The instruments were funded by the local government and the Kraków Philharmonic.
Regional governor Łukasz Smółka thanked the buglers during the presentation ceremony for upholding the centuries-old tradition, saying that the Kraków bugle call is known worldwide and attracts tourists from across Poland and beyond.
He noted that 2027 will mark 100 years since public broadcaster Polish Radio began airing the call, which has been broadcast daily at noon ever since, except during World War II.
Photo: PAP/Stanisław Rozpędzik
Known in Polish as the hejnał, the bugle call is played every hour on the hour in four directions: to the south "for the king and the royal Wawel Castle," to the west "for the city mayor," to the east "for the fire brigade commander," and to the north "for visitors arriving in the city."
After testing the new instruments, the buglers said they were pleased with their sound.
The seven-member team is traditionally drawn from the local fire brigade. For some, the role is a long-standing family tradition—members of the Kołton family, for instance, have served as Kraków buglers for eight decades.
Two buglers are on duty during each 24-hour shift. To reach the top of the 54-metre tower, they must climb 239 steps.
British historian Norman Davies wrote in his book Europe: A History that the hejnał is "a simple melody of open chords, which is always cut short in the middle of the final cadence" to commemorate a trumpeter who, while sounding the alarm during a Mongol invasion "in 1241, or perhaps in 1259," was "shot through the throat" by an arrow.
"His call, though interrupted, enabled the burghers to flee," Davies wrote, adding that "the survivors undertook to endow a town trumpeter in perpetuity"—a tradition that has been maintained for more than 700 years.
(mk/gs)