Sukiennice

By Joyce Ira

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Sukiennice

In Krakow, you will find many distinct buildings and one of them is the Sukiennice which is also known as the Cloth Hall. On arriving at the square the Cloth Hall appears to ripple away before you. It is like some great sleigh that has come to a triumphant halt in the middle of the Rynek. And if the roads were to part wide enough, one can imagine the entire thing gliding off gracefully into the unknown.

The Cloth Hall, as its name suggests, was once a main focus of Cracow's trade. Merchants would meet here and discuss the state of business, whilst inside a lively bartering went on. The Cloth Hall has played host to many distinguished guests over the centuries and it is still used to entertain monarchs and dignitaries to this day. Both Prince Charles and Emperor Hirohito of Japan were welcomed here in 2002. In times gone by balls were held there, most famously after Prince Jozef Poniatowski liberated the city from the Austrians in 1809. And the mercantile traditions of the hall also live on. Today it may be slippers and one or two more tourist-oriented items that are on sale, but its wooden stalls maintain the hum of business as it was in earlier times.


Around town you can basically go there by foot or grab a cab for easy travel.




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