St. Florian`s Gate. (Kraków)

 tower, gate, place with historical importance, interesting place, religious items

St. Florian`s Gate (Brama Florianska) is the main gate of the medieval Krakow, built about 1300 as a rectangular Gothic tower of wild stone, 33.5 m tall. In the Middle Ages the Krakow furriers defended it. Its present baroque roof dates from 1694 and a big 16th-century bas-relief of St. Florian adorns the south wall. The famed 19th-century painter Jan Matejko designed a stone eagle on the other side of the gate tower. At the Brama Florianska gate Krakow's Royal Road begins. Here entered kings and princes, foreign envoys and guests of distinction, coronation processions and other parades, to move up the Florianska Street to the central Grand Square (Rynek Glowny), and further down the Grodzka Street to the Wawel Royal Castle.