Strzelecki Park
Explorer of Kraków's Parks · no. 7
Park type: historic. In this park you can collect a stamp in the "Explorer of Kraków's Parks" campaign run by Kraków's Municipal Greenery Authority (ZZM). Where to find the stamp: next to the Paderewski monument.
History
Strzelecki Park is the third garden in the history of Kraków's Fowler Brotherhood (Bractwo Kurkowe). On 21 June 1837 the Shooting Society bought from Maurycy Samelsohn an estate with a garden and a small palace in the suburb of Wesoła, then known as the Steinkeller Garden. The initiative came from the Fowler King Józef Louis, who put up his own money. The garden and buildings were designed by Tomasz Majewski, with Franciszek Lanci taking part in the work. A neo-Gothic palace, a shooting range and a round viewing tower were built, and the new headquarters was formally opened on 15 October 1837.
The garden became one of Kraków residents' favourite places for a stroll: there was a restaurant and a café, and in 1840 the first public New Year's Eve party in Kraków was held here. In 1875 Karol Bauer drew up a new design in the style of an English garden, and in 1883 monuments to Sigismund Augustus and John III Sobieski were put up. The eastern part of the garden was divided into plots in 1900-1902. The Brotherhood's headquarters now houses the Museum of the Fowler Brotherhood, a branch of the Museum of Kraków.
Did you know?
During his first visit to Kraków, on 14 June 1855, Emperor Franz Joseph I visited the Fowler Brotherhood's shooting range and fired three shots there, missing every time.