Andrzej Wajda Square
Kraków Artists: Theatre, Cabaret and Film
A square in the Planty, between Basztowa Street and the Słowacki Theatre, named after Andrzej Wajda (1926-2016), film and theatre director. Wajda initiated the Polish Film School with the films "Kanał" and "Ashes and Diamonds", and his works also include "Man of Marble", "The Promised Land" and "Pan Tadeusz"; "Man of Iron" won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes festival. His theatre work also included Kraków stages.
History
The square between Basztowa Street and the Słowacki Theatre lies in Planty Park - a historic park laid out in 1822-1830 on the site of the Old Town's former defensive walls. It is named after Andrzej Wajda (1926-2016), the film and theatre director.
Wajda's ties with Kraków began early: in 1946 he started studying painting here at the Academy of Fine Arts, and three years later he moved to the film school in Łódź to study directing. International fame came with "Kanał", which won the Silver Palm at Cannes and, together with "Ashes and Diamonds", launched the Polish Film School. Later came, among others, "Man of Marble", "The Promised Land" and "Pan Tadeusz", as well as "Man of Iron", which won the Palme d'Or at Cannes. In 2000 Wajda received an honorary Oscar for lifetime achievement.
Some of his productions are also linked with Kraków: the seven-hour television series "Z biegiem lat, z biegiem dni…" about the fortunes of two Kraków families in 1874-1914, and "Hamlet" of 1981, staged in the Wawel courtyard, with Jerzy Stuhr in the title role. The urn with his ashes was laid to rest in the Salwator Cemetery in Kraków.
Did you know?
In gratitude for the Kyoto Prize, Wajda gave its cash award, 340 thousand dollars, towards building Kraków's "Manggha" Museum of Japanese Art and Technology, opened in 1994.