Architecture of Zamość, Sandomierz and Kazimierz by the Vistula river. Pearls of the Polish Renaissance
Instead of lofty and souring churches, tenement houses with new lines, strong compact body and numerous decorations. There are plenty of examples of Renaissance architecture in Poland. Some of them are real pearls.
Clarity and harmony of the body, arrangement cohesiveness and simplicity - are characteristic features of Renaissance. Moreover, horizontal composition, i.e. building connection with the body (no longer an impression of being detached from the ground) and an advantage of horizontal lines. Also, courtyards surrounded by cloisters, arches, arcades and attics.
Decoration of the planes is subordinated to the construction systems. Sculptural decorations and rustic, semi-circular forms in vaults, arcades, porticoes and, for example, in window frames are fashionable. What else gives the rhythm of the entire body? Stairs, mouldings and balustrades, seen from a distance, seem to bend slightly in the bow.
Care was also taken so that the buildings were in harmony with the surroundings - they were designed to be low on a central or rectangular plan, surrounded by gardens (if it was possible). Examples?
Zamość
The Old Town of Zamość, being an example of Renaissance urban development, was entered onto the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1992. Primarily we can be delighted with a lane of arcaded cloisters, roofed and arched, around the inner courtyard. The buildings are dominated by two - three-storey buildings, which today are decorated with colourful facades (from brick through yellow to turquoise).
Sandomierz
In the central part of the Old Town of Sandomierz - preserved its old town layout - there is one of the most beautiful town halls in Poland. A magnificent Renaissance body (built in the fourteenth century and expanded in the sixteenth) is crowned with a delicate attic, whose corners are decorated with sculptures of heads representing four states; and an octagonal tower.
The best preserved entry gate, called the Opatów Gate, has Renaissance attic.
Kazimierz by the Vistutla river
The houses surrounding the square from the Renaissance, of which a special attention must be paid to the houses of the Przybyło brothers. They enchant us with attics, abundance of ornaments and bas-reliefs of the saints and patrons of the owners, as well as plant, animal and mythological images.
The parish church of St. John the Baptist and St. Bartłomiej could not resist the Renaissance restoration.
Charming monuments from the Renaissance can also be found in Baranów Sandomierski and Tarnów (town halls) or even in Cracow (eg Cloth Hall and Villa Decius).
Gallery:
