The day I photographed the Krakow Old Town Square the light was perfect, and I was in the right place at the right time. The scattered clouds made for an ideal backdrop, along with the soft light of dawn. Taken at sunrise, when the city is still half asleep and the Main Market Square feels almost private. The Cloth Hall stands quietly on the right, while St. Mary’s Basilica rises in the background, wrapped in soft dawn light.
A few years ago, when I returned from shooting the Alfama sunrise photo in Lisbon on a Sunday, I excitedly told Daria: I had the Krakow clouds.
Krakow Old Town Square at Sunrise
What did I mean by that? More than ten years ago in Krakow, I experienced what was, economically speaking, my most successful sunrise photography session. Everything aligned. The light softened the scene, the empty square opened up before me, and broken clouds caught the first warm tones of the day. I was simply in the right place at the right time. Since then, whenever I travel, I secretly hope for those same conditions.
An interesting architectural detail many visitors overlook is the Cloth Hall itself. While it looks medieval at first glance, the building was almost entirely rebuilt in Renaissance style after fire in 1555. Italian architect Giovanni Maria Padovano redesigned it with elegant arcades and decorative attics, giving it the form we see today. By the way, if you’re interested in other Renaissance architecture in Poland, also check out our guide to Poznan.
The Cloth Hall, which lies in the middle of Krakow’s Old Town Square, is one of the city’s most famous landmarks. The structure has changed a lot over the years and was an important business center for hundreds of years. Today, it is one of the most prominent cultural and tourist spots in Cracow. Years of neglect caused the monument to fall apart. But restorers repaired it in the 1800s and shaped it into the large form we see today. You can read more about the history and architecture of the Cloth Hall.
It took Krakow Old Town Square photo with a Canon EOS 500D, a camera that today can be bought for maybe just a 100 dollars. At the time, it was my main tool, and I learned to work within its limits. Editing these files today is very different from working with modern cameras.
