EN
Already in prehistoric times the rocky ridge of the Cracow Jurassic range constituted a special settlement area which dates back to the Palaeolithic Age. Following the stage of the first Palaeolithic fortified cave settlements and the castellation period during the reign of King Casimir the Great, the Cracow ridge changed into a defence line, fortified with numerous castles. Several score of these monuments are extant either in the form of ruins or as objects housing museums. Today, these monuments entail a number of greatly differentiated conservation problems as regards the state of their preservation, utilisation and role as a component of the surrounding landscape. The ensuing issues concern the full range of the preservation of the monuments in question — their protection, conservation and revalorization. The latter task remains particularly complex from the point of view of endowing the objects with contemporary significance and merging them with a landscape of exceptional value. As a result, we are faced with the urgent need to create an entire system of protection.