Kazimierz Dolny
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Kazimierz Dolny, which was probably named after either the 14th century Polish king Casimir the Just (Kazimierz Sprawiedliwy) or Casimir the Great, is a small picturesque town on the Vistula (Wisla) river. It is set in a small valley surrounded by low wooded hills. It has everything required of a picture postcard scene, including ancient decaying fortifications on a hill above it. When it was first mentioned in the 12th century, it was already a thriving settlement,
Most of the city was destroyed by fire in 1561, but this was not the catastrophe it might have been because its merchants were given an 8 year tax exemption and the right to trade in Krakow salt to allow them resources to rebuild. The merchants gained enormous profits from this and were able to build the town almost from new. The gothic parish church was restored and given a new facade, and this facade is now considered to be the finest surviving sample of the Lublin Renaissance style.
Parish
Church.
Many of the new merchants houses were built using the influence of the many Italian architects then working in Poland, with plaster mouldings on the walls and a high ornate loft to conceal the roof (a loft in this meaning is an extension upwards of the front wall of the house). Buildings in the same style can be seen in Lublin's old town and Zamosc.
Two area's of Kazimierz, where the warehouses were located, were named after the two main cities with which the city traded - Krakow and Gdansk. A few of the warehouses which were built at that time still survive, in one of them is a nature museum and another is now a hotel.
In the 18th century, Kazimierz Dolny went into a decline, along with the rest of Poland, speeded up by a severe attack by the Swedes, plague and several more fires.
Kazimierz Dolny today has little in the way of modern style building as it survives mainly on the flood of visitors there, many of them coming from Warsaw to spend the weekend there.
One
of the famous renaisance style granaries in Kazimierz.
A later,
Baroque, granary. Not one of the famous ones, and so is left almost abandoned,
despite it being several hundred years old. Such is the infant state of
monument care, mainly due to lack of funds and partly due to a lack of
awareness amongst the population. The camera angle is a bit strange, but
I did take it from a horse and carriage...
The
main square on a market day. Behind the main in the striped top you can
see the wooden well, a well known feature of Kazimierz Dolny that many
people photograph themselves against.
Although
it was August, the range of fruit from the local farms was impressive,
they still had raspberries and they hadn't been seen in Lublin's markets
for weeks.
Again
the market, against the backdrop of one of Kazimierz Dolny's most well
known buildings and one of the finist examples of the Renaisance style
in Poland. Here you can see that they are selling baskets, a local product.
When it
isn't market time, there is generally something to buy in the square as
Kazimierz Dolny has been a haunt of artists since the early 19th century.
Between
the main market and the second market square is this wooden building. 2
storey wooden buildings are not that common in this part of Poland.
In the second
market square is this fine wooden barn, the shop built into the corner
of it sells old farm and cottage antiques.
The
basket-makers college. You can always be sure of buying a basket in Kazimierz.
A substantial
wooden house, with a traditional wood tile roof.
A view from
the castle hill towards the river.
A cottage
on the northern edge of the town.
An old wooden
house
This
is part of the Wisla (Vistula) river valley. The river itself is several
hundred metres away, but during very wet periods it flows across this part
as well.
The
main limestone quarry, to the south of Kazimierz Dolny and overlooking
the river. The quarry is now out of use.
A kaplica
at the side of Krakowska street, just outside the town itself. The interior
is shown in the picture at the top of the page.
In the
courtyard of the Franciscan Monastery and Church. This monument is an object
of pilgrimages. She is Matka Boze Kazimierska (God's Mother of Kazimierz).
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Website written & maintained by: Trevor & Ania Butcher