He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring'd with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
(“The Eagle”, Alfred, Lord Tennyson)

Did you know that the eagle in the emblem on the top of Eagle House isn’t an eagle at all but a phoenix?* The phoenix is a mythological red-and-gold bird, almost the same size and shape as an eagle. It was said to burst into flames, and rise again from the ashes after three days. The relief was designed by Stanisław Wyspiański, one of Kraków’s best known artists. But don’t worry, the building also has an eagle – it’s above the gate!

* There is also a tenement house on the Square known as Phoenix House – do you know which one it is? Take a look around to see if you can find it!