DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.25050#0026
privileges extended by Casimir the Great. Jews settled in Cracow
in compact groups, at first mostly around St Anne Street, then
called Zydowska (Jewish), and later in the eastern part of Kazi-
mierz. The population of Cracow by the end of Casimir’s reign is
estimated at 7000—8000.
The momentous effort of Casimir the Great to improve
defences and reestablish order in the country affected all aspects of
life, but concentrated on administrative, military and legal issues.
The need for an educated elite was to be served by the University,
founded in 1364. It was modelled on Italian schools, especially the
Bologna Academy, and focused mostly on legal studies. Although
teaching was temporarily suspended after Casimir’s death, in the
next century the university became an intellectual centre of
international repute. At first it was housed in the Wawel, and the
construction of new buildings was begun, probably in Kazimierz.
The king gave the school broad autonomy and provided a steady
income from the salt mines of Wieliczka.
The proof of the strengthened international position of both
Poland and Cracow was the 1364 meeting of European monarchs,
at which Casimir acted as a mediator between his nephew Louis of
Hungary and Emperor Charles IV. Into the bargain, he married
off his granddaughter to Charles IV. The meeting featured
a celebrated feast for the participants hosted by the Cracow
merchant Mikolaj Wierzynek the Younger. It has remained in
the local tradition as testimony to the significance and wealth of
the city and to the unusual relations between the court and the
burghers, who where not divided by the social chasm.
The fourteenth century saw big changes in the architecture of
Cracow. Enormously rose the number of stone and brick houses
with particular spatial arrangement, fitted to the size and shape of
the building plots. A covered cloth hall (Sukiennice), was erected
m the Market Square, as was a town hall with a monumental
tower, a weighing house and other public buildings. The fortifica-
tions were continually expanded, and both Ladislaus the Short and
Casimir the Great altered and extended the Wawel Castle. At the
23
in compact groups, at first mostly around St Anne Street, then
called Zydowska (Jewish), and later in the eastern part of Kazi-
mierz. The population of Cracow by the end of Casimir’s reign is
estimated at 7000—8000.
The momentous effort of Casimir the Great to improve
defences and reestablish order in the country affected all aspects of
life, but concentrated on administrative, military and legal issues.
The need for an educated elite was to be served by the University,
founded in 1364. It was modelled on Italian schools, especially the
Bologna Academy, and focused mostly on legal studies. Although
teaching was temporarily suspended after Casimir’s death, in the
next century the university became an intellectual centre of
international repute. At first it was housed in the Wawel, and the
construction of new buildings was begun, probably in Kazimierz.
The king gave the school broad autonomy and provided a steady
income from the salt mines of Wieliczka.
The proof of the strengthened international position of both
Poland and Cracow was the 1364 meeting of European monarchs,
at which Casimir acted as a mediator between his nephew Louis of
Hungary and Emperor Charles IV. Into the bargain, he married
off his granddaughter to Charles IV. The meeting featured
a celebrated feast for the participants hosted by the Cracow
merchant Mikolaj Wierzynek the Younger. It has remained in
the local tradition as testimony to the significance and wealth of
the city and to the unusual relations between the court and the
burghers, who where not divided by the social chasm.
The fourteenth century saw big changes in the architecture of
Cracow. Enormously rose the number of stone and brick houses
with particular spatial arrangement, fitted to the size and shape of
the building plots. A covered cloth hall (Sukiennice), was erected
m the Market Square, as was a town hall with a monumental
tower, a weighing house and other public buildings. The fortifica-
tions were continually expanded, and both Ladislaus the Short and
Casimir the Great altered and extended the Wawel Castle. At the
23