The Heynal (Polish: Hejnał Mariacki, "St. Mary's dawn", pronounced hey-now mah-ryah-tskee), also known as the Cracovian Hymn, is a traditional five-note Polish tune closely tied to the history and traditions of the city of Krakow. It is played by a trumpeter four times consecutively each hour from the highest tower of St. Mary's Church (in Polish, Kościół mariacki) in Krakow.
The real origin and author of the Heynal tune are unknown. The earliest written mention of it is in civic pay records from 1392. The word hejnał comes from hajnal, the Hungarian word for dawn. These two facts fit well with an origin under King Louis I "the Hungarian" (reigned in Poland 1370 – 1382) or his daughter Jadwiga, who was known as Jadwiga King of Poland (reigned 1384 – 1399). Bugle calls were used in many European cities to signal the opening and closing of city gates at dawn and dusk, respectively. The four directions in which the bugle call is currently made correspond roughly to the four main gates of Krakow before they were torn down in the 19th century. 16th century sources mention other buglers on other towers, and it is possible that the “interrupted†tune was originally meant to allow a second trumpeter on a gate to signal the completion of the task of opening or closing. Bugle calls from the Mariacki tower were also used to warn of fires and other dangers in historical times.
According to a popular 20th century legend, during one of the Mongol invasion of Poland (usually the invasion of 1241), Mongol warriors, led by General Subutai, approached the city. A guard on the Mariacki church tower sounded the alarm by playing the Heynal, and the city gates were closed before the Tatars could take the city by surprise. The bugler, however, was shot in the throat and did not complete the tune. According to the legend, that is why it now ends abruptly before completion. --Wiki
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Topic: Hejnał mariacki (Read 1157 times)