Florian's+Gate

O kay, so you’ve seen gates. Gates are those ‘doors’ on a fence. You use them to go through a fence or a wall, not over it. But have you seen a Medieval gate that is 33.5 meters tall? In Krakow, Poland, there is a Gothic gate that was built in the 14th century by Prince Leszek II to provide defense to the city. This tower is Florian’s Gate, otherwise known as Brama Florianska gate that resides in Old Town. It is named after St. Florian. The building is in the shape of a square with a baroque roof that was added in the 17th century. Florian’s gate was a part of the baileys, a group of gates that surrounded Krakow as a defense mechanism. In 1806, the Austrian emperor Francis II wished to destroy the baileys. He started to rid of them in 1810. This stopped in 1814. Only four of the many towers survive and still stand to this day. The three other towers are near this one: Passementiers’ Tower on Szpitalna Street, the Joiners’ Tower, and the Carpenters’ Tower which resides on Sławkowska Street. The Joiner’s Tower is also known as the Rope-Makers’ Tower. Today, this is a great spot for travelers. Tours of this area is given and can last about 30 minutes.