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At the crossroads of cultures, in a valley surrounded by foothills, from which only a step to the Low Beskids, Kazimierz Wielki located the Royal Free City of Krosno. This medieval fortified stronghold at the foot of Królewska Góra was an important commercial and industrial center for centuries. Suffice it to mention the trade in the best canvas or cloth in Europe, and above all Hungarian wine brought to the royal court. After all, in Krosno, and not somewhere in the world, the inventor of the oil industry precursor Ignacy Łukasiewicz, or the creator of the telescope - the first television - Jan Szczepanik worked on his inventions. Today, the city is known for the production of glass, and the area from the world's first oil mine in Bóbrka, nearby spas located in Iwonicz and Rymanów, or from the Odrzykoński castle, where Aleksander Count. Fredro placed the action "Vengeance". Like centuries ago, communities still mix in the city, because Krosno is a Carpathian cultural melting pot. Krosno belongs to the oldest Polish cities. The first traces of settlement come from around 1400 BC. The loom is associated not only with the glass and oil industries, but also with the textile industry. The name of the city, however, does not come from the weaving machine. The probable origin of the city's name is "kros (t) na" - meaning hilly terrain or "kross" - which in German means dry, cracked terrain. The city also has a coat of arms associated with King Casimir the Great's loom placement under Magdeburg Law. The authorities probably from the first years after the settlement received municipal law, used seals in their activities. The oldest seal in Krosno was supposed to have the form of a standing king, and only later, from the 16th century, did it take the family coat of arms of King Casimir the Great - the Kujawy Piasts, i.e. half of a lion and half of an eagle, whose heads were covered with an unclosed crown. The emblem - the Kujawski coat of arms has also become the coat of arms of the city of Krosno. In the 1660s, during the reign of Casimir the Great, construction of defensive walls began, as a result of which the city was among 23 fortified Polish cities. The defensive walls had two gates: 1. the Hungarian gate from the south-east side, 2. Krakowska gate from the west. Both had drawbridges. The fact of the location and royal care contributed to the rapid development of the city, which continued until the mid-seventeenth century. At that time, defensive walls, water supply, sewage system were built, which proves the high rank of the castle and the wealth of the inhabitants. Krosno also had a customs house and the right to store goods. The border location of the city made it a significant trade center for Hungarian wine in the first half of the 16th century. It was also known for the production and trade of cloth and cloth. In medieval Krosno, craft, shoemaker and bakery guilds developed, and the statute of the craftsman guild from 1403 is one of the oldest in Poland. The development of the city was brought to an end by the Swedish Deluge, natural disasters and the general fall of Poland. It flourished again only at the end of the 19th century due to the discovery of oil deposits in Bóbrka near Krosno and the development of the oil industry. In 1867, the city became the seat of the poviat. Many impressive public facilities and Art Nouveau private houses were built then. In the years 1872–1884 a railway line was established. After the First World War, Krosno quickly recovered from destruction. In 1923, a glassworks was built in the city, which over time led to the creation of the largest glass industry center in Poland. In 1928, the construction of one of the largest and most modern airports in Europe began, while in 1938 the School of Aviation Non-commissioned Officers for Minors was moved here from Bydgoszcz. After the destruction caused by World War II, industrial plants were rebuilt, the school network was developed, and new cultural institutions were created. In the years 1975-1998, Krosno was the capital of the Krosno province. Currently, it is a city with poviat rights and the capital of a poviat. Due to its wonderful long history, Krosno has many valuable monuments. Most of them are concentrated within the Old Town complex. The square, because we are talking about it, has preserved the medieval architectural layout to this day. The Old Town is surrounded by historic tenements from different periods, some of which have retained their arcaded arcades. These give the city a unique atmosphere and add charm. In the Market Square, the oldest, and also the most impressive is, erected at the end of the 15th century, and then rebuilt in the Renaissance style in the 16th century, the Wójtowska Tenement House (Rynek 7). Four 16th-century Ionian stone columns and a rich Renaissance portal have been preserved in its arcade. In the crown you can see a shield with the Polish eagle and the letter "S" denoting King Sigismund the Old (Sigismundus). In the arcade key there is a shield with a marker and a monogram "IS", which probably means Hieronim (Ieronim) Stanisław Krosno, one of the most eminent tenants of the tenement house. Its name probably comes from likely residents - court heads. In the line of tenement houses with arcades there is curia praetoriana - the town hall manor (Rynek 5). This is the sixteenth-century building that belongs to the most extensive tenement houses in Krosno. After a fire in the town hall at the beginning of the 16th century, it was the seat of municipal authorities for some time. Meetings of town councilors and sessions of the commune head and council were held here. At present, the Cultural and Tourist Information Center is located on the ground floor of the building, and in its basement concert and exhibition halls of the Craft Museum - PodCieniami Cellar. From the opposite side of the old town, you can look out the tenement house of Robert Wojciech Portius (Rynek 27). In the 16th century tenement, a late Renaissance stone arcaded portal has been preserved, in whose key the date 1640 is visible, along with the monograms: RP (Robert Portius) and AP (Anna Portiusowa). Portius was a settler in Krosno at the beginning of the 17th century, a Scot. He traded in Hungarian wine and was its largest importer north of the Carpathians. Węgrzyn also delivered to the royal court. He made a lot of fortune on his activities, some of which he allocated to the reconstruction and equipment of the parish church of Of the Holy Trinity. An unusually characteristic tenement house, although it has no arcades anymore, it was erected in the 17th century in the basement of the 16th century House under the Clock building (Rynek 1). It obtained its current appearance as a result of reconstruction in the 19th century, while in the 1950s the building was connected to the neighboring tenement house. In the period of 1879-1993 it was the seat of the Krosno authorities and served as the town hall. Today it also plays the prominent role of the seat of the Rectorate and Library of the Higher Vocational School Stanisława Pigoń. Krosno's curiosity are the pre-porch cellars stretching along the market tenements. Entering under the market square, formerly covered with arcades, they were used for storing wine. Today, pre-cellars have one more use. They are available as an exhibition part of the Glass Heritage Center. Nevertheless, the Carpathian Climate Festival of Borderland Cultures refers to the old traditions of wine storage in the pre-cellars and the Hungarian trade. During the event, you can taste the best types of wine brought by Hungarian winemakers, homely food, look at stalls of masterpieces of folk artists and craftsmen, listen to and look at the performances of dance, folk and folklore groups of the Carpathian melting pot of cultures. The surface of the Old Town of Krosno hides another curiosity. The outlines of old buildings: the Gothic village headquarters and the Renaissance town hall were visible with red brick. The Wójtowski's house itself was built around the mid-fourteenth century. It was a stone, brick and wooden building. It housed the head of the commune head, as well as municipal scale, armory, prison. The building was destroyed during a fire at the beginning of the 16th century. The material obtained after its demolition was used to build a Renaissance town hall, erected in the 1620s. The basement walls were made of sandstone stones, the above-ground part was made of bricks, and the roof was covered with ceramic tiles. In addition to the seat of the city authorities, it housed a prison, warehouses, shops and pubs. The town hall existed until the fire that took place in 1818. In the very center you can easily find monuments of religious architecture. The most valuable is the parish church of Of the Holy Trinity (ul. Piłsudskiego 5). It was built in the second half of the fourteenth century, and its founder was King Casimir the Great. It was originally a brick Gothic temple the size of today's presbytery. Over time, a five-span nave was added to it, connecting it with the tower of the defensive walls adjacent to it. The next expansion of the temple took place in the 15th century. Four chapels were added at that time, the presbytery was added and the late gothic vault was added. In the 17th century, the chapels were rebuilt, two porches were added, and the interior was changed from Gothic to Mannerist and early Baroque. Most of the work was financed by the priest from Krosno, priest Kasper Rożyński, and the councilor of Krosno, Wojciech Portius. In this form, the temple survived until the early twentieth century, when it was regothized. The equipment of the parish church is one of the richest and best preserved sacred interiors in south-eastern Poland. The richly decorated, huge altar contains the painting Adoration of the Holy Trinity and the Virgin Mary by All Saints. On the sides there are sculptures of St. Stanisław Bishop and Saint. Casimir, and in the culmination of the Risen Christ adored by two angels. In the presbytery, above the Renaissance-Mannerist stalls, the Gothic painting Coronation of Mary from 1480 is hung, one of the most important works of medieval array painting in the country. The chancel separates from the main nave an outstanding work of Gothic art, and also the oldest surviving element of the interior of the temple, a rainbow beam with the Passion Group from the beginning of the 15th century. In addition, 17th-century monuments deserve interest in the church: six altar settings, a pulpit and a tin font, a tenement bench Portius, benches of city councilors. The temple has a unique set of monumental, perfectly matched in shape to the walls, easel paintings. They were made in the mid-seventeenth century by Krosno artists educated in the workshop of Tomasz Dolabella. They represent two iconographic cycles: evangelical - hagiographic and didactic - moralizing. In the church, it is worth paying attention to the chapel of St. Peter and Paul - the family mausoleum of Portius, made by the Italian artist Vincenzo Petroni, with a lot of stucco decorations. The center of the chapel is occupied by an altar richly decorated with woodcarving, with the rare farewell scene of St. Peter and Paul in the finial. Portraits of Wojciech Portius, his wife Anna and brother Tomasz hang on the sides. Right next to the church stands an early Baroque one, erected in the 17th century from the Robert Portius Foundation - the parish court. Inside there are three bells: Urban, Jan and Marian, cast by German bell founders Stefan Meutel and Jerzy Olivier. Measuring 490 cm in circumference, Urban is one of the largest historic bells in Poland. The tower also has a hand-wound clock mechanism from 1908, originating from the First National Tower Clock Factory of Michał Mięsowicz. The tower is also an excellent vantage point. From the terrace on the top of the 38-meter parish tower, which you have to climb via 125 stairs, you can admire the breathtaking landscape. Among the most valuable monuments of Krosno, the oldest church of the Fathers is undoubtedly worth mentioning. Of the Franciscans Visitation of the Virgin Mary (ul. Franciszkańska 5). The Krosno temple was built in the Gothic style, and its oldest elements - stone parts of the presbytery and sacristy come from the end of the 13th century. They are the remains of a small chapel at which Franciscans came to Krosno. During the Tartar invasions, the temple was damaged, and then repaired and expanded in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was covered with a gothic vault, enlarged with a brick pseudohal nave body. Further investments took place in the 17th century. A church porch, a bell tower and four chapels were added to the church, of which two have survived to this day: Our Lady of the Rosary and called the Chapel of Oświęcim - pw. St. Stanislaus. The Oświęcim Chapel was funded by Stanisław Oświęcim, a nobleman and diplomat in the service of King Władysław IV. Decorated with rich stucco decorations, it is considered one of the most beautiful baroque chapels in Poland. The romantic legend of their unhappy love is associated with the figure of Stanisław and his half-sister Anna. The application became the inspiration for the musical poem "Anna and Stanisław Oświecim" written by Mieczysław Karłowicz. In the basement of the chapel there is a burial crypt with the bodies of siblings. The Franciscan church was rebuilt many times - and, like the Krosno parish church, was regotized, and thus acquired its present-day appearance. Inside the temple, it is worth paying attention to: stone noblemen's tombstones, fragments of medieval wall paintings from the 15th and 16th centuries, and the miraculous image of Our Lady of Murkowa, located in the main altar. In 1657, during the Swedish invasion, Krosno was attacked by the troops of Jerzy II Rakoczy. Legend has it that after the prayers of the inhabitants in front of the painting of the Mother of God, then hung on the wall of the church, a spear appeared in the sky, whose attackers were afraid and withdrew without destroying Krosno. Thus, from the place of suspension of the painting, Our Lady became Murkowa and since 2010 she is the patron of the Royal Free City of Krosno. It is also worth mentioning that, according to historical records, among the monks living in the Franciscan monastery in Krosno he was in the years 1438-1440 a guardian of St. Jan of Dukla. During his stay, he expanded the temple. Near the Market Square, on his street, there is the Szczepanik House. It was here in the first years of his life that the inventor Jan Szczepanik (1872-1926) lived. He was called the "Polish Edison" or as Mark Twain described it as "Austrian Edison" because at that time the present Podkarpackie and Lesser Poland voivodships were under the Austrian partition. He patented many of his works in the field of weaving - automated the production process of colored weaving, color photography and film - invented and patented the system of color photography and photosensitive colored paper, later used by Kodak and Agfa, as well as security - invented and patented a bulletproof vest that she saved from death in the assassination of the Spanish King Alfonso XIII. Today a commemorative plaque informing Jan Szczepanik is placed on the building. Its author is the Krosno artist Stanisław Kochanek. Krosno, as a medieval stronghold, had city defensive walls. After all, it is one of 23 cities whose fortifications were founded by Casimir the Great. The construction of the walls began in the 1660s and was completed in the mid-15th century. The total length of the fortifications was 1200 m, and the wall thickness ranged from 1.8 to 2.4 m. Krosno as one of the few towns in Lesser Poland also had external defensive wall, erected in the 16th century. Only small fragments have survived to this day: the ground floor of the former parish tower and the north-eastern section of the walls with the outline of the tower, exhibited in the Podkarpackie Museum. In the southwestern part of the old town at ul. Podwale was reconstructed a fragment of the outer line of defensive walls. Within the old town there is also the OO Church. Of the Capuchins Exaltation of the Holy Cross (pl. Konstytucji 3 Maja 2). It was built, partly using material from the demolished Jesuit church, at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. The initiator of the construction of the consecrated temple in 1811 was the Capuchin father Innocent Barth. It is a late baroque, single-nave building. It was preceded by a courtyard surrounded by a fence with figures of martyrs - Saint. Wojciech and św. John of Nepomuk. The interior is decorated with illusionistic polychrome by F. Smuglewicz and A. Kucharski. The altar wood carving was made at the end of the 19th century by the loomer S. Janik. Near the church there is the Monastery of Capuchin Fathers. Near the Capuchin monastery, a monument to Ignacy Łukasiewicz (pl. Konstytucji 3 Maja) - constructor of the oil lamp prototype and co-founder of the first oil mine in Bóbrka, operating since 1854, found its place. The author of the bronze statue cast in 1932 is the outstanding sculptor Jan Raszka. The figure of Łukasiewicz points with his right hand towards the earth - a source of wealth, which is oil. He has pointed out for many years, which in his poetry was beautifully described by professor Jan Zych from Korczyna: In a disheveled apron, forged in bronze. Sunny and thoughtful at the same time in December and May. When I come to Krosno, Łukasiewicz bows. In a smoky cottage in Czarnorzerze, with a twitching birch flame, my grandfather arches my shoes patting my shoes in the evenings. I won't ask him today. In the village cemetery he rests. He saw the darkness of the darkest nights. - Good lamp! - he said, blinking sick, red eyes, Two dying bluebottles, Two droplets of faded blue. When I come to Krosno, Łukasiewicz bows. I read Sienkiewicz and Mrs. Konopnicka's poems with an oil lamp. that lamp that no longer shines. It hangs on the wall. Gunpowder settles on it. In the evenings it is reflected in a glass electric bulb. If I say "good lamp", the Sister smiles. When I come to Krosno, Łukasiewicz bows from his name, the first of my poem begins. He led me from black evenings and introduced me into the clear books - wise pensive pharmacist. Paying tribute to the great inventor, each year, on the nearest date of July 31 - on that very day, in 1853 in Lviv, the world's first night operation was carried out with the lighting of a lamp from Łukasiewicz - Sunday, the event "Świet (l) ne city ", During which the kerosene lamp is ceremoniously lit, and a everyone-friendly day of science and invention takes place throughout the city. Outside the city walls on the so-called former suburb of Górne there is the church of st. Wojciecha (ul. Korczyńska 18 a). It is a wooden church with a log construction, erected in the mid-15th century. The patron of the temple is Saint. Wojciech, who according to legend was supposed to rest here during his journey from Hungary to Prussia. At the beginning of the 20th century, the ruined building was saved by a total reconstruction carried out in 1903 on the basis of a design by Tadeusz Stryjeński. In 1944, the church was damaged due to bombing, so another renovation was needed. Sculptures are the oldest monuments in the temple. They include: the gothic saint. Wojciech from the 15th century and late Gothic St. Zofia from the mid 16th century. Returning to the center, you can come across a technical wonder that is located in several parts of the city. The invention may be banal, but life-improving - clock. What's fascinating about him? The Museum of Crafts in Krosno is located in a historic building erected at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Initially, it was the headquarters of Michał Mięsowicz's First National Tower Clock Factory operating in the years 1901 - 1938. The entrepreneur was an outstanding watchmaker, a laureate of many international industrial exhibitions, and his clocks are today not only in Krosno, but also in Poznań, Krakow, Lviv or Vienna . Currently there is an exhibition devoted to the history of crafts of south-eastern Poland. You can see here not only documents, but also touch exhibits related to the crafts: tailor, hairdressing, weaving, shoemaking, carpentry, saddler, foundry, locksmith or blacksmith. Opposite the craft museum is the Podkarpackie Museum. The seat of the aforementioned is located in the former palace of Przemyśl bishops erected in the 15th and 16th centuries in the place of an older, wooden one. In its long history, this building served various functions, including barracks, school or court. Currently, the Podkarpackie Museum in Krosno for over half a century, protecting Polish tradition and caring for patriotic education, collects and shares cultural goods related to regional history, but also collections unique on a European scale. It is inside the Bishop's Palace that there is the largest collection of kerosene lamps in Europe, here you can also see souvenirs of Ignacy Łukasiewicz, works of Krosno artists from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, or an exhibition devoted to the history of Krosno and the region. The branch of the museum is the Archaeological Museum of the Carpathian Troy in Trzcinica near Jasło. Returning to the Market Square, in the modernized former Market Hall today, the Glass Heritage Center has its headquarters. In Krosno, the glass industry developed from the beginning of the 20th century, and in 1923, Krosno Glassworks was founded. Products were exported to over 60 countries around the world. The interactive glass heritage center museum has been presenting glass traditions since June 2012. It introduces visitors to the history of glassmaking and glass works. The facility consists of the main building of the Center, in which there is a workshop with a metallurgical furnace, glass processing workshops, a cinema hall, temporary exhibition rooms and a glass souvenir shop. However, in front of the western frontage of the Market Square, you can visit the aforementioned historic door cellars with exhibitions presenting the history of glass art, global brands produced in Krosno, works of glass artists and an interactive room "glass in physics", where experience from the optics department is presented. The Center also created the 3D painting "The UnderGlass", whose author is the artist and architect Ryszard "Ryho" Paprocki from Podkarpacie. In his performance, this is the third painting of this type in Poland. It was built on an 80 m2 floor and presents traditional glass production. In addition, during the summer, a tourist train runs in the city, which transports tourists along the CDS route and more. "Glass workshops" organized at the Center are an attraction for visitors. Tourists visiting the Center can, using various techniques, face such a beautiful material as glass. Visitors can also try to blow a glass bubble through the tibia. Near the Market Square you can go towards the Krosno airport, where the Mission Museum of the Missionary Sisters of St. Piotr Klawer in Krosno. The museum was opened in 2002 and everyone can get a touch of exoticism. The exhibition shows the work of missionaries and the countries they visited. Collections from Africa are the oldest and richest collection. The museum also presents exhibits from Asia, Oceania and South America. So far, it has gathered about 1000 exhibits - everyday objects, jewelry, musical instruments, hunting weapons, clothing, paintings and many more. In addition, the museum has an exhibition dedicated to the Ledóchowski family and the beginnings of the gathering. The watercolors of the blessed Maria Teresa Ledóchowska - founder of the congregation - are also presented. Keeping the direction you can reach one of the newest, Private Museum of the Podkarpackie Battle Fields in Krosno. The museum exhibits collections related to the Podkarpackie battlefields from 1914 - 1945. It has about 1.5 thousand exhibits, which are presented in the form of a permanent exhibition in the museum building, at the semi-open air exhibition on the property and in the air-shelter adjacent to it from World War II. Permanent exhibitions include: "Sapper blades over the centuries", "Karpaty 1914-1915", "September 1939", "Tools of war", "Dukla 1944", "Podkarpacie 1945", "So much left" and "Krosno airport during World War II. " One of the most valuable exhibits is the reconstructed German half-track "Kettenkrad" vehicle, type HK-101. It is time to visit one of the largest airports in Europe at the time of creation. Before you get on the plane and see Krosno from a bird's eye view, it is worth getting acquainted with the history of the Krosno airport. The airport construction project was born thanks to Brig. Ludomił Rayski and a resolution of the City Council in 1928. Works began two years later and already in 1932 the building was completed. In 1938, the Aviation School from Bydgoszcz was moved here. However, aviation sport in Krosno dates back to the beginning of 1931, when funds for the construction of gliders began to be raised. The first was constructed in one of the Krosno schools. In 1934, the first glider was ready and was registered as 44 in Poland. The Glider Circle was established in Krosno, and in 1938 the Aero Club and the Pilot and Mechanics Training Center was officially opened. The first president of the Aero Club was Eng. Kazimierz Pirgo. Krosno constructors grouped at the airport in Krosno, in cooperation with the Lviv Polytechnic, worked not only on aircraft models, but even on the prototype of a rocket with a jet engine according to the construction of 1889 patented by Adam Ostaszewski - Leonard from Wzdów. In parallel with the construction of the Krosno airport, airports in Moderówka and Łężany were established not far from Krosno, creating a large training base. On September 1, 1939, the Krosno airport was bombed, and the pilots who survived after the German army entered, were arrested and, on a December night, contrary to international conventions, shot by the Germans on the Franciscan embankment. Those who managed to escape were killed in Katyn. During the occupation, the Germans used the airport in the war with the USSR. An interesting fact is that in 1941 the airport in Krosno was visited by the leader of the Third Reich Adolf Hitler and the Italian dictator Benito Mussolini. Fascist leaders are not the only guests of the Krosno airport. On June 10, 1997, Pope John Paul II celebrated a mass at the airport with the participation of approximately 1 million believers and canonized John of Dukla there. Currently, the airport operates an aviation school training parachutists, glider pilots and aircraft. Every year, a series of air events takes place, the most famous of which are "Balloons over the Krosno" taking place on the first May weekend, as part of which the only Mountain Balloon Competition in Poland is organized. So that impressions do not go away with the last balloon, Lovers of Adventure will experience Rope Park Adventure (ul. S. Okrzei 63). The largest in Podkarpacie and one of the largest in Poland located in the picturesque scenery of trees, ferns and forest flowers, not far from the Old Town of Krosno, it provides great fun on routes totaling 663 m with a 119-meter Tyrolean descent. And all this on 5 routes with 49 obstacles even at an altitude of 14 m. Slightly calmer people can take advantage of the health path located in the park and take a break from the hustle and bustle.