The royal capital for half a millennium, Kraków is one of the most beautiful European cities. Adam Mickiewicz, the greatest Polish Romantic poet called the city "the cradle of the old Commonwealth". In the past some called Kraków "another Rome". For a few centuries it developed as the seat of Polish kings to reach its peak in the 15th and 16th centuries as the capital of Europe’s biggest state. In Kraków, all roads lead towards the Rynek (Market Square). It is a specific salon of this city, where both tourists and inhabitants willingly come to linger. This, Europe’s biggest square, is surrounded by period houses and palaces. In the middle of it stands Cloth Hall, which shelters former stalls under its Renaissance roof. The Gallery of 19th Century Polish Paintings, featuring the greatest collection of the famous Polish painters, occupies the upper floor of Cloth Hall. Towering over the square is the huge bulk of St. Mary’s Church. It contains the pentaptych carved in lime wood by Veit Stoss (known to Poles as Wit Stwosz), considered the most valuable Gothic altarpiece in Europe. People say that Kraków, a city friendly to artists, is the venue of a culture festival that never ends. Here artists create works which, together with the historical heritage, add to the city’s atmosphere, nowhere else to be found.