City walls

Defensive walls were built in Krakow in the 13th century and surrounded the entire Old Town. To this day, only a fragment of the medieval walls with three towers (including the St. Florian's Gate) has preserved. The remaining towers are: the Pasamoników (or craftsmen making belts), Stolarska and Ciesielska.

The names of the individual towers come from the names of craft guilds, because the craftsmen were responsible for their construction and maintenance, as well as defense in the event of an attack. All preserved towers are open to the public to visit by the Historical Museum of the City of Krakow as part of the "Defensive Walls" route.

Most of the walls were liquidated in the 19th century, and the area, which was previously occupied by the most, was transformed into a park (Planty). A fragment of the walls with the Florian Gate has been preserved for posterity thanks to the efforts of professor Feliks Radwański. At present, you can see a low stone wall in Planty, mapping the old string of walls and stone slabs in the places where the towers were located. Part of the fortifications was also the Barbican preserved until today.