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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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