The Kraków barbican is a barbican

Barbican

A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from medieval Latin barbecana, signifying the "outer fortification of a city or castle," with cognates in the Romance languages A barbican, from...

 – a fortified outpost once connected to the city walls. It is a historic gateway leading into the Old Town of Kraków, Poland

Poland

Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

. The barbican is one of the few remaining relics of the complex network of fortifications and defensive barriers that once encircled the royal city of Kraków

Kraków

Kraków also Krakow, or Cracow , is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life...

 in the south of Poland

Lesser Poland

Lesser Poland is one of the historical regions of Poland, with its capital in the city of Kraków. It forms the southeastern corner of the country, and should not be confused with the modern Lesser Poland Voivodeship, which covers only a small, southern part of Lesser Poland...

. It currently serves as a tourist attraction and venue for a variety of exhibitions.

History

Based on Arabic rather than European defensive architecture, this masterpiece of medieval military engineering, with its circular fortress, was added to the city's fortifications along the coronation route

Royal Road, Kraków

The Royal Road or Royal Route in Kraków, Poland, begins at the northern end of the medieval Old Town and continues south through the centre of town towards Wawel Hill, where the old royal residence, Wawel Castle, is located...

 in the late 15th century.

The Gothic-style

Gothic architecture

Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 barbican, built around 1498, is one of only three such fortified outposts still surviving in Europe, and the best preserved. It is a moated cylindrical brick structure with an inner courtyard 24.4 meters in diameter, and seven turrets. Its 3-meter-thick walls hold 130 embrasure

Embrasure

In military architecture, an embrasure is the opening in a crenellation or battlement between the two raised solid portions or merlons, sometimes called a crenel or crenelle...

s. The barbican was originally linked to the city walls by a covered passageway that led through St. Florian's Gate and served as a checkpoint for all who entered the city. On its eastern wall, a tablet commemorates the feat of the Kraków burgher, Marcin Oracewicz, who, during the Bar Confederation

Bar Confederation

The Bar Confederation was an association of Polish nobles formed at the fortress of Bar in Podolia in 1768 to defend the internal and external independence of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth against Russian influence and against King Stanisław August Poniatowski and Polish reformers who were...

, defended the town against the Russians and shot their Colonel Panin.

See also

• Planty Park
  Planty Park
  Planty is one of the largest city parks in Kraków, Poland. It encircles the Stare Miasto , where the Medieval city walls used to stand until the early 19th century. The historic Old Town is not to be confused with the Administrative District No. 1 Stare Miasto extending further east.The park has an...
  
   which encircles the Old Town (Stare Miasto)
• Warsaw barbican
  Warsaw Barbican
  The Warsaw barbican is a barbican in Warsaw, Poland, and one of few remaining relics of the complex network of historic fortifications that once encircled Warsaw. Located between the Old and New Towns, it is a major tourist attraction.-History:The barbican was erected in 1540 in place of an older...
  
  

External links

• Kraków Poland: information about and photographs of Kraków's Barbican