The 81-meter-tall tower got its fabulous Gothic spire with eight turrets in 1478 after the last two stories had been added in 1408. Yet its crown was mentioned first in 1628. The present octagonal one of gold-plated sheet copper was put 65.5 m above the ground in 1666.

The Krakow signal, or Hejnal Mariacki, dates back to the Middle Ages when it was announcing the opening and the closing of the city gates. The bugler also played it to alarm his fellow citizens whenever he saw a fire or the enemy forces. And the melody abrupt ending is said to commemorate a bugler shot through his throat by a Tatar archer in 1241. Nowadays, at noon the whole ritual is broadcast by the Polish radio - a characteristic trumpet signal, known and dear to every Pole, resounds all over the city’s Old Town historical district. All of a sudden the melody comes to an abrupt end. Next it is played towards the east, the south and the north.