’s architectural landscape, its beginnings reaching back to the late 13th century. The extensive renovation programme constantly reveals new facts about the development of the building throughout the many centuries of its existence and keeps surprising us with extraordinary discoveries. The present paper discusses merely one of the vast number of issues connected with the history of the entire palace layout, namely the so-called przedproża (German: Beischlag), i.e. the terraces built in front of the thresholds of burgher houses, along their facades which were common throughout various West European countries already in the mid-13th century. Similar structures of that kind were built in front of many other houses standing along the Main Market Square, however, they all remain buried deep underground, and only one of them has been thoroughly researched so far. The construction of the przedproże in front of the “Pod Krzysztofory” palace started in the mid-14th century at the latest and it was one of the largest constructions of that kind in Kraków. It reached its final form in the 2nd half of that century and survives in its original, almost unaltered shape to the present time. Mediaeval brick vaults, stone portals, the lower parts of masonry around the windows and other fragments of functional architectural solutions have been preserved. The upper parts of the encircling wall and the lunettes above the windows are the only elements of the structure which have not survived. By the end of the 17th century most przedproża disappeared from the local cityscape. Today, walking by the stone town houses along the frontages of the huge Main Market Square we suddenly realize that we are in fact strolling along the old front terraces where our ancestors lived their lives of lively trade exchanges and animated social activity. The present surface of the Main Market Square is situated roughly on the same level as the former przedproże in front of the palace. In the 2nd half of the 14th century the surface of that terrace was situated over 2 m above the level of the city’s main square at that time. The present article discusses this, as well as many other interesting issues connected with the przedproże at 35 Main Market Square. So far, no comprehensive book discussing all the przedproża in Kraków has been published and the results of latest research present merely the first step towards our full understanding of the history of other structures of that kind built in our city.