Zinar Castle

Lasoty Square is one of the most picturesque corners of Krakow. Located on the Lasota Hill, in the vicinity of, among others Podgórski Square, Bednarski Park and Krakus Mound, and at the same time hidden behind the Church of St. Józefa, is located off the beaten track. Around the square there are Art Nouveau-modernist villas from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. In one of them - at number 3, with the Wisłocki family - lieutenant Antoni Stawarz, the initiator of the liberation of Krakow from the Austrians in 1918, lived. Stawarz was an underground activist who gathered a small group of Polish soldiers planning to disarm the Austrian army stationed in Krakow. On October 31, 1918, the young lieutenant left his apartment for the Austrian barracks at ul. Kalwaryjska (today's Niepodległości Square) in order to take over the building with a handful of conspirators. Earlier, however, he secretly gave his hostess, Maria Wisłocka, a certain amount of money to buy white and red ribbons. Mrs. Wisłocka gathered trusted women who worked all night to prepare as many bows in national colors as possible for those who would join in liberating the city from the power of the invaders. The presence of lieutenant Stawarz in the Wisłocki villa is commemorated by a plaque placed at the front door of the house. The building is currently in private hands and can only be seen from the outside.

Above the Wisłocki villa, in a small square at Lasota Square, there is a pedestal with a bust of Edward Dembowski - one of the organizers of the failed Krakow Uprising in 1846. This patriotic uprising, which took place in the atmosphere of growing freedom movements all over Europe, connected the issue of Poland's independence with the issue of enfranchising the peasants and winning them for the insurgent act. The peasants, however, did not join the fight, and Edward Dembowski, who agitated them for the insurgent activity, died in Podgórze from an Austrian bullet, leading a patriotic religious procession. He was buried in the Old Podgórze Cemetery at al. Powstańców Śląskich 1.

Two charming streets depart from Lasota Square: Stawarza and Dembowski, whose names commemorate Krakow's heroes in the fight for independence.