Archeological dig on Krakow's Main Market Square, 2005. Photo: jb

Museum Night in Krakow is to get underway Friday evening, and includes a preview of the underground finds revealed underneath the Main Market Square during digs 5 years ago.

“Greater Krakow 1910-2010” is the slogan hoping to draw in crowds to the city for the 7th edition of Museum Night, held across Poland. The date refers to the expansion of the city’s boundaries exactly 100 years ago, when surrounding villages were incorporated into Krakow proper.

23 institutions are taking part in this year’s edition in Poland’s southern city, with thousands of residents and visitors descending upon Krakow’s Old Town and further afield to soak up the culture on offer.

“Museum Night is an incredibly popular event among Cracovians and tourists alike,” said municipal councellor for culture and heritage Stanislaw Dziedzic, adding that “last year around 150,000 people came for this occasion.”

Krakow’s underground opens up to the public

A new museum is currently in the finishing stages of construction under the Main Market Square and the Sukiennice Cloth Hall. The underground exhibition will be opened to the public for one night only, months before its official opening date.

“This is the last moment to see this unique archeological find before the finishing touches are made to the construction work [in the museum],” a municipal director for infrastructure told journalists earlier this week.

Archeological digs in 2005 revealed some astonishing finds dating from the medieval period, including massive weights used in the trade of commodities. Krakow was on the ancient silk route linking the west with Persia and beyond. (jb)

A full listing of events for Museum Night in Krakow (14-15 May) can be found here.

Sources: PAP/krakow.pl

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