Artus Court in Gdańsk is a beautiful medieval stone building complex, which stands on the main Town Hall Square at the Neptune fountain .His name came directly from knightly times: the prototype of such courts was the legend of King Arthur's court and the Round table .Such houses traditionally arose in the Baltic cities of the Hanseatic League, among which was Gdansk .Here met famous citizens and representatives of the authorities, the merchant unions and the court met, here they also organized festivals with concerts, theatrical performances and feasts .It was a kind of secular salon for members of the elite and at the same time - the epicenter of commercial life at the highest level .Back in the 19th century, important persons were invited to the Artus Court and held various celebrations .
Gdańsk Artus Court was built in 1350 .It consists of the yard itself and two Benches Houses - old and new .They are united by a common ground floor .In 1476 the yard was badly damaged by the fire, and during the next year it was restored, having acquired characteristic Gothic features .The facade of the courtyard was redesigned by Abraham Van den Block and looks rather sumptuous and pompous today, standing out against the backdrop of the Bench Houses - typical burgher houses .This is a beautiful light building with three naves and four graceful columns .The interior of it is amazing and rich .Here hundreds of pieces of art and crafts are collected over a period of several centuries .Among them, a sculpture of the patron saint of St. George's trading brotherhoods during the battle with the dragon, a masterpiece of late Gothic art, and a beer rack created in the 16th century from tin, the oldest bar in the country .Here you can find a collection of ancient weapons and armor, as well as a collection of old models of ships, which is not like in the whole world .
Particular attention in the yard is attracted by the largest oven in Europe, made in the 16th century G .Shteltsenarom and finished with painted tiles .The height of the furnace exceeds 10 meters, and consists of five tiers .The decoration of the "King of the Ovens" took 520 hand-made tiles, bright and detailed, with images of angels and outstanding personalities, coats of arms, mottos, celestial bodies, mythological figures, portraits of European rulers and kings of Poland .All this pathos negates one single detail .In the center of the stove, the tile is embedded with a recognizable stylized portrait of the scoffer Dyla Sovizdzhal - more precisely, the portrait is not so much his as his nude fillet part .The guests, before whom the townspeople boasted about the size of the stove, were persuaded to measure it in the reach of their hands, which inevitably led to the sight of this part of Dana's body .
In 1633, one of the most characteristic symbols of the city - the fountain of Neptune - was placed in front of Artus Court. Since 1742 the Artus Court was used as a grain exchange, and in the last year of World War II, just two months before the victory, it was destroyed. Today, the reconstructed Artus Court belongs to the Historical Museum of Gdansk, and anyone can visit it (entry fee).
| Interior, Artusa Court |
| Yard Artus |
| Artus yard at night |
| Fountain, Artusa Court |