Medieval Krakow

Dan Snow's History Hit

This episode of Dan Snow's History Hit explores the medieval history of Krakow, Poland, tracing its rise as a major European city during the

Key takeaways

• Krakow was a vital crossroads for trade between Eastern Europe, the Baltic region, and Central European powers like Hungary and Bohemia.

Main topics

• Medieval trade networks in Central Europe
• The Mongol invasion of 1241 and its impact on Krakow

Notable quotes

'In the 13th century, Krakow must have seemed as close to a fairy tale as anywhere on earth.'

Conclusion

Krakow's story—from mythic origins to Mongol devastation and eventual rebirth—illustrates

Transcript preview

Speaker 3 (0:00) Have you been enjoying my podcast and now want even more history? Sign up to History It and watch the world's best history documentaries on subjects like how William conquered England, what it was like to live in the Georgian era, and you can even hear the voice of Richard III. We've got hundreds of hours of original documentaries, plus new releases every week, and there's always something more to discover. Sign up to join us in historic locations around the world and explore the past. Just visit historyit.com slash subscribe. Speaker 4 (0:31) It was a world of kings and queens, knights and castles. Speaker 3 (0:35) It was a world in which people talked of dragons and magic. At its heart stood Krakow, the city in modern-day Poland. Speaker 3 (0:49) In the Middle Ages, Krakow was one of the great cities of Central Europe, a crossroads between the Baltic world, the German lands, the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia, with trade routes stretching east towards the Kievan Rus and the Black Sea. It was a city of bustling market squares and cobbled lanes, merchant caravans, church bells, the sparking Vistula River and the towering royal castle high on a promontory. Beneath that, according to the legend, a dragon lay in wait. In the 13th century, Krakow must have seemed as close to a fairy tale as anywhere on earth, much as it still does today. But like all fairy tales, there is threat. There is a dark twist in this city's story. Speaker 3 (1:36) In 1241, an enemy appeared on the horizon to threaten the kingdom. From the east came the Tatars, what we now commonly call the Mongols, their hungry eyes set on Europe. They tore through burning towns and settlements, leaving a wake of destruction in their path as they headed west. Medieval chroniclers thought it was the end of days. These were the horsemen of the apocalypse. Speaker 3 (2:04) These Mongols reduced Krakow to ashes. But from the ruins, heroes emerged, determined to rebuild the city grander than ever before. Krakow would rise again, this time stronger and more powerful, the magnificent iteration of the city that we still see today. This is one of Europe's most dramatic medieval stories. And in this episode of Dan Snow's History, we're going to tell it properly. As I always say, the best place to understand history is to go to the place where it happened. So join us on a summer adventure to Poland as we trace the rise, destruction and rebirth of one of medieval Europe's greatest cities. Speaker 3 (3:07) Well, friends, summer has arrived here in the Northern Hemisphere and there is nothing better to do on a summer's day. Let me tell you, this is a fact. You can take this one to the bank. There is nothing better to do than get off a train or a plane and head into the heart of a medieval city, right into its core, where surrounded by ancient buildings and street bars and cafes and kids frolicking in fountains. You have to choose between a museum or a church to hit first. a little castle, or perhaps have your first beer on the continent. And I'm here now with Emma Janager, medieval powerhouse, internet sensation, host of our sister podcast, Gone Medieval. And surprise, surprise, Emma and I have chosen the latter. We've chosen to go straight to the beer. Emma, how are you doing? Speaker 4 (3:54) I'm doing great. I'm about to be better. The moment that first... Polish beer hits my lips, I'll tell you that much. Let's get you. I'm going to try to wait Speaker 3 (4:03) attention. We are on the main market square here. How do we pronounce this English? Yeah, yeah. Speaker 4 (4:09) Rinek Główny. Speaker 3 (4:10) Okay, so that's good. Because actually, among your astonishing list of achievements is the fact you are a Central European. When you want to be, you can present as a Central European. Speaker 4 (4:20) That's absolutely right. And it is one of these funny things where I genuinely... Feel that when I get off the plane and I'm surrounded by the Baroque architecture, I can hear a Slavic language and I can see delicious beer. I do very much feel it. Speaker 3 (4:34) The Czech part of your ancestry comes out. It Speaker 4 (4:36) comes popping out to the surface. And we Speaker 3 (4:39) love Speaker 4 (4:39) that. Just going to Speaker 3 (4:40) get a quick beer. Speaker 4 (4:42) Look at that. Speaker 3 (4:48) We're off to a flying start. Two beers ordered. Elinor Jarniger, Speaker 4 (4:52) you legend. Let's get into it. Speaker 3 (4:55) While waiting for it to arrive, can we get a sense of the period of Europe? We're in the 12th century, so people be perhaps a little bit more familiar with England and France at this time. We've got those Plantagenets trying to hold on to that empire that you and I talked about many times, that trans-channel Angevin empire. But what's going on in this Speaker 4 (5:14) part of Europe? Who are the big players? Is this part of a Speaker 3 (5:17) big... political unit, big empire, or is one a small city-state? What's going on? Speaker 4 (5:22) So the Poles are a really scrappy bunch and they're incredibly interesting because they're very wealthy. This is an incredibly wealthy part of the world because it's very, very fertile. So this is one of those big bread baskets for the surrounding region. It's also incredibly well located for the purposes of trade. And of course, you know, at this point in time, we're in what you call the high medieval period. So stuff's going pretty well, right? We're seeing the expansion of cities, expansions of populations more generally, and increasing trade with the East. And Krakow and Poland more generally are very well situated in order to take advantage of that because they are a really great crossroads for stuff that is coming out of the east and that I don't mean just Asia here but also like the Rus which is increasingly important and that is a big place where you get a lot of fur from you know I'm always talking about how important wool is in the medieval period because there's no central heating yeah in cold places fur yeah it's really important Speaker 3 (6:24) super material absolutely Speaker 4 (6:26) and so you're going to want to have that as well and so the poles are in this really incredible position because of all of these incredible natural resources. But they're also rubbing up cheek by jowl against some pretty major power players as well, which can often put them at a disadvantage. So Speaker 3 (6:44) to our westward, what, the German lands, Holy Roman Empire? Speaker 4 (6:47) Holy Roman Empire. And I'll tell you what, those guys are nothing if not rapacious. If you think they're not eyeing up Poland regularly, you know, think again. And then on the other side, suddenly, especially in this period, sweeping in off of the steppes of Asia, we have the Mongols. Okay, yeah. And this is a really interesting point because, yeah, listen, I'll be real, the steppes are pretty far away. But you'd be surprised how far you can get on horseback, right? Mongols show up because they want to amalgamate you into the Pax Mongolica, into their trade empire. So Speaker 3 (7:24) this is almost like a... A hinge point of Eurasia, we've got these Slavic, we've got Mongol civilizations to the east, we've got... There's Speaker 4 (7:33) Hungarians. We should mention the Hungarians, I guess. No, Poland isn't Poland as such. In the same way where there are two different states that now comprise the Czech Republic, Bohemia and Moravia, same thing here in Poland. And in Krakow, you're actually a part of what is called Pomerania at the time. And yes, that is where the little doggies come from. So it's also this place that is continuously growing. It is eating other lands that are next to it, yes. But Krakow itself is the center of this incredibly important locality. Krakow is indeed one of those cities that you will see show up, for example, on medieval map of Mundi, right? Everybody knows where Krakow is. And they're going to say that is a center of trade. That is somewhere that is literally on the map. Speaker 3 (8:17) So Milan, Paris, London, Krakow, this would be seen as... There's nothing different about this Speaker 4 (8:23) place. Absolutely not. So Speaker 3 (8:24) we're on the Vistula River, and that's why it's an obvious place for a settlement here. Like, it's a geographically, it's a perfect place. Speaker 4 (8:30) Absolutely. You know, rivers are one of the really important things in terms of trading and shipping. The fastest way to move any good in the medieval world is by boat. So moving things up and down the Vistula is incredibly worthwhile. Speaker 3 (8:46) So at the beginning of the 12th century, say, Krakow, is this a world that would be recognizable to those people listening to your podcast, fans of the equivalent period in England and France? Is it a world of magnates and royal authority? Speaker 4 (8:58) Absolutely. Which is one of the reasons why I'm always surprised that people aren't more interested in Poland, because maybe, do you want castles? Do you want huge noble families? Do you want all of the clashing back and forth? They are absolutely doing that here. And in particular, there is one. incredible important castle, which is Vavok Castle here near Krakow. And so, of course, if you have a very important trade center, very important trade routes, you're also going to have a castle because there's going to be some rich guys who want to take advantage of that, right? So you've got to build a castle so that you can protect that trade route and also so that you can tax people who aren't using it. Speaker 3 (9:36) So it's a world of wealth and commerce, but also threat and violence. Speaker 4 (9:40) Absolutely. You know, it is the same here as anywhere. Fundamentally, this is a world where we've got one class of people who have a monopoly on licit violence, right? The nobility. And if you can be the people who are the arbiters of who can raise an army, who Speaker 2 (9:58) is the protectors of the church? And does Speaker 4 (10:00) the church need protecting? Yeah, they're going to argue absolutely that they do. Who knows when the terrible pagan... They always say Mongol hordes are going to come sweeping in and someone is going to literally need to protect the church. So that helps the nobility to really rise to power and build these incredible castles because people see a need for that. And Speaker 3 (10:20) it's so beautiful here. And in a way, this is one of the best preserved medieval European cities. Speaker 4 (10:27) 100 % like there is a reason why I was taught this as an American at university level right and it's because you can come here and you can actually see these things in action and you know this is why I moved to Europe was to be able to come to places like Kharkov and to really experience it because until you really put your feet on the ground and you can walk from the cloth hall to the various churches and really see it you can't quite process how magical it really is. Speaker 3 (10:59) So Krakow was one of the most important cities, not just in the Kingdom of Poland, but of Europe in the 12th century. Beneath the great Wawel Castle on the hill was a bustling merchant town. Its streets lined with workshops, market stalls and timber houses connected to trade routes stretching across Central Europe and beyond. Outside that there were suburbs and scattered settlements into the surrounding countryside. And it was this lower town, this commercial town that would bear the brunt of the Mongol invasion when it arrived. And today we can get a sense of what that version of Krakow looked like, because beneath the cobbles of the main market square where Eleanor and I sat, there's a very curious museum which preserves the remains of the original old city that were once buried beneath the modern street level after centuries of debris, flood and fire. It was excavated between 2005 and 2010 during routine surface modernisation of the main market square, and archaeologists uncovered medieval roads, market stalls, and a cemetery beneath the square. Now visitors can still see and walk alongside the original medieval Silk Road, see the foundations of shops and workshops, as well as the artefacts that give us a sense of what this powerful trading hub would have been like before the Mongol attack. Speaker 3 (12:17) Eleanor, I now see why I couldn't find you. Look, we're standing on this amazing map, this kind of relief model map of Europe. And look, Krakow's in the middle. I mean, this is even allowing for a little local prejudice. It does seem like a really important place. Speaker 4 (12:31) It absolutely is. Now, granted... Prague's there too. Of course. But it is really interesting because what it does show you are these major trade routes throughout Europe. And you can see up the top, we've got the North Sea and the Baltic trade route coming out of London. Yeah, Speaker 3 (12:49) it's a huge crossroads of medieval Europe. And you can start to understand, I mean, the quality of the jewelry, the goods, the shoes that you can see that have been excavated here. This Speaker 4 (13:00) was a boom town. Oh, absolutely. And I think that's a really great way of putting it. It's this place that is expanding very, very quickly as a result of these incredibly advantageous conditions and as a result of the crown just pouring money into it. So geography and then good governance. 100%. That's what it takes sometimes is it just takes investment. Speaker 3 (13:20) Let's drag ourselves away from this map. We both like I love it Okay, because actually this is exciting to me. You've got and we've actually got evidence of a road system here We've got the cobbles. Am I being a bit romantic? But this is Speaker 4 (13:32) the silk road. I mean, this is the literal silk road I'm gonna touch it. I did it but it is true because when you are building these roads, I think that there is this idea There's a stereotypical idea that every single road in the Middle Ages is just this muddy pit. No They have these well-engineered roads that can last centuries. These have survived. They've been buried, right? But still, that architecture is in there. This is civic architecture that has been engineered and has managed to last. And it would have carried wagons all the way coming from Asia. These are the cobbles that horses would have trod upon. Speaker 3 (14:09) Merchants know you are going to be able to get in and out of town. There's going to be no holdup. You can't underestimate how important this infrastructure is, I guess. Speaker 4 (14:15) Oh, that's absolutely the case. You know, time is. money and the actual traveling is the thing that really costs people. So that's why goods that come all the way from Asia are as expensive as they are because maybe that's a really long way, right? So if you have to actually put this stuff on a camel or a horse and you've got to walk it across Asia, then you're going to want to know that these routes are as secure as possible. So that means that cobbled roads and things, that's your open for business. You are a place that you can get into and out of easily. Speaker 3 (14:43) Frictionless trade man. Now there's another nice map of actually the city itself. You can hear the sound effects of this clock. The mandatory sound effects of a European museum. The horse jangling. So we're looking at the map very smartly laid out. Talk me through the town that springs up around that trade. What's the key? Elements of a town. Okay, Speaker 4 (14:59) we literally have a boring academic term for the key elements of a town It's called a criterion bundle because it's auf Deutsch and one of the very big things that you need is a Defensible series of walls, okay, which is what you're going to see That's number one because you need to be able to protect the town protect trade You need a marketplace where varying goods are sold and you need various centers of worship So not just one church you need two churches Babe, right? And then also, for something to be a city, you need an actual cathedral. It is a technical term. If you are not the center of the church in the area, then you are not a city. You're just a town. The cathedral is the seat of a bishop, Speaker 3 (15:39) right? That's Speaker 4 (15:40) right. Speaker 3 (15:40) And so the bishop is running that locale from this cathedral. That's correct, yeah. And what about the different structure of society? Because we've got evidence over here of some of the slightly more simple dwellings, thatched roofs, made of wooden logs. Is that wealth being distributed through society? Are they all servicing this trade? Well, Speaker 4 (15:58) they are all servicing this trade. Speaker 3 (16:00) I Speaker 4 (16:00) mean, Citi is going to include everybody, right? Because, yeah, you've got merchants who are probably the top strata of society. They're the ones who are