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Piwnica Pod Baranami Cabaret
Company of Krakow
It might have happened in
Krakow, Poland alone that a cabaret
was elevated to the rank and authority of a national
institution. Sure, since its birth in 1956 the Piwnica
Pod Baranami ("Cellar Under Rams") in the cellar of the
Pod Baranami
palace at 27 Rynek Glowny grand square
has been a very special brand of high-brow entertainment: a
literary variety show with poetic songs and mostly
pure-nonsense humor (both being its hallmarks till now). And
the cabaret company of Piwnica Pod Baranami has
proved over the past four decades a magnet for outstanding
personalities of at least three generations. Its
originators, then students now past seventy, earned renown
of their own as composers, sculptors, theater directors,
etc.
The cabaret’s stars of the 1960s and the 1970s dominated
screen and concert halls. Yet the person that seemed to
embody the legend of the cabaret more than anybody was its
late announcer and moving spirit, Piotr Skrzynecki, who got
bigger-than-life stature himself.
Nowadays, too, some artists of the Piwnica Pod Baranami
cabaret company top music charts. It used to be a must for a
cultured visitor to Krakow to see Piwnica Pod Baranami
at least once: the language of the place might have been
foreign but the atmosphere was unmistakable. Unfortunately,
the cabaret night performances are few and erratic at
present.
Piwnica Pod Baranami cellar club at 27 Rynek Glowny is also
a venue for recitals of pop acts and jazz concerts. Notably
throughout July it's the place of the
Summer Jazz Festivals in Krakow every year.
Grand Square
Krakow’s central Grand Square (Rynek Glowny), the
largest plaza of medieval Europe and one of the world’s finest
with its spectacular landmarks, has remained the hub of the city
since the 13th century.
Palace of Arts
Temple of Fine Arts from the turn of the 20th century.
Bunker of Arts
Bulwark of the newest art.
Manggha
Japan Culture and Technology Center
Fine example of the world's newest architecture is the
scene of numerous cultural events, and most have something to do
with Japan.
International
Culture Center
Exhibitions, conferences, and much more.
Jama Michalika
Cafe
Century-old Bohemian hideout in its 1908 Art Noveau
splendor.
Center for Jewish
Culture
19th-century prayer house turned modern cultural venue
safeguards and presents heritage of Poland’s Jews.
Villa Decius
Almost perfect Renaissance Italian villa shelters
Krakow's European Academy.
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