The Bourgeois

Kraków has always been (in)famous for its bourgeois class, but is the view of their being dreadful fair? Who are the contemporary bourgeois? These questions are as pertinent as ever – even now, in the 21st century, Kraków is seen as deeply conservative. Yet it is the Cracovian bourgeois ethos which has built the city’s strength over the centuries. It was in the small and “provincial” Kraków that Polish culture and science flourished during the partitions, and the local conservatism helped preserve the finest elements of bourgeois traditions during the turbulent events of the 20th century. Today, Poland’s second largest city, bourgeoning with students and start-ups, seems to follow a different rhythm. But to what extent does it still captivate us with its past? The exhibition of the Museum of Krakow The Bourgeois at the Hipolit House explores the lives of the “contemporary bourgeois” and asks questions about their homes and identities. It will be presented in the context of the permanent exhibition of traditional Cracovian interiors of the Hipolit family near the Main Market Square. (Dorota Dziunikowska, “Karnet” monthly)