Zwierzyniec, Kraków


Zwierzyniec former village, incorporated on 13 November 1909 as the XIII quarter of Kraków, Poland. It is now part of the District VII Zwierzyniec.

History

The oldest preserved buildings in Zwierzyniec are the Church of the Holy Salvatore consecrated in 1148 and the Norbertine convent, probably consecrated in 1181. The history of Zwierzyniec is closely connected with the convent. In the 13th century, three Tartar invasions are documented, in 1241, 1259 and 1287, which plundered Zwierzyniec and burnt down the monastery. The monastery and Zwierzyniec were burnt down again in 1527 and in 1587, during the siege of Krakow by the army of Archduke Maximilian Habsburg, who wanted to occupy Krakow against his rival, Sigismund III Vasa. The latter's supporter, Jan Zamoyski, in order to prevent the Austrians from gaining a foothold in the suburbs, ordered the entire Zwierzyniec and Półwsie, among others, to be burnt down. The present appearance of the monastery dates from the time of its great reconstruction carried out in 1596-1626, when the convent was ruled by the princess Dorota Kątska. Zwierzyniec was incorporated into Krakow in 1910 and has since been transformed into a villa district.

Landmarks