Reconstruction of the Kraków Gate in Żory

The Kraków Gate, also known as the Lower Gate, was part of Żory's medieval defensive walls. The gate itself is gone, but its shape is recalled by a brick reconstruction standing on a roundabout near its former site.

History of the gate

Żory received town rights in 1272, and its walls were among the oldest in Silesia. The walls had two gates: Cieszyn (Upper, also called Racibórz) and Kraków (Lower). The Kraków Gate burned down in a fire, according to sources in 1510 or 1522. Its foundations were discovered by chance when a building on Szeroka Street was demolished.

The reconstruction on the roundabout

Today the gate is recalled by a brick sculpture with a shingle-covered roof, by Stanisław Szwarc, put up for the town's 730th anniversary. It stands on the Dolne Przedmieście roundabout and, as the name suggests, symbolically leads into the Old Town. A coat of arms of Żory and the inscription "Sari - 1272 - Żory" are placed on its side. It is a sculpture, not a gate recreated to scale, and it has no interiors to visit.

Nearby

The old town is close: the Żory Municipal Museum is about 100 metres away, and the Synagogue in Żory about 300 metres. Surviving fragments of the town walls run along Ogrodowa and Męczenników Oświęcimskich streets.

Practical information

• Location: the Dolne Przedmieście roundabout in Żory, at the junction with Dworcowa Street.
• The structure stands in the open air by a busy junction and is viewed from the outside.
• It is more a short stop before a walk around the Old Town than a destination for a separate trip.