Pałac Pod Krzysztofory, Kraków

Pałac Pod Krzysztofory is a Baroque city palace at number thirty-five on Kraków’s Main Market Square. At the corner with Szczepańska Street, it also serves as the home of Muzeum Krakowa. Its name comes from a carved figure of Saint Christopher that was placed on the corner façade around the year thirteen eighty.

Three narrow medieval Gothic houses were combined to create this palace, and Crown Court Marshal Adam Kazanowski commissioned its making after he acquired the property. Notice the changing rhythm of the façade’s openings and ornament. Architect Wawrzyniec Senes reshaped the residence into an L plan, adding an arcaded gallery and cloister that remain from that transformation.

The Swedish invasion badly damaged the palace. Later, Jakub Solari oversaw a major remodelling, while Baltazar Fontana created elaborate stucco decoration, including a scene of Phaethon’s fall. Developers planned to demolish Krzysztofory in nineteen twelve for a profitable rental building, but Kraków’s public protest prevented that loss.

Inside, the museum’s permanent story of Kraków runs from the mythical King Krakus to the present, with its closing element refreshed as city life changes. Among its well-known objects are the Lajkonik costume and Kraków nativity scenes.