Floriańska Street or St. Florian's Street (Polish: ulica Floriańska, Latin: platea Sancti Floriani) is one of the main streets in Kraków Old Town and one of the most famous promenades in the city.[1] The street forms part of the regular grid plan of Stare Miasto (the Old Town), the merchants' town that extends the medieval heart of the city, which was drawn up in 1257 after the destruction of the city during the first Mongol invasion of Poland of 1241.[2]
Location
Floriańska appears on the 1257 plan of the extended city.[3] It marks the beginning of the Royal Road in Kraków[1] and stretches from the north-western end of the main square, Rynek Główny, to the landmark St. Florian's Gate, a distance of 335 metres (1,099 ft).[4] There are currently 51 numbered buildings on the street (up to no 44 even and no 57 odd).[4] It is named after Saint Florian.[5]
In 1882, the first horse tram line started. In 1901 it was transformed into the electricity line (now defunct).[6]
Today, the street is a major tourist attraction, and most buildings feature shops, restaurants, cafes and similar establishments.[1] In 2007, the Polish magazine Wprost ranked Floriańska Street as the third most prestigious street in Poland, and the most prestigious in Kraków, following Warsaw's Nowy Świat (New World Street) and Krakowskie Przedmieście Street.[7] In 2011 and 2013, rents at Floriańska Street was ranked second in Poland, second only to that for Nowy Świat Street.[8][9]
^Landmark Publishing; Andrew Beattie; Timothy Pepper (1 April 2002). Cracow. Landmark. p. 28. ISBN978-1-84306-033-8.
^Commentationes (in Polish). Państwowe Wydawn. Naukowe. 2009. p. 103. Ulica Floriańska w Krakowie, łącząca Rvnek z Kleparzem i zwieńczona Bramą Floriańską. Została wytyczona w czasie wielkiej lokacji miasta w 1257 r. w miejsce dawnego traktu, łączącego Okół z osadą, rozwijającą się wokół XIl-wiecznego kościoła.