Bronowice Małe and Rydlówka

A village situated about 5 km (3 miles) away from Kraków by the Rudawa River, Bronowice received its charter as early as the 13th century on the basis of German law. It belonged to the archpresbyters of St Mary’s Church, which was why it belonged to the Parish of St Mary’s. The centre of its development was concentrated along the nearly parallel streets, which were in today’s Tetmajera and Pod Strzechą. Between them, in the valley of a stream, an elongated square developed.

Even though Bronowice lay close to Kraków, for successive centuries it remained a backwater, while its residents led fairly peaceful and prosperous lives, the only exception being the looting of the village by the Swedish in 1655. The relentless progress of civilization in the 19th century changed even Bronowice. A railway line that connected Kraków to Mysłowice was laid that cut across the fields of the local peasants in 1846-1847, and in the 1880s a fortified structure, which was a part of Kraków fortress – and which is still largely preserved – was located at the highest point in the village.

The folklore of the village was one of the favourite subjects in the paintings of the late 19th and the first decades of the 20th century. The village earned true fame, however, only as a result of the work of Stanisław Wyspiański, who made Bronowice the setting for his drama entitled The Wedding (Wesele), which was based on actual events.

The historical wedding of Jadwiga Mikołajczykówna, who came from Bronowice, to the poet Lucjan Rydel took place in the year 1900, in the manor house of the famous painter of Young Poland, Włodzimierz Tetmajer, which the groom later bought from the poet. In 1969, the manor house, now known as Rydlówka, became the seat of the Museum of Young Poland. Every year on the anniversary of the famous wedding – i.e. on 20th November – a ceremony that involves putting up “the Straw Man” is held here, which is partially a local tradition, and partially an essential piece of Wyspiański’s drama.

Having sold his estate to a friend, Tetmajer moved to the nearby manor house of the Franciscans, which has been standing since 1863 at today’s ul. Tetmajera 36. Wooden, shingled, with the porch supported on columns, it is an example of a small suburban residence of the manor type in the vicinity of Kraków.