The Bugle Call
On top of St. Mary’s Church (PL: Mariacki Kosciol), in the highest of the 2 frontal towers, a trumpet call can be heard everyday, around the clock, at the hour-sharp. No matter the weather, time of day, the song is heard – the traditional tune is known by all Poles (children or grown-ups alike).
Every hour sharp
Based on 5 notes in the F-major scale, The Bugle Call from St.Mary’s is a song everyone knows and stops to listen (and wave at the person playing… supposedly that brings good luck if he waves back!). Its history is deeply embedded in the hearts of the people of Krakow especially. Even the historian Norman Davies described it in its “Europe: A History” book (1996): “The hejnał Mariacki or ‘trumpet-call of St Mary’s’ is one of the many curiosities of old Cracow. It is sounded from the top of the tower of the ancient church which overlooks the city square. It is sounded on the hour, every hour of the day and night, winter and summer; and each time it is repeated four times: to north, south, east and west.“
The Legend – The Bugle Call & The Tatar Arrow
Originally, back in the Middle Ages, the bugle call was played at dawn and dusk to tell the gatekeepers of the city to open/shut the city gates (eg. the direction the bugle plays can be heard along the Florianska street, up to Brama Florianska and the Barbakan – where the main entrance to the city was located). It was also used as a warning signal when there was a fire in the city or when enemy forces were approaching. The tower offered a 360 degree view of the city and they could quickly notify the inhabitants of the danger approaching – being played in the 4 cardinal directions.
The first mention of the bugle call being heard hourly, around the clock, comes from the mid 15th century. The story of the broken song comes from the Tatar invasion of Poland in 1241. Standing on guard, the bugle player warned the inhabitants of Krakow about the approaching enemy troops and he sounded the alarm. Unfortunately, tragedy hit, when an arrow of the Tatar enemy reached his throat and killed the guard and ended the melody mid-way. To commemorate his bravery and the fact that he saved the city, the song was played every hour, but it would stop just when he stopped that fatidic day…
The Legacy
The earliest mention of it can be found in the city of Kraków’s expense records. In 1392, the city was paying a trumpeter in St Mary’s Church Tower the sum of 1/2 a grosz weekly.
The first trumpeter in the tower known by name was Iwan Mikulski, who appears in the city records for the year 1629. Another trumpet player that one should take notice of is Antoni Dołęga, who on the 3rd of July 1901 – 9 PM, played the melody 3 out of the 4 times before dying (heart condition). By the way, back then they could not come inside by way of the inner stairs (there were none!) but they had to come from outside, through very tall ladders…
How to be a Bugle Boy/Girl?
Today, there are 272 steps that lead you to the top where the Bugle Call is played and you can actually get to visit and see the person on guard play live! It is said that the regular trumpeters that stay on shift regularly take only 3 minutes to climb them! Nowadays, also the trumpeter not only has to be a good musician, but they also have to be a fireman as well – they are subjected to physical and psychological tests. If you, as a civilian, would like to do that, one would have to take a 177 days long training course at the Fireman School.
But note down that a trumpeter actually works 24 hours straight! (after which he has a 2 day break). The trumpeter plays the call on the hour from 8 until 7 the next day!
DID YOU KNOW – The Hejnal…
- The Grammy-winning American smooth jazz trumpeter Chris Botti performed the ancient tune in 2015, while on tour in Poland
- The first woman to play the Bugle Call was Anna Kula, a student at the Academy of Music in Kraków, when she played on New Year’s Eve in 1993
- During the Second World War, a bugler from the 2nd Polish Corps played the tune to announce the Polish victory in the Battle of Monte Cassino on 18 May 1944
- The longest-serving trumpeter was Adolf Śmietana, who played the Hejnał for 36 years beginning in 1926. The Kołton family has played the Hejnał for three consecutive generations. In October 2004, Jan Kołton retired after 33 years of service at the tower. His father had been a Hejnał bugler for 35 years previously, while his son is one of the four current buglers.
Yours sincerely,
The Twisted Red LadyBug that loves Kraków and it’s legends and stories
Recent Comments