Kraków’s Rynek Głowny (Main Square) ranks first place on Lonely Planet’s list of 10 Most Beautiful Main Squares in the World.

The world’s largest travel-guide publisher, Lonely Planet, in its most recent edition online, announced the main square in Old Town Kraków amongst the 10 most beautiful places in the world to visit. Lonely Planet featured the Rynek Głowny as:

Miraculously preserved from the damage caused by the Second World War. This treasure of medieval architecture is located in the heart of the former royal capital of Poland. The stunning Basilica of Santa Maria displays asymmetric towers adjacent to the site. Overlooking the Rynek Głowny, the Cloth Hall, built in the sixteenth century to accommodate the cloth market now houses craft shops and souvenirs. Flower stalls and street performers contribute to maintaining the magic of the place.

The largest medieval square in Europe, Kraków’s Rynek Głowny ranked the top of the list amongst others, including the Venice St. Market Square, the Moroccan Djemaa El- Fna, the market in Nance, France, the Spanish Salamace, the Old Town market in Prague, the Grand-Place in Belgium, the Mexican Constitution Square, the Imam Place in Iran, and the Moscow Red Square.

Kraków’s Rynek Głowny is an attractive site for artists, as much as it is for tourists. A film-portrait of the vibrant rhythms of Jewish Kraków was unveiled last year in a video work by the Israeli instrumentalist and video artist Kutiman. For this project, Kutiman invited 30 musicians including David Krakauer and Raphael Rogiński, who performed during the Jewish Culture Festival.

Situated on the Vistula River (Wisła) in the Lesser Poland region and dating back to the 7th century, Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life and is one of Poland's most important economic hubs. Rynek Głowny, home to flower merchants, music festivals and local parades in the summer, turns into a luminous gallery for Christmas nativity scenes in the winter, topped with the alluring smell of local classics such as, grzane wino (mulled-wine) and juicy food cooked on giant charcoal grills.

Source: Lonely Planet

Edited by E.M. 17/12/2013