Cracovia

Photographer's Note

The Barbican was built between 1498-1499 and paid for by King Jan Olbracht. It is Gothic in style and used to be surrounded by a deep, 26 meter wide moat. There were two gates, one from Kleparz and the other from the city walls. The west gate used to be supported by 4 pillars. The Kraków Barbican is the largest and best preserved building of its kind in Europe. It is circular in construction, with 3 meter thick walls. Unfortunately it is not open for visiting in wintertime.

Krakow – Brief history

• In the 11th century, Krakow was the main seat of the first Polish kings of the Piast dynasty.
• In 1241, after a Tartar raid, the settlements situated around the Wawel Hill were greatly destroyed.
• In 1320, the first crowning ceremony of Ladislaus the Short in the Wawel Cathedral strengthened the rank of the capital city of Krakow.
• In 1333, under the last king from the Piast dynasty, Casimir the Great (1333-1370), the city became a rightful member of the Western culture.
• 1364 - The establishment of a university, renovated under King Ladislaus Jagiello (1386- 1434), the first King from the Jagiellon family. It was to become one of the most important European university schools. Many eminent scientists received their education here, including the great Nicolaus Copernicus.
• At the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, the Jagellions forged the first dynastic power in Central Europe, and Krakow became the leading city in this part of the European continent. The Renaissance culture inspired by Italian, German and Dutch centers was in full bloom. After the death of King Sigismund Augustus, the last ruler of the Jagellion family, the age of bloom and development of Krakow came to an end.
• 1569 - Poland united with Lithuania. Krakow became situated on the periphery of the large country and gradually lost its political importance in favour of the centrally situated Warsaw.
• 1609 - King Sigismund III (1587-1632), the first Polish king of the Vasa dynasty, decided to transfer his seat to Warsaw.
• 1655 - Krakow was captured for the first time and plundered by the Swedes.
• 1795 - After the fall of Poland, Krakow became part of the Austrian empire.
• 1918 - Poland regained it's independence and the city slowly began to be restored to life. This was later interrupted by the Second World War when the captive city played an inglorious role of the capital of German-occupied Poland. Krakow beccame a place of martyrology of the Jewish nation; Jews were first confined to the Krakow ghetto, later taken to the Plaszow camp, wherefrom they were taken away to Auschwitz.
• After the war, significant sociological changes took place in Krakow, chiefly related to the uncontrolled development of industry. In 1978, Krakow was recognized by the UNESCO as a monument of world culture and is now a place where international cultural events are organized periodically.
(Source: The Visitor Malopolska)

snunney, jlbrthnn, Wanda1, dip, besnard, delic, lilimih33, kiwi_explorer, Photo65Net, rossy85, Scharan, emjleclercq, jaywalker, dorte_s_t, balatrek, fotostar ha contrassegnato questa nota come utile

Critiques | Translate

snunney (130967) 2007-06-09 8:06

Hello George,
A very appealing image of this lovely brick built structure taken in the early evening. Excellent ambient lighting and superb detail and tones.

jonathan_hart (21276) 2007-06-09 8:18

hello George,
nice place, good sharpness, colours, light well managed, good shot ;)
regards
jo

jlbrthnn (76043) 2007-06-09 8:25

Hello George,
A brick built fortress well captured with a lot of details and great colours. Congratulations
Cordially
Joël

Wanda1 (15142) 2007-06-09 9:32

Hi George,
Very good and sharp details on this one, I like the curving road in your composition. And the moon just tops it all off. Good exposure for this evening shot.
Regards
Wanda

jjcordier (79299) 2007-06-09 9:45

George
Même si ce n'est pas l'image de Cracovie que je préfère parmi celles que tu nous aproposées, elle est d'une grande beauté. Ton minireportage sur cette ville donne vraiment envie d'aller la visiter.
Amicalement
JJ

dip (21408) 2007-06-09 9:47

Hi George,
good use made of the light,
very good POV and nice colors.
Well done!
Regards.
Dimitris.

besnard (59196) 2007-06-09 10:52

Bonjour George
Joli cliché nocturne de cette forteresse à l'architecture intéressante bien mise en valeur par une bonne lumière. La présence des personnages donne de l'animationn à l'image.
Merci pour le partage et bon week-end.
Nicole

delic (6735) 2007-06-09 11:17

Hello George,
Fascinating photo under the moon. Slight underexposure has held the color of the sky. Wish there was a way to delete the tourists, no? Well done. Regards,
Hakan

lilimih33 (9918) 2007-06-09 12:57

Hello George!
Really lovely place and nice composition with Beautiful colours, light, clarity and perspective!
Excellent done!
Have a good week-end!
Lili

agbonavita (0) 2007-06-09 13:03

Hi George, this photo make me feel in medieval era. The castle so well conserved looks a new one! Nice soft ligh and a pretty full moon.

Andre

pablominto (53746) 2007-06-10 2:06

Hello George,
The low light adds interest value to the capture, and so does the moon!
A well composed image with good lines, lighting of the architecture gives good colours and fine details in the wall...
Good lead-in and fine details!
Greetings,
Pablo -

Graal (103040) 2007-06-10 3:09

Jó napot George,
another interesting the fragment of Krakow (Barbakan). Very good serie. I like the composition, warm colours and note about this old town. Good work.
Gr., Aleksander

kiwi_explorer (12209) 2007-06-10 4:16

Hi George,
Judging from the scene, you must have taken this shot at twilight which is very demanding time for lighting. You've done well in managing the light balance here ... that moon is a bonus. Excellent work! tfs
Cheers,
Renier

Photo65Net (43144) 2007-06-10 5:06

George,
This one is perfect technically.
I like a lot too the moment, with this beautiful blue sky.
Very nice,
Regards,
JB.

rossy85 (2879) 2007-06-10 5:56

Hi George,
Amazing night shot with good clearness and quality. I like it very much and I wish return to Krakow soon to capture all these wonderful places :)
Thank you
Rossy

Silvio1953 (223141) 2007-06-10 12:36

Hi George, fascinating composition in the blu hour with a wonderful architecture, splendid delicate colors and great light, excellent sharpness, I like it, ciao Silvio

Scharan (14144) 2007-06-10 14:02

Olá George

Uma excelente foto, cores lindas e ótima luminosidade. Lindos detalhes, nitidez e textura.

Grande abraço,
Vera.

Gustaw (21670) 2007-06-10 14:07

Hi, my friend!
Next photo from Poland! Yes, Barbacan is very nice building. I like your composition. Colours are good to. Good night photo. Well done.
Marek

emjleclercq (15778) 2007-06-10 17:09

This gate is absolutly beautifull and with a perfect sharpness and excellent colors. I thought intially the picture was a bit dark, but since you can see all the little details, I believe it is not a problem and I like the light on the right of the arched door. A nice little moon in the sky.

All the best,

Emmanuel

leo61 (0) 2007-06-10 17:14

Hi George!
Great blue hourshot with good lightmanagement.It`s a well composed image with this curve and some pedestriants and a nice view at this interesting building.A sharp image with many fine details,taken from a good POV.
Regards,Leo

anesugur (18789) 2007-06-10 17:15

Hi George,
Superb composition;
Excellent colors with superb light, details, and sharpness.
Well done. Best regards. Uğur

paura (25802) 2007-06-10 19:07

Very nice shot here, George. The towers are very beautiful and your composition, with the moon, nice.

Paulo

John_F_Kennedy (43797) 2007-06-11 2:50

Wonderful shot. I love the vivid colours of the building. Beautiful light, well done.
Best wishes,
Achim

hay_kes (31439) 2007-06-11 3:21

Hi George,
An Excellent and beautiful capture with great architecture. nice composition..well done ..TFS.

hAyAti

vincz (19113) 2007-06-11 4:35

Beautil colours for this shot. Light is very well managed and the compsotion very well balanced.

Angelillo (9374) 2007-06-11 17:00

Hi George,

Very nice light over this impressive fortresse. The shot shows a warm hot in the castle, and the cold blue around it. The moon add, and the outcome is very interesting. Thanks for this beautiful shot.

Regards,
Angel.

Bluejeans (64251) 2007-06-11 17:02

Ola George bonita foto deste castelo , tem uma bonita arquitectura , gostei muito das cores , bom enquadramento :
Um abraço Gonçalo

jemaflor (148398) 2007-06-12 6:14

Hi George,
Good timing to capture this light, interesting result for this interesting monument, well seen.

jaywalker (16105) 2007-06-13 7:58

Hi George, WOW again, the colours & light are stunning & the composition is trully excellent, the way the building archs round from the left side looks perfect, brilliantly sharp, & TFS this gorgeous construction, kind regards Wilson.

dorte_s_t (2287) 2007-06-13 22:33

Hi , George .
A very illustrative photo to go with your interesting note !
Lots of atmosphere !
Greetings
Dorte.

balatrek (7455) 2007-06-14 13:56

Hi George,

This image has an atmosphere magic, the colours and the light create an interesting fairy tale sensation, the composition is well balanced and all the elements of the scene are perfectly placed, thanks to share.

Regards
José

Angshu (56760) 2007-06-15 3:40

Dear George
A great twilight hour shot...how many cameras did you carry? The mix of artificial & natural lights creates a great atmosphere. Well framed & composed
Regards
Angshu

Standa (1877) 2007-06-16 11:13

Hi George,
interesting image full of sharp details.
Impressive light and good DOF, all together gives nice atmosphere of this historic place.
Best regards,
Stanislav

Andrzej_HHH (2480) 2008-03-02 12:56

Hello! Very nice shot of the famous monuments in my city. Great composition of this picture with the moon (?) in the middle. Very nice light. Good shot! Best regards! Andrzej