KANONICZA STREET (ULICA KANONICZA)

Kanonicza Street, which runs parallel to Grodzka Street and leads to Wawel Hill, is probably the best preserved street in the Old Town and one of the most beautiful and picturesque in Krakow. Spared from the fire that destroyed much of the city in 1850, it has preserved its original medieval atmosphere.

The Długosz House (dom Jana Długosza) is located at no. 25. Jan Długosz, the first great historian of Poland and tutor of the children of King Casimir who lived there from 1450 to 1480, and its magnificent portal says "Nothing is better in man than his spirit". A bas-relief of 1480 representing the Virgin with the Child is also remarkable. Today it is the seat of the Pontifical Academy of Theology.

At No. 21 is the Dean's House(Dom Dziekański), by Santi Gucci, the architect of Sulkennice. Residence of the bishops of Krakow, the future Pope John Paul II stayed from 1963 to 1967. Its portal hides a beautiful Renaissance-style arcaded courtyard with an 18th-century statue of St. Stanislaus.

The palace ofBishop Florian of Mokrsko, at no. 18, also has a beautiful arcaded courtyard and a Renaissance portal. At No. 17 is the palace of Bishop Erazm Ciołek. The palace of Bishop Samuel Maciejowski at no. 1, built in 1531-1532, was converted into a court and prison in the early 19th century. It was used as a court and prison until 1970. The baroque portal still reads "Office of the Royal Inquisition Court".