Krakow's+Old+Town

Krakow's old town is one of the most famous districts in Poland. A river called the Wisla Rivers flows directly down the middle of the town. Back in 1038, it was the center of all Poland's political life. But Warsaw then took the political life in 1596 when King Sigismund III Vasa relocated the court. "Stare Miasto" is what the Old Town is known as in Poland. There is a 1.9 mile defensive wall surrounding all of Medieval Krakow which also includes 46 towers and seven main entrances. These fortifications have gotten weaker over the course of time. The current architectural plan is from the 13th century merchants' town, and was drawn in 1257. This happened after the invasion of the Mongols in 1241 causing major damage to the town. Two other raids followed the invasion during 1259 and 1287. Now, the most popular gate, Florian's Gate, is still standing today. Lots of the buildings in Krakow are symmetrical. It gave the town a very unique look. Every day at noon, Krakow's "sound" called the Hejnal Mariacki is played by a trumpet throughout the town. The story behind how the sound came about was that a man played this tune to worn the others that invaders were coming into town. The legend behind why the trumpet stops so sudden is said to be because the man was shot in the neck with an arrow,by the Tatars whom were invading Krakow, and dropped dead.