Defence Towers

In the Middle Ages, most European states entrusted city defences to their burghers. Kraków followed suit, and organised the defence of the walls by entrusting each tower to a separate guild, being a craftsmen’s association. Thus the 39 Kraków towers – placed 40 to 50 m (130-160 ft) away one from another – were defended by shoemakers, carpenters, joiners, painters, etc. In the Middle Ages, the number of crafts also included representatives of many trades that have since been forgotten: haberdashers, cordwainers, and needle makers. Judging by the “fields of expertise” most interesting must have been the garrison defending the section of the wall standing at the mouth of today’s ul. św. Marka: the Executioner’s Gate was simply defended by the city’s executioner with his henchmen known as ceklarze. Representatives of the guilds were supported by burghers, who were obliged to answer the summons, weapons in hand, in case of danger. With the development of the art of war and defence, such levy en masse came to be replaced by regular army garrisons stationed within the city. Today, only the names of the three towers – Carpenters’, Joiners’ and Haberdashers’ – remind one that the noble duty of defence used to lie with Kraków’s craftsmen.