Sukiennice, Gothic commercial building in Main Market Square, Kraków, Poland.
Sukiennice stretches along the center of Main Market Square with its ornate Renaissance facade and stone arcades measuring 108 meters in length. The structure consists of two levels, with the ground floor housing open passages for vendors and the upper level containing enclosed gallery rooms.
King Casimir III commissioned the trading hall in 1358, which became a major center for international commerce in textiles and salt. After a fire in the sixteenth century, the structure received its current Renaissance form with the characteristic rooftop decorations.
The upper level displays the National Museum collection featuring paintings by Polish artists from the nineteenth century, including works by Jan Matejko and Jacek Malczewski. The exhibition offers a sense of how Poland interpreted its own history and identity through painting.
The ground floor contains multiple vendor stalls selling traditional Polish crafts, amber jewelry, leather goods, and textiles, open Tuesday through Sunday. The gallery rooms on the upper floor are accessible via a separate staircase and have their own opening hours.
Each arch of the structure displays a different carved stone mask, created by Renaissance sculptors to represent merchant expressions during negotiations. These masks differ in facial expression and style, making the walk along the arcades a small journey of discovery.
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