Szpitalna Street: an Old Town walk towards the theatre

The corner that makes us look up

The carved corner frontage on Szpitalna catches our eye before the street opens towards the theatre area. We would leave time to notice those upper windows on the way between the Main Market Square and the Planty.

From a hospital complex to a theatre

Szpitalna takes its name from the medieval hospital run by the Order of the Holy Spirit. The hospital and neighbouring religious buildings stood around the area now occupied by the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre. Their demolition changed this end of the street.

The theatre opened in 1893. Stanisław Wyspiański’s play The Wedding had its premiere there in 1901. Those dates help explain why a walk along a street named for a hospital ends at a building devoted to performance.

From carved stone to open space

The ornamental corner in our gallery rewards a closer look at the carved stone above its windows. Further along, the view opens beyond the continuous townhouses. We like following that change with the camera: a frontage first, then the street around it.

Make the theatre forecourt the end of this short walk, or continue onto the Planty. An exterior visit is easy to combine with the Main Market Square; a performance deserves its own time in the evening.

Plan the visit

The street and theatre forecourt can be explored independently of a theatre ticket. Check the theatre’s current programme and booking arrangements if you want to attend a performance. Pavements and crossings can be busy on this route between the centre and station.

• Pause along a wider section of pavement to photograph the upper windows.
• Allow separate time for a booked performance and the street walk.