Barbican and St Florian's Gate

In front of you is the Barbican, one of the few fortifications of its kind still standing in Europe. King John I Albert had it built in 1498-1499, at a time when an attack from the south-east was feared. It's a circular brick bastion with an inner diameter of 24.4 metres, walls more than three metres thick and seven turrets.

1A gate before the gate

The Barbican protected St Florian's Gate, the main northern entrance to the city, already recorded in 1307. The two were joined by a walled passage, and a moat 24 metres wide ran around them. Kings entered through this gate for their coronation, and here began the Royal Road, which crossed the market and climbed to Wawel.

2Saved by the wind

In the early 19th century, the Austrian authorities ordered the walls demolished as unhealthy. In 1816, Senator Feliks Radwański argued for keeping the Barbican, the gate and a stretch of wall, with an unusual argument: they sheltered the city from the north winds. He won. The rest of the defences came down and the Planty park, the green ring around the Old Town, took their place.

A plaque recalls a legend: during the Bar Confederation, Marcin Oracewicz, out of ammunition, is said to have loaded his musket with a button from his coat and shot down a Russian commander.

The walls fell; the bastion was saved by a weather argument.

3What to look for

• The seven turrets of the Barbican, alternating round and hexagonal shapes.
• The relief of St Florian above the gate arch.
• The stretch of wall beside the gate, where local painters now hang their pictures.