City Arsenal
Kraków Monuments
A historic building on Pijarska Street, built in 1565-1566 by the city builder Gabriel Słoński as the second arsenal in Kraków. Originally single-storey, it stood by the defensive walls between the Carpenters' and Joiners' towers and was used to store muskets, cannon and gunpowder. At the beginning of the 19th century it escaped the demolition that struck most of the walls thanks to the intervention of Senator Feliks Radwański. In 1874 the city gave it, together with the towers, to Prince Władysław Czartoryski for museum purposes; together with the palace and the little monastery it now forms the complex of the Princes Czartoryski Museum.
History
The City Arsenal stands on Pijarska Street, by the old defensive walls of the Old Town. It was built in 1565-1566 by the city builder Gabriel Słoński. It was the second arsenal in Kraków - the first, the Royal Arsenal, had been built several decades earlier by the Grodzka Gate.
At first the building was single-storey, made of rough-cut sandstone, and stood between the Carpenters' and Joiners' towers, not far from the Barbican. Muskets and cannons were kept in a hall with a barrel vault, while barrels of gunpowder were stored, for safety, in an underground magazine. In 1626 the arsenal received a new vault and a broken "Kraków-style" roof.
At the beginning of the 19th century most of the city walls were earmarked for demolition. The arsenal survived thanks to the intervention of Senator Feliks Radwański, who in 1817 persuaded the senate of the Free City of Kraków to preserve a section of the walls next to St Florian's Gate. In 1854-1861 the building was rebuilt by Antoni Stacherski: he added an upper floor intended as a storehouse and barracks, and the building took on the shape of a small early Renaissance Italian castle.
In 1874 the municipality gave the arsenal, together with the Joiners' and Carpenters' towers, to Prince Władysław Czartoryski for museum purposes. The neighbouring town houses and part of the former Piarist monastery were also bought. Following Maurice Ouradou's adaptation design, a complex was created consisting of the palace, the so-called Little Monastery and the arsenal, linked by footbridges. The opening of the Little Monastery in 1876 is regarded as the start of a new period in the history of the Princes Czartoryski Museum.
For a long time the arsenal housed the Czartoryski Library; since 1961 its collection has been kept in the town house at 17 St Mark's Street. In 1965-1975 the building was remodelled to a design by S. Świszczowski, and the hipped roof was replaced with a flat one with skylights. A gallery of ancient art was also set up here, entered through the Joiners' Tower. Since 18 January 1932 the arsenal has been listed in the register of historic monuments.
Did you know?
The defender of the walls, Feliks Radwański, argued that they protected Kraków from winds blowing from Kleparz towards St Mary's Basilica, because those winds would bring stench and rubbish and blow up ladies' skirts.