With around 775,000 inhabitants (1.4 million in the agglomeration),
Kraków (Polish: Kraków) is the second largest city in Poland and the
capital of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. The former capital (until
1596) and coronation city of Polish kings is one of the oldest and most
beautiful cities in Poland. That is why Kraków is seen as the country's
secret cultural capital.
Unlike most Polish cities, Kraków was
not destroyed in World War II and thus fully documents the development
of European architectural history from Romanesque to Art Nouveau, with a
particularly large number of Gothic and Renaissance monuments. The
medieval core city of Kraków, the Wawel Hill complex with the royal
castle and cathedral and the independent city of Kazimierz until 1800
are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The city lies in the Kraków
Gate, a valley along the Vistula River between the mountain ranges of
the Polish Jura and the Beskids, the northern part of the Carpathians.
Like Warsaw or Wroclaw, Kraków is a student city. Almost a third of
Kraków's residents are students. The city was visited by around 13.5
million tourists in 2018 and is the most popular travel destination in
Central Eastern Europe alongside Prague and Budapest. The majority of
foreign visitors are young adults from the British Isles.
Kraków
is situated on the pilgrimage and cultural routes of the Lesser Poland
Way of St. James, Via Regia and Via Jagiellonica. Its Mogiła and Szklane
Domy monasteries are on the Cistercian route.
The city of Kraków has been repeatedly expanded
throughout its history, with formerly independent cities and
municipalities being included. However, some of these have retained
their own character and traditions. Some of the places incorporated in
the second half of the 20th century are far from the center and still
have the character of villages or small towns. According to the 1990
administrative division, Kraków is officially divided into 18 districts,
which are given Roman numerals. However, not all of them are equally of
tourist interest. For the purposes of this travel guide, several
districts are therefore combined in one article. There is a separate
article for each of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Old Town, Wawel and
Kazimierz, where most of the sights are concentrated.
Old Town –
medieval Kraków within the walls of the city, as rebuilt after the
Mongol invasion of 1241-1257. Here you will find the Large and Small
Market Squares, the University, numerous churches and, to the south, the
former town of Okół, which is older than the newly created Kraków, but
has been absorbed into it since the mid-13th century.
Wawel - the
limestone hill above the swamps of the Vistula was the nucleus of
Kraków, on which the rulers built numerous castles, palaces, churches
and cathedrals for more than a thousand years.
Kazimierz – the city
newly founded by Casimir the Great in the first half of the 14th century
on an island on the Vistula south of Wawel. Also one of the most
important centers of Polish Jews since the 15th century. Largely left to
decay after the Second World War, Kazimierz has developed into a lively
student, bar and hipster district since the 1980s.
West – this
includes the formerly independent city of Kleparz (also called Florenc),
which was also founded by Casimir the Great, the quarters along the ring
road that emerged west of the old town in the 19th century, and the
outskirts of Krowodrza, Prądnik Biały, Bronowice and Zwierzyniec. The
latter is considered the greenest and at the same time the most
exclusive district of Kraków with the Wolski Forest, vineyards, zoo and
several residential areas.
East – the districts east of the Old Town
such as Stradom and Wesoła, the area around the Main Train Station and
the industrial districts of Grzegórzki and Prądnik Czerwony that were
added at the beginning of the 20th century.
South - the parts of
Kraków south of the Vistula, especially Podgórze, where the Jewish
ghetto and Oskar Schindler's factory were located during the German
occupation. In addition, there are extensive outskirts, some of which
are still rural, such as the spa town of Swoszowice and Tyniec with its
Benedictine abbey towering prominently over the Vistula.
Nowa Huta –
created in the 1950s as a socialist model town for the workers of the
huge ironworks, Nowa Huta has almost had the character of a town within
a town to this day. This is so autonomous that some residents only drive
to the center of Kraków twice a year. In addition to the neoclassical
architecture of the Stalin era, the modern church "Ark of the Lord" is
remarkable, which Archbishop Karol Wojtyła (later Pope John Paul II)
enforced in the actually atheistically conceived city.
Tourist information offices are located in several
places in Kraków:
1 Town Hall Tower on the Market Square, Rynek
Główny 1. Tel.: +48 (0)12 433 73 10.
2 Wyspiański Pavilion, plac
Wszyskich Swiętych 2. Tel.: +48 (0)12 616 18 86.
3 Airport in Balice.
Phone: +48 (0)12 285 53 41.
4 Tourist Information Office, ul.
Szpitalna 25. Tel.: +48 (0)12 432 01 10.
5 Tourist Information, ul.
św. Jana 2. Phone: +48 (0)12 421 77 87.
6 Tourist Information Office,
ul. Józefa 7. Tel.: +48 (0)12 422 04 71.
7 Tourist Information, os.
Słoneczne 16. Tel.: +48 (0)12 643 03 03
According to legend, the name goes back to Prince
Krak, who lived on Wawel Hill in the 6th century. Two burial mounds from
this period, that of Krak and his daughter Wanda, as well as the Dragon
Cave below Wawel Castle, are among the oldest evidence of Kraków's early
history and are reminiscent of this legendary time.
Kraków was
first mentioned in a document in 965 and was the capital and royal city
of Poland from 1038 to 1609. After the destruction of old Kraków by the
Tartars under Genghis Khan's successors, the city was rebuilt on a large
scale in the Gothic style from 1241 around the largest medieval market
square in Europe. The town charter was then already awarded again in
1257. About a hundred years later, in 1364, the Jagiellonian University,
famous for its mathematical and astronomical faculty, was founded by
Casimir the Great, where Nicolaus Copernicus, among others, studied in
the 15th century. The golden age of Kraków coincides with the reign of
the Jagiellonian dynasty from the 14th to the 16th century, when they
ruled from Kraków over what was then the largest state in Europe in
terms of area, the Polish-Lithuanian Noble Republic. At times Kraków
belonged to the Hanseatic League in the 15th century, where it dominated
the copper trade.
Veit Stoss carved the world's largest and most
beautiful Gothic altar in Kraków. In addition to him and his son
Stanislaus Stoss, numerous artists from southern Germany created in the
late Gothic period, including Hans Dürer, Hans Süss, Peter Vischer, Hans
Vischer, Hans Beheim the Elder, Georg Pencz and Peter Flötner. At the
end of the 15th century, numerous local artists were also active, such
as Nicolaus Haberschrack and Stanisław Samostrzelnik, who founded the
Kraków school of Gothic painting, and from whom Jan Polack achieved fame
and fortune in Munich.
At the beginning of the 16th century, the
Jagiellonians married the Milanese Sforzas, and Bona Sforza and her
husband Sigismund the Old brought the best Florentine artists to Kraków
at the time, including Francesco Fiorentino, Bartolommeo Berrecci and
Giovanni Maria Padovano, who in the first half 16th century made Kraków
the most beautiful Renaissance city outside of Italy. The Sigismund
Chapel is her masterpiece. In the second half of the 16th century, Santi
Gucci, Giovanni Maria Bernardoni and Martin Kober worked in Kraków in
the late Renaissance, Mannerist and early Baroque styles. If the late
Gothic and the Renaissance are considered Kraków's golden age, the high
baroque was its silver age. Although the royal court moved to Warsaw at
the turn of the century, the nobility and especially the clergy remained
as the city's important patrons of the arts. Architects and artists from
Ticino worked here in the 17th century, including Giovanni Trevano and
Constantino Tencalla, but also Tylman van Gameren and Tommaso Dolabella.
From around 1650 to around 1750, Poland-Lithuania experienced a
series of successive wars, from the Chmielnicki Cossack Uprising, the
Swedish Deluge, the Polish-Turkish War, the Great Northern War to the
War of the Polish Succession. Here, Kraków was often occupied and
plundered by enemy troops. Both of these resulted in economic and
structural decay and the city fell into a slumber in the 18th century,
from which it only came out about a hundred years later after being
incorporated by the Habsburgs in 1846, from 1867 in the K-und-K-
Monarchy, reawakened. The Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, to which
Kraków now belonged, enjoyed extensive political and cultural autonomy,
which encouraged the city's development. In the second half of the 19th
century, industrialization began in Kraków, which resulted in very
strong population growth and the incorporation of numerous suburbs.
Numerous new buildings were built in the style of historicism and the
Vienna Secession. The Kraków art scene around the turn of the last
century was one of the most interesting in Austria-Hungary. Jan Matejko,
Stanisław Wyspiański and Józef Mehoffer worked here.
During the
First World War, Russia was unable to conquer Kraków Fortress, so the
city suffered no significant war damage. The building fabric of the city
also survived the Second World War largely intact, as the Nazi occupiers
were unable to carry out the planned destruction due to lack of time and
had to flee head over heels. To this day, Kraków is considered the most
important cultural center in Poland next to Warsaw. The appointment as
"European City of Culture" in 2000 also expressed the international
importance of the city. Today Kraków is a European cultural center,
famous artists like the composer Krzysztof Penderecki live here. A four
kilometer long green belt instead of the former ring wall, the Planty,
shields the world-famous old town of Kraków from traffic. Today, Kraków
is a city with loose buildings, many green spaces and a clear spatial
separation.
Kraków is a major transport hub in southern Poland.
This is where the old trade routes from west to east (Hohe Strasse) and
from north to south (Bernsteinstrasse) cross(ed).
By plane
Kraków John Paul II Airport (IATA: KRK) is located around 11 km east of
the city center in Balice. It has been expanded and modernized several
times since the 2000s and offers all the expected amenities. The largest
airlines here are the Polish LOT and the low-cost airlines Ryanair and
Wizz Air.
As of 2022, there are the following connections from
German-speaking countries several times a week, sometimes daily:
Austrian Airlines from Vienna
Eurowings from Dusseldorf and Stuttgart
Lufthansa from Frankfurt am Main and Munich
Ryanair from Berlin,
Dortmund, Nuremberg and Vienna
SWISS from Zurich
If a direct
flight to Kraków is not possible, Katowice Airport (90 km north-west)
can be considered as an alternative. There is a bus shuttle service from
Katowice Airport to Kraków (Matuszek Transfer and Pyrzowice Express),
travel time is 90 minutes, tickets can be bought online and cost €10 for
a single journey.
From the airport to the city
The airport is
connected to the city center by an S-Bahn and several bus lines.
The
SKA1 suburban train departs every 30 minutes during the day (last
journey at 12:30 am) from the airport train station directly opposite
the terminal (hidden by the multi-storey car park) and runs via Krakow
Glowny main train station. Tickets are available from the
English-speaking machines on the platform (be sure to buy a return
ticket right away, the operator's machines are practically impossible to
find at the main train station) or for cash from the train attendant.
The S-Bahn takes about 20 minutes to the main station, the trains are
modern and air-conditioned, but also relatively full during rush hour.
The bus lines 208, 209 and 300 as well as the night line 302 run between
the airport and the city or the surrounding communities. However, these
take a relatively long time and are not preferable.
Expensive airport
taxis are waiting right in front of the airport exit, costing 100 PLN
for the trip to the old town. demand. "Normal" taxis stop a few meters
away, which generally use a taximeter - at their stop there are signs
with the official tariffs - and depending on the route to the old town
(country road or motorway) 70-90 zł. costs. The official airport
operator, which can also be booked online through the airport website,
is Krakow Taxi.
Ride-hailing services Uber and Bolt are available in
Kraków via their respective smartphone apps and also operate to and from
the airport. A trip to the old town costs €10-20, depending on demand
and vehicle type.
For self-drivers, the airport's motorway entrance
is immediately after leaving the airport on the A4. Take this a short
distance north (to the "left" coming from the airport terminal) and then
at the following interchange turn north-east via the S52 onto the A7,
which then heads east directly to Kraków. For the old town, it is
advisable to turn off after a few kilometers onto aleja 29 Listopada,
which also leads past the main train station. The journey takes about 30
minutes, depending on traffic. For the alternative country road, do not
drive onto the motorway at the airport, but follow the 774 from the
first roundabout north parallel to the motorway and after a few hundred
meters turn east ("right") onto Krakowska, which also leads in the
direction of the city centre.
By train
Direct arrival by train
is possible from Germany (Hamburg, Berlin) and Austria (via Vienna).
There are direct international connections (partly with sleeper cars)
with Berlin, Budapest, Bucharest/Varna, Hamburg, Kiev/Odessa, Lemberg,
Prague, Vienna and Zlina as well as with all larger Polish cities. All
long-distance trains stop at Kraków Główny, the main train station in
Kraków. The rail network is operated by the state railway PKP. Train
travel in Poland is very cheap, but unfortunately does not always
correspond to German quality. However, one should consider it.
Especially for longer journeys, it is recommended to use an IC or Ex
(express train). These usually run every hour. The journey to Warsaw
takes about 3:00h. Katowice can also be reached by train in just over an
hour from Kraków, where more trains depart every day for Prague,
Bratislava, Vienna and Budapest.
By bus
Numerous bus companies
offer travel to Kraków from Germany (Sindbad, Eurolines, Touring, Omnia,
Agat, Awizo, Comfort Lines, Interglobus, Rumat) and Switzerland (Agat,
Bermuda, Orbis Transport) by bus. Despite growing private transport, an
extensive intercity bus network serves the still very important public
transport from Kraków. In addition to the state bus lines PKS, there are
numerous offers from private providers. Traveling by bus is one of the
most affordable ways to explore Poland. Numerous bus companies offer
trips to Wieliczka, Zakopane, Auschwitz or Slovakia for tourists at
reasonable prices. Especially in winter, one-day (or weekend) ski trips
combined with a trip to the warm springs in the High Tatras are popular.
In the street
The road network around Kraków is very well
equipped with the A 4 (E40, E462) and expressways. The journey from the
German border (Forst or Ludwigsdorf) takes about four hours when traffic
is calm.
The A 4 (E40) connects Kraków with Katowice, Gliwice,
Opole, Wrocław, Legnica and runs to the border with Germany and east
with Tarnów, Rzeszów, Łańcut, Jarosław and Przemyśl in the east and
further into Ukraine. The journey to Rzeszów takes about an hour when
traffic is calm, and about two hours to Przemyśl. For the section
between Kraków and Katowice (approx. 80 km) you have to pay a toll of 24
PLN. be paid (as of Oct 2021). Cash payment in euros is only possible
with bills, change is given in złoty. However, this section can be
bypassed on the S 94 in the north.
The S 7 (E77) connects Kraków
with Kielce, Radom, Warsaw, Olsztyn, Elbląg and Gdańsk in the north. If
the traffic is calm, the journey to Warsaw takes about three hours.
The S 7 connects Kraków with Myślenice, Rabka, Nowy Targ and
Zakopane in the south and continues into Slovakia. The journey to Nowy
Targ takes about an hour when the traffic is calm, and about an hour and
a half to Zakopane.
The DK 44 connects Kraków with Zator,
Auschwitz and Gliwice in the west, where it meets the A4 again. When the
traffic is calm, the drive to Auschwitz takes about an hour and to
Gliwice about two hours. The toll section of the A4 can also be bypassed
on this route.
The S 52 connects Kraków with Lanckorona, Kalwaria
Zebrzydowska, Wadowice, Inwałd, Andrychów, Kęty, Bielsko-Biała and
Cieszyn in the southwest and continues to the Czech Republic. If traffic
is calm, the journey to Bielsko-Biała takes about an hour, to Cieszyn
about two hours.
The DK 79 connects Kraków with Sandomierz and
Lublin in the northeast. The journey to Sandomierz takes about two hours
when the traffic is calm, and about four hours to Lublin.
However, the S 7 (North), the S 44, the DK 52 and the DK 79 are not
developed in a motorway-like manner and are not height-free. The S 7 to
the south has been expanded to be similar to a motorway only as far as
Lubia
By boat
The Vistula in Kraków is a navigable waterway.
Excursion boats travel south and north. Several docks also offer kayak,
pedalo or sailing boats. There are also several bathing lakes such as
Kryspinów, Zakrzówek or Bagry in the city of Kraków or directly adjacent
to it. In particular, on the latter, sailing and other sports are
possible. A small marina is located on its shore. Zakrzówek, on the
other hand, is particularly popular with divers, who can discover
numerous relics from the mining period in the clear waters of the former
limestone quarry.
Bicycle
Kraków is located on the Vistula
Cycle Route and on the European long-distance cycle routes EuroVelo 4
(“Central Europe Route” from Brno, Ostrava and Lviv, Rzeszów) and 11
(“Eastern Europe Route” from Košice, Tarnów and Warsaw, Kielce).
On foot and by bike
The old town is largely a
pedestrian zone. In some cases, only rescue vehicles and vehicles
with a special permit are allowed to drive inside the former city
wall ring, today Planty Park. The best way to explore the old town
is on foot, by bike or e-scooter. You can rent them in many places.
In the street
Even parts of the city center that can be
reached by car are better off using public transport. There is a
shortage of parking spaces almost around the clock. If you still
want to drive to the city center by car, you should use the large
multi-storey car park at the main train station. The first few
minutes are free of charge, after that you have to pay moderate
parking fees. From this multi-storey car park you can walk to the
northern old town in five minutes. Rental cars from Polish and
international providers can be rented as well as bicycles and
e-scooters, for example directly at the airport or in the city
center.
taxi
Common taxi providers are iCar, Barbakan,
Wawel, Dwójki, Uber and Taxify. Taking a taxi in Kraków is
comparatively cheap.
public
In terms of local public
transport, Kraków has a well-developed transport network (prices for
public transport in Kraków; network maps for public transport in
Kraków, interactive map with all stops).
Buying single-ride
tickets can be difficult for visitors. Although all new trams have
machines on board, they no longer accept cash. When paying with a
foreign credit card, the bank charges can be significantly higher
than the fare. Ticket machines are only available at very few large
stops, they do not always work reliably and often cause problems,
especially with coins.
Fares:
20 minutes 4 PLN. (approx.
EUR 0.85)
60 minutes PLN 6.00. (approx. EUR 1.30)
90 minutes
PLN 8.00. (approx. EUR 1.70)
24 hours PLN 17.00. (approx. EUR
3.65)
48 hours PLN 35.00. (approx. EUR 7.50)
72 hours PLN
50.00. (approx. EUR 10.75)
7 days PLN 56.00. (approx. EUR 12.05)
Free travel for people over 70 years of age
bus, tram and
train
Kraków does not have a subway, but an express tram that
runs to several stops in a long tunnel in some parts of the city
center. The linchpin of local public transport is the area around
the main train station. There are suburban and intercity buses for
regional and suburban traffic. For long-distance traffic there is a
modern main train station, which is about 300 m north-east of the
old town, and a large bus station right next to it, which has just
been rebuilt.
The international airport, which can be reached
by bus and train in about 20 minutes from the main train station,
offers direct flights to a large number of destinations around the
world, especially destinations in Europe, Africa, the Middle East
and North America.
By boat
Water trams and excursion boats
operate on the Vistula.
Kraków has numerous sights. Its old town has been a
UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978. The city is also very popular
with visitors because of its southern flair. The heyday of Kraków was
the late Gothic, Renaissance and early Baroque period, that is, the
period coinciding with the reign of the Jagiellonians. The epoch of
Historicism and Art Nouveau, in which Kraków belonged to the
Austro-Hungarian Empire between 1846 and 1918, left numerous monuments
behind. The basic structure of Kraków was neither destroyed in the First
nor in the Second World War and the monuments are therefore preserved
true to the original. These include over a hundred historic churches and
monasteries, hundreds of town houses and palaces, seven synagogues and
numerous works of art from all eras of the city's history.
The
old town has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1978 as a
unique architectural ensemble. Its center is the 200 by 200 meter Rynek
Główny, one of the largest and most beautiful market squares in Europe.
The square is divided by the mighty Cloth Hall, built in the 13th
century and rebuilt in 1550 in the Renaissance style. The entire
marketplace has a basement. The medieval interconnected cellars,
originating from houses that stood before location 1257 on the market
square, have been restored and are partially open to tourists. All
around, narrow streets with magnificent churches and town houses invite
you to stroll.
1 Royal Castle on Wawel (Zamek Królewski na Wawelu).
Renaissance building from the early 16th century with Romanesque, Gothic
and Baroque elements. Rebuilt several times.
2 Łobzów Royal Castle
(Pałac Królewski w Łobzowie (Kraków)) . Renaissance building from the
16th century. Rebuilt several times.
3 Erasmus Ciołek Bishop's Palace
(Pałac biskupa Erazma Ciołka) . Renaissance building from the early 16th
century.
4 Florian Mokrski Bishop's Palace (Pałac biskupa Floriana z
Mokrska w Krakowie), 31-002 Kraków, ul. Kanonicza 18 . Renaissance
building from the 16th century.
5 Bishop's Palace (Pałac Biskupi),
Franciszkańska 3 . Renaissance building from the 16th century.
6
Samuel Maciejowski Bishop's Palace (Pałac Samuela Maciejowskiego w
Krakowie) . Renaissance building from the 16th century.
7 Górków
Palace Kraków (Pałac Górków w Krakowie), 33-332 Kraków, ul. Kanonicza
24. Mannerist building from the late 16th century.
8 Gniezno
Primate's Palace in Kraków (Pałac Arcybiskupów Gnieźnieńskich w
Krakowie) . Renaissance building from the 16th century.
9 Wartenberg
Castle (Zamek w Przegorzałach). Nazi building from the 20th century
1 Wawel Cathedral (bazylika archikatedralna św. Stanisława i św.
Wacława w Krakowie). Originally from the 10th/11th Century, rebuilt
several times with stylistic elements, especially Romanesque, brick
Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque. Coronation and burial church of
Polish kings and Kraków archbishops. Nineteen Gothic, Renaissance,
Mannerist, Baroque and Classicist chapels are arranged around the
Gothic nave and side naves, in which monarchs rest - including the
Czartoryski Chapel, the Gamrat Chapel, the Holy Cross Chapel, Jan
Olbracht Chapel, Konarski Chapel, Queen Sophie Chapel, Lipski
Chapel, Maciejewski Chapel, Lady Chapel, Potocki Chapel, Rogowski
Chapel, Sigismund Chapel, Skotnicki Chapel, the Szafraniec Chapel,
the Tomicki Chapel, the Vasa Chapel, the Zadzik Chapel, the Załuski
Chapel, the Zebrzydowski Chapel and the Leonhard Crypt.
2 Marian
Basilica (kościół archiprezbiterialny pw. Wniebowzięcia Najświętszej
Marii Panny), pl. Mariacki 5 (east side of the Great Market). Brick
Gothic church from the 13th century, rebuilt several times with
Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Classicism and Art Nouveau style
elements. There are numerous works of art here, such as the
Marienaltar by Veit Stoss. Every hour on the hour, a fire brigade
musician blows the Hejnał trumpet signal from the tower room at a
height of 54 meters. This apparently breaks off in the middle of the
melody. According to legend, this commemorates the Mongol invasion
of 1241, when the watchman was shot with an arrow while blowing the
warning signal. This story is probably a 20th century invention.
3 Jesuit Church (Kościół Świętych Apostołów Piotra i Pawła, Peter
and Paul Church), ul. Grodzka 52a, Grodzka 52A, 31-044 Kraków .
Early Baroque church from the 16th century, modeled on the Church of
Il Gesù in Rome, is considered to be the first Baroque church in
Poland-Lithuania.
4 Franciscan Basilica (Bazylika św. Franciszka
z Asyżu w Krakowie), pl. Wszystkich Świętych 5 (ul. Franciszkańska).
Church from the 13th century with Gothic, Neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau
elements.
5 Pauline Basilica (Kościół św. Michała Archanioła i
św. Stanisława Biskupa w Krakowie, St. Michael and Stanislaus or
Skałka), ul. Skałeczna 15. Church from the 13th century with Gothic
and Baroque elements. A kind of pantheon of deserving Poles has been
in the crypt since the 1880s. For example, the late medieval
diplomat and chronicler Jan Długosz, the writer Józef Ignacy
Kraszewski, the artists Stanisław Wyspiański and Karol Szymanowski,
and the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Czesław Miłosz.
6 St. Andrew's Church (Kościół św. Andrzeja w Krakowie), ul. Grodzka
54. Church from the 11th century, originally Romanesque, rebuilt
several times with Baroque elements.
7 Corpus Christi Basilica
(Bazylika Bożego Ciała w Krakowie), ul. Bożego Ciała 26. Church from
the 14th century with elements of brick Gothic and high Baroque
style.
8 Adalbert Church (Kościół św. Wojciecha), Rynek Główny 2
. Originally Romanesque from the 10th century, rebuilt several times
with Baroque style elements.
9 Anna Church (Kościół św. Anny w
Krakowie), ul. św. Anny 13. Originally a Gothic church from the 14th
century, rebuilt several times with Baroque and Rococo style
elements.
10 Augustinian Church (Kościół św. Katarzyny
Aleksandryjskiej i św. Małgorzaty w Krakowie, St. Catherine of
Alexandria and Margaret), ul. Augustiańska 9 . Church from the 14th
century, rebuilt several times with brick Gothic and Baroque style
elements.
11 Dominican Basilica (Bazylika Świętej Trójcy w
Krakowie, Holy Trinity Church), ul. Stolarska 12 . Brick Gothic
church from the 13th century with Baroque, Neo-Gothic and Art
Nouveau style elements.
12 St. Joseph's Church in Podgórze
(Kościół św. Józefa w Krakowie (Podgórze)), ul. Zamoyskiego 2,
30-523 Kraków, ul. Jana Zamoyskiego 2 . Neo-Gothic church from the
19th century with Art Nouveau style elements.
13 Mogila
Cistercian Monastery (Opactwo Cystersów w Mogile), ul. Klasztorna
11, Klasztorna 11 (Mogiła district) . Gothic-Baroque church from the
13th century with Gothic, Renaissance and late Baroque style
elements.
The Ägidius Church - Romanesque-Gothic church from the
11th century, rebuilt several times with Romanesque and Baroque
style elements.
The Agnes Church - Goric-Baroque church from the
15th century, rebuilt several times with Gothic and Baroque style
elements.
The Resurrection Chapel - neoclassical cemetery church
from the 19th century.
The Barbara Church - Gothic-Baroque church
from the 13th century, rebuilt several times with stylistic elements
of brick Gothic and Baroque.
Church of Mercy -
Renaissance-Baroque church from the 16th century with Renaissance
and early Baroque style elements.
The Bartholomäus Church -
baroque church from the 17th century with stylistic elements of the
high and late baroque.
The Benedict Church - Romanesque church
from the 11th century with Romanesque and Gothic style elements.
The Bednedictine Church - Romanesque-Baroque church from the 11th
century with Romanesque and Baroque style elements.
The
Bernhardiner Church - Gothic-Baroque church from the 15th century,
rebuilt several times with stylistic elements of the late Baroque
and Rococo.
Bronisława Chapel - neo-Gothic church from the 19th
century.
Church of the Nativity of Christ - Gothic-Baroque wooden
church from the 14th century with Gothic and Baroque style elements.
The Dominican Church - Baroque church from the 17th century.
Trinity Church - Baroque church from the 17th century with late
Baroque and Rococo style elements.
St. Florian's Basilica -
Romanesque-Baroque church from the 11th century with high-Baroque
style elements.
Church of the Holy Cross - Gothic-Baroque church
from the 12th century with Romanesque, Brick Gothic, Renaissance and
Baroque styles.
Sacred Heart Basilica - neo-Gothic church from
the 20th century with brick Gothic and Art Nouveau style elements.
The Kleparz Herz-Jesu-Kirche - Art Nouveau church from the 19th
century with stylistic elements of the neo-Romanesque and
classicism.
The Neuwelter Herz-Jesu-Kirche - neo-Gothic church
from the 19th century with neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau style
elements.
The Church of the Heart of Mary - neo-Gothic church
from the 19th century with elements of neo-Gothic and Art Nouveau
styles.
The Old Town Church of St. John - Romanesque-Baroque
church from the 11th century with stylistic elements of the High and
Late Baroque.
The Josef Schutz Church - neo-Gothic church from
the 19th century with Art Nouveau style elements.
The
Josefskapelle - Neo-Gothic church from the 19th century with Art
Nouveau style elements.
The Old Town Joseph's Church - baroque
church from the 17th century.
The Camaldolese Church - early
baroque church from the 17th century.
The Capuchin Church - High
Baroque church from the 17th century.
The Carmelite Basilica -
Gothic-Baroque church from the 14th century with Romanesque, Gothic
and High Baroque style elements.
The Old Town Casimir Church -
baroque church from the 17th century.
Church of the Exaltation of
the Cross - Baroque church from the 17th century.
The Lazarist
Church - baroque church from the 17th century with stylistic
elements of the late baroque and rococo.
The Loreto Church -
baroque church from the 17th century.
Lourdes Church - Neo-Gothic
church from the 19th century.
The Margaret and Judith Church -
baroque wooden church from the 17th century.
The Warsaw Suburbs
Church of the Conception of the Virgin Mary - neo-Gothic church from
the 20th century.
Church of the Conception of the Virgin Mary in
Wesoła - Baroque church from the 17th century.
St. Mark's Church
- Gothic-Baroque church from the 13th century with brick Gothic and
Baroque style elements.
Martins Church - baroque church from the
17th century.
St. Nicholas Church - Romanesque-Baroque church
from the 11th century with Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque style
elements.
The Norbertanerinnenkirche - Romanesque-Baroque church
from the 12th century with Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque style
elements.
The Old Town Piarist Church - Rococo church from the
18th century with late Baroque and Rococo style elements.
The
Salvator Church - Romanesque-Baroque church from the 10th century
with Romanesque, Renaissance and Baroque style elements.
The
Theresien Church - baroque church from the 18th century with
stylistic elements of the late baroque and the rococo.
The Thomas
Church - baroque church from the 17th century.
St.
Vincent's Church - neo-Gothic church from the 19th century.
The
Visitant Church - a baroque church from the 17th century with late
baroque and rococo style elements.
Most of the synagogues are located in the Kazimierz district, also
known as the Jewish Quarter.
14 Old Synagogue (Synagoga Stara w
Krakowie), ul. Szeroka 24, 31-053 Kraków, ul. Szeroka 24 . Synagogue in
brick Gothic and Renaissance style. Founded in the 15th century, it is
the oldest surviving synagogue in Kraków and was the nucleus of the
Jewish community in Kazimierz. The core of today's building dates from
1550 and was designed by the Italian architect Mateo Gucci. The
vestibule with the two women's prayer rooms was added in the first half
of the 17th century.
15 Temple Synagogue (Synagoga Tempel w
Krakowie), ul. Miodowa 24 . Reformed synagogue built in Moorish style in
1860-62.
16 Kupa Synagogue (Synagoga Kupa w Krakowie), ul. Miodowa 27
. Baroque synagogue built in 1643 from donations to the treasury of the
Jewish community (Kahal). The name derives from kupat, the Hebrew word
for treasury.
17 Remu Synagogue (Synagoga Remu w Krakowie), ul.
Szeroka 40 . 16th-century Renaissance synagogue. It is named after Rabbi
Moses Isserles, also known as Rema or Remu after his Hebrew initials.
18 High Synagogue (Synagoga Wysoka w Krakowie), ul. Józefa 38, Józefa 38
. 16th-century Renaissance synagogue.
The Deiches Synagogue -
neo-baroque synagogue from the 20th century.
The Isaac Synagogue -
Baroque synagogue from the 17th century.
The Popper Synagogue -
Baroque synagogue from the 17th century.
The Sugar Synagogue -
Neo-Gothic synagogue from the 19th century.
The Great Mikveh -
Renaissance mikveh (Jewish ritual bath) from the 16th century.
10 Cloth Hall (Sukiennice w Krakowie), Rynek Główny 3 (in the middle
of the Main Market Square) . Originally a Gothic building from the 14th
century, it was rebuilt in the Renaissance style in the mid-16th
century. Largest Renaissance building of its kind in Europe. As the name
suggests, the halls were used for trading in textiles. The Cloth Hall
underwent another reconstruction in the years 1875-1878, during which
the neo-Gothic arcades were created along the long sides. The column
capitals were designed by Jan Matejko. The exhibition rooms of the
Kraków National Museum with paintings from the 19th century (including
works by Matejko) are located on the upper floor. Souvenirs are now sold
in the passage in the basement.
11 Florian's Gate with the rest of
the city walls (Brama Floriańska w Krakowie) . The 14th-century Gothic
city gate is located on the north side of the old town. The Fur Makers'
Guild was once responsible for its defense. The gate is part of Kraków's
Royal Route: the Polish kings entered the city here on their coronation
procession from St. Florian's Church to Wawel. The baroque bronze spire
was added in 1660. The building thus reaches a height of 34.5 meters.
The south side of the tower is decorated with an 18th-century bas-relief
of Saint Florian. When the medieval city fortifications were removed in
the 19th century, the section with the Florian's Gate was spared in
order to protect the old town from strong north winds.
12 Barbican .
The late-medieval brick rondel built in 1498/99 in front of the
Florianstor is the largest preserved barbican in Europe. It was intended
to protect the then Polish capitals against attacks, especially from the
Ottoman Empire and the Tatars. Since the city had natural protection
from the Vistula River to the south, and marshes to the west and east,
the northern side was the most vulnerable and was specially fortified.
13 Słowacki Theater (Teatr Miejski), pl. Świętego Ducha 1, plac św.
Ducha w Krakowie 1. Magnificent theater building built in 1891-93 in
eclectic style. The Opéra Garnier in Paris served as an architectural
model. As a local feature, however, grimacing faces were added to the
roof, reminiscent of those on the cloth hall on the main market. At the
time of the partitions of Poland, Polish culture enjoyed somewhat
greater freedom in the Austrian-ruled part than in the Prussian and
Russian parts. The City Theater of the former capital of Kraków played a
special role in the preservation of national culture. Works by the young
Polish playwright Stanisław Wyspiański were premiered here, including
Wesele (“The Wedding”) in 1901, with which he called on his people to
revolt against foreign rule. Since 1909 the theater has borne the name
of Juliusz Słowackis, one of Poland's national poets.
14 Old Theater
(Stary Teatr im. Heleny Modrzejewskiej w Krakowie), ul. Jagiellońska 5
or plac Szczepański 1. The building of the Old National Theater was
erected in 1841–1843. From 1865 the chess player Helena Modrzejewska,
whose name the theater bears, played here. During a renovation in the
years 1903-1906 it received its Art Nouveau ornamentation.
15
Collegium Maius, ul. Jagiellońska 15, ulica Jagiellońska w Krakowie15,
ul. św. Anna 8-10. The brick Gothic building dates from around 1400 and
is the oldest surviving building of Kraków University, founded in 1364.
Originally, the classrooms were on the ground floor, while the library
and living quarters of the professors were on the upper floor. It was
here that Nicolaus Copernicus studied mathematics and astronomy in the
1490s. Gradually, the university moved into other buildings. Today the
Collegium Maius serves as the university museum.
16 Town Hall Tower
(Wieża ratuszowa w Krakowie), Rynek Główny. Gothic tower of the town
hall from the 13th century. It is made partly of brick and partly of
stone blocks and is 70 meters high. In the 17th century it got a baroque
spire. Since a storm in 1703, the tower has tilted slightly. When the
dilapidated Gothic town hall was demolished in 1820, only the tower
remained. Today it houses the city history museum, and the viewing
platform can also be climbed. The Ludow Theater is located in the
basement.
17 August Witkowski Lyceum (V Liceum Ogólnokształcące im.
Augusta Witkowskiego), ul. Studencka 12, Studencka 12. The magnificent
Neo-Renaissance school building was built in 1893–95 for the
Oberrealschule founded under Emperor Franz Joseph. Since 1921 it has
borne the name of the physicist August Witkowski. Numerous prominent
Krakóws went to school here, e.g. B. Foreign Minister Józef Beck,
director Małgorzata Szumowska and actress Alicja Bachleda-Curuś.
18
Kossakówka, pl. Juliusza Kossaka 4 (Nowy Świat district, a little off
aleja Zygmunta Krasińskiego). Former noble residence of the Kossaków
family, built in 1851 in neo-Gothic style. In the period before the
Second World War, this was a meeting place for Kraków's intellectuals
and artists.
The Academy of Fine Arts - Neo-Renaissance building from
the 19th century.
The Royal Arsenal - Renaissance building from the
early 16th century, expanded in the Baroque style in the early 17th
century.
The Municipal Arsenal - Renaissance building from the 16th
century, part of the preserved city wall at Florian's Gate.
The
Collegium Broscianum - Renaissance building of the Kraków University
from the 16th century was commissioned by the Jesuits.
Collegium
Iuridicum - Gothic-Renaissance building of Kraków University from 14th
century. Next to the Collegium Maius, the oldest surviving building of
Kraków University.
Collegium Kołłątaj - Classicist building of Kraków
University from the 18th century.
Collegium Minus -
Gothic-Renaissance building of Kraków University from 15th century.
Expanded in the 19th century.
Collegium Novum - neo-Gothic building
of Kraków University from the 19th century. The Kraków special action
was carried out here during the Nazi era.
Collegium Nowodworski -
Renaissance building of Kraków University from the 16th century. Among
others, King John III studied here. Sobieski.
Collegium Śniadecki -
Renaissance building of Kraków University from the 16th century, later
enlarged in Baroque style.
Collegium Witkowski - neo-Gothic building
of Kraków University from the 19th century.
Collegium Wróblewski -
late baroque building of Kraków University from the 18th century.
The
Music Academy - Neoclassical building from the 20th century.
The
Philharmonie - neo-baroque building from the 20th century.
The
National Bank of Poland - neoclassical building from the 20th century.
The Polish Savings Bank - neoclassical building from the 20th century.
The City Hall of Kazimierz - Gothic-Renaissance building from the 14th
century, stands on the market square of the formerly independent city of
Kazmierz.
The New Town Hall of Podgórze - historicism building from
the 19th century, stands on the market square of the formerly
independent town of Podgórze.
The Business Academy - neo-baroque
building from the 19th century.
Provincial Office - eclectic building
from the 19th century.
The Badeni Palace Kraków - Historicism building from the 19th
century.
The Villa Baszta - historicist building from the 20th
century.
Białoprądnicki Palace - classicism building from the 18th
century.
The Celestat Palace - Neo-Gothic building from the 19th
century.
The Czapski Palace - historicist building from the 19th
century.
The Czarkowski Palace - historicist building from the 19th
century.
The Czartoryski Palace - Neo-Renaissance building from the
19th century.
The Villa Decius - Renaissance building from the 16th
century.
The Dembinski Palace - Rococo building from the 18th
century.
The Dunaevsky Palace - Neo-Renaissance building from the
19th century.
The Fischer-Benis Palace - Neo-Renaissance building
from the 19th century.
The Hotel Grand Palais - Renaissance building
from the 16th century.
The Hebdowski Palace - Renaissance building
from the 16th century.
The Jerzmanowski Palace - historicist building
from the 18th century.
Jutkiewicz Palace - eclectic building from the
19th century.
The Kirchmayer Palais - eclectic building from the 19th
century.
The Kmita Palace - Renaissance building from the 16th
century.
Krzysztofory Palace - historicist building from the 19th
century.
The Art Palace Kraków - Art Nouveau building from the 19th
century.
The Larisch Palais - historicist building from the 19th
century.
The Lasocki Palace - Historicism building from the 19th
century.
The Lewalska Palace - historicist building from the 19th
century.
The Lubomirski Palace - historicist building from the 19th
century.
Małachowski Palace - Baroque building from the 19th century.
Mańkowski Palace - Neo-Baroque building from the 19th century.
The
Montelupi Palace - historicist building from the 19th century.
Ogiński Potulicki Palace - historicist building from the 19th century.
The Ostaszewski Palace - historicist building from the 19th century.
The Popiel Palace - Renaissance building from the 16th century.
The
Potocki Palace - classicism building from the 18th century.
The Press
Palace - Neo-Baroque building from the 20th century.
The
Przebendowski Palace - baroque building from the 18th century.
The
Puget Palace - Neo-Renaissance building from the 19th century.
Raczynski Palace - Neo-Renaissance building from the 19th century.
The Radzikowski Palace - historicist building from the 20th century.
Rydlówka - historicist building from the 19th century.
The Rzewuski
Palace - historicist building from the 19th century.
The Sanguszko
Palace - Neo-Renaissance building from the 19th century.
The
Sierakowski Palace - Renaissance building from the 16th century.
The
Stadnicki Palace - Rococo building from the 18th century.
Stryjeński
Palace - Neo-Renaissance building from the 19th century.
The
Tarnowski Palace - baroque building from the 17th century.
Tyszkiewicz Palace - historicist building from the 19th century.
The
Wielopolski Palace - Renaissance building from the 16th century.
The
Włodkowicz Palace - Neo-Baroque building from the 19th century.
The
Wodzicki Palace - late baroque building from the 18th century.
The
Wodzicki Palace - baroque building from the 17th century.
Wojewodziński Palace - Renaissance building from the 16th century.
The Zbaraski Palace Kraków - Rococo building from the 18th century.
The Zieliewski Palace - historicist building from the 19th century.
The Zipser Palais - classicism building from the 18th century.
The
Zofiówka Palace - historicist building from the 19th century.
After Kraków was annexed by the Habsburg monarchy, the Austrians
under Emperor Franz Joseph I had numerous forts and bastions built
around Kraków to defend the city against an expected Russian attack.
Almost a hundred bastions and forts were built in eight rings. When the
Russian attack came during the First World War, Kraków Fortress was able
to fend it off. The older forts were abandoned after World War II, but
some have been preserved as monuments. Other parts of the fortress were
used for military purposes until the 1990s. Today, a tourist walking and
cycling route (Szlak Twierdzy Kraków) connects some of the bastions and
forts.
The remains of these fortifications include:
the
bastions at Wawel
Bastion Kleparz north of downtown
Warsaw Lunette
near Rakowicki Cemetery
Bastion Lubicz at Rondo Mogilski in
Grzegórzki
Fort St. Benedict (artillery tower) on Lasota Hill in
Podgórze
Fort Kościuszko on Kościuszko Hill.
Unity Tower (Szkiele Gate) . A high-rise building east of the old
town that was unfinished for almost 40 years. Construction began in
1975, but was canceled in 1979 due to financial problems and was left as
an investment ruin. Since then there have been repeated plans as to how
the building could be completed and used, but they have never been
realised. Since March 2016, however, construction has continued, and in
2020 the Unity Tower was completed as an office and apartment building
The K1 - a skyscraper east of the old town built in the 1970s.
The
Salwator Tower - a skyscraper west of Old Town built in the 2000s.
The Congress Center - a modern building from the 2010s.
The Expo
Kraków - a modern building from the 2010s.
The Tauron Arena - a
modern building from the 2010s.
The Manggha - a Japanese exhibition
pavilion from the 1990s.
Adam Mickiewicz Monument (Pomnik Adama Mickiewicza w Krakowie), Rynek
Główny. It commemorates the Polish national poet Adam Mickiewicz
(1798–1855). The statue was created by Teodor Rygier and inaugurated in
1898 on the occasion of the poet's 100th birthday. It was destroyed
during the occupation of Poland by German troops in 1940, but was
rebuilt in 1955 after the end of the war. If Krakóws want to meet in the
city center, they often meet at Adaś (“Adamchen”).
Grunwald Monument
(Pomnik Grunwaldzki). Equestrian statue of the Polish-Lithuanian King
Władysław II Jagiełło, who defeated the troops of the Teutonic Order in
1410 in the Battle of Grunwald or Tannenberg. The memorial was erected
in 1910 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the battle and was
designed by Antoni Wiwulski
Monument to the Dog Dżok (Pomnik psa
Dżoka), bulwar Czerwieński (on the bank of the Vistula between Wawel and
Grunwald Bridge). Monument designed by Bronisław Chromy and inaugurated
in 2001. Faithful dog Dżok was seen in 1990-91 at the Grunwaldzkie
roundabout, where he waited in vain for his deceased master.
Wawel
Dragon (Smok Wawelski) . The 6 meter high bronze statue was created by
Bronisław Chromy in 1969 and placed in front of the Dragon's Cave at the
foot of Wawel in 1972. It is reminiscent of the legend of the Wawel
dragon, which is said to have haunted the Kraków area at the time of the
mythical founder of the city, Krak. The duke promised the hand of his
daughter Wanda to whoever would kill the dragon. Many knights failed in
the attempt. Finally, a shoemaker who stuffed a lambskin with sulfur
succeeded. The dragon ate the supposed lamb and got extremely thirsty
from the sulfur. He drank so much water from the Vistula that he burst.
The dragon statue "spits fire": A gas flame in its mouth is ignited at
intervals of approx. 5 minutes.
The Fryderyk Chopin Monument - by
Władysław Marcinkowski.
The Nicolaus Copernicus Monument - by Cyprian
Godebski.
The Józef Dietl Monument - by Xawery Dunikowski.
The
Tomb of the Unknown Soldier - by Marian Dąbrowski.
The Tadeusz
Kościuszko Monument - by Leonard Marconi and Antoni Popiel.
The Jan
Matejko Monument - by Jan Tutaj.
The Memorial to the Victims of
Fascism - by Witold Cęckiewicz.
The memorial for the victims of
communism - by Stefan Dousa.
The Ignacy Paderewski Monument - by
Czesław Dźwigaj.
The Józef Piłsudski Monument - by Czesław Dźwigaj.
The Tadeusz Rejtan Monument - by Czesław Dźwigaj.
The Władysław
Sikorski Monument - by Bogusz Salwiński.
The Piotr Skarga Monument -
by Czesław Dźwigaj.
The Piotr Skrzynecki Monument - by Grażyna
Borkowska-Niemojewska and Łukasz Niemojewski.
The Solidarność
Monument
The Walenty Badylak Fountain
Monument to Stanisław
Wyspiański - by Marian Konieczny.
Kraków has a long tradition of raising mounds of honor to commemorate
deceased eminent personalities. Five of the original eight mounds of
honor are still preserved.
1 Krak Hill (Kopiec Krakusa). Krak
Hill was built around 500 BC. Heaped up as a burial mound for an unknown
person of the Przeworsk culture on the Lasota limestone cliffs south of
the Vistula. He later became associated with the legendary founder of
Kraków, Krak. From the summit there is a wide panorama of the city.
2
Wanda Hill (Kopiec Wandy). Wanda Hill was built around 500 BC. heaped up
as a burial mound for an unknown person from the Przeworsk culture in
what is now the Nowa Huta district. He was later linked to the daughter
of Wanda, the legendary founder of Kraków, Krak.
3 Kościuszko Mound
(Kopiec Kościuszki w Krakowie) wikipediacomons. Kościuszko Hill was
raised in the city forest in 1820-1823 in honor of the Polish national
hero Tadeusz Kościuszko. From the summit there is a wide panorama of the
city and the Beskids to the Tatras.
4 Piłsudski Hill (Kopiec
Piłsudskiego w Krakowie) . Piłsudski Hill was raised in the city forest
in 1934–1937 in honor of the Polish Marshal Józef Piłsudski. From the
summit there is a wide panorama of the city and the Beskids to the
Tatras.
5 John Paul II Hill (Kopiec Jana Pawła II w Krakowie) . John
Paul II Hill was raised in 1997 in honor of Pope John Paul II south of
the Vistula in the Dębniki district.
Listed are just some of the most famous of more than a hundred
museums in Kraków.
Wawel Museums
Audience Chambers of the
Wawel Castle (Reprezentacyjne Komnaty Królewskie na Wawelu) . The throne
rooms of Polish kings with Renaissance furniture and works of art.
Private Royal Apartments of Wawel Castle (Prywatne Apartamenty
Królewskie na Wawelu) . The living quarters of Polish kings with
Renaissance furniture and works of art.
Crown Treasury of the Wawel
Castle (Prywatne Apartamenty Królewskie na Wawelu) . Art of the Polish
royal crown.
Wawel Castle Armory (Zbrojownia na Wawelu) . Collection
of weapons of the Polish kings.
Art of the East at the Wawel Castle
(Sztuka Wschodu na Wawelu) . Art collection of objects that King John
III. Sobieski captured by the Ottomans during the relief of Vienna in
1683.
Sunken Wawel (Wawel Zaginiony) . Exhibition on the no longer
preserved buildings on Wawel.
Dragon Cave (Smocza Jama) . Karst show
cave under the Wawel Castle.
Cathedral Museum (Muzeum Katedralne im.
Jana Pawła II na Wawelu) . The museum exhibits the treasury of the
cathedral, including the crown jewels.
Tombs of the Kings and
Sigismund's Bell (Groby Królewskie na Wawelu). Royal tombs in the crypts
of Wawel Cathedral and the Sigismund Bell in the bell tower.
Royal
Castle Gardens (Ogrody Królewskie na Wawelu) . Reconstructed Renaissance
gardens of Queen Bona Sforza from the first half of the 16th century.
The Wawel Museum also includes the Pieskowa Skała Castle and the
Stryszów Manor, located outside the city limits of Kraków.
Main Building (Gmach Główny Muzeum Narodowego w Krakowie), Edificio
principale (Gmach Główny): Al. 3 Maya 1, 30-062. Divided into several
collections with over a million works of art.
Czartoryski Museum
(Muzeum Książąt Czartoryskich w Krakowie), Museo Czartoryski ul. Św. Jan
19:31-017. Phone: +48 12 370 54 66 . The oldest public museum in Poland
dates back to the 18th century with works by Leonardo da Vinci,
Rembrandt, Raffalo and many other well-known artists. The most famous
exhibit is da Vinci's Polish Mona Lisa. The museum is located in the
northern old town.
Czartoryski Library (Biblioteka Książąt
Czartoryskich) . The library museum houses over 70,000 old prints and
3,000 manuscripts from the Middle Ages to modern times.
Europeum
(Ośrodek Kultury Europejskiej "Europeum") . European art in the Gothic
Old Warehouse with works of art from the late Gothic to the Baroque and
Classical periods, including works by Paolo Veneziano, Pieter Brueghel
the Younger, Lucas Cranach the Younger, Lorenzo Lotto, Nicolaes Maes,
Cornelis de Vos and Bertel Thorvaldsen.
Cloth Hall Gallery
(Sukiennice w Krakowie), Rynek Główny. Polish painting and sculpture
from the 19th century. The museum is located on Kraków's Main Market
Square.
Erasmus Ciołek Bishop's Palace (Pałac biskupa Erazma Ciołka)
. medieval, especially Gothic art from Kraków.
Jan Matejko House (Dom
Jana Matejki w Krakowie), ul. Floriańska 41, 31-019 Kraków. The museum
on the Royal Route of the Old Town is dedicated to the painter Jan
Matejko.
Wyspiański Museum (Muzeum Stanisława Wyspiańskiego w
Krakowie), ul. Szczepańska 11, 31-011 Kraków. The museum in the Old Town
is dedicated to the painter Stanisław Wyspiański.
Józef Mehoffer
House (Dom Józefa Mehoffera), Casa Mehoffer ulicy Krupniczej 26 . The
museum in the old town is dedicated to the painter Józef Mehoffer.
Emmerich Hutten-Czapski Museum (Muzeum im. Emeryka Hutten-Czapskiego),
ul. J. Piłsudskiego 10-12, 31-109 Kraków . The museum is dedicated to a
coin collection.
The National Museum also includes Villa Atma in
Zakopane, which is outside the city limits of Kraków.
Main Building (Krzysztofory) . The museum on the Main Market Square
in the Krzysztofory Palace is dedicated to the history of Kraków.
Theater Museum (Dom pod Krzyżem w Krakowie), pl. sw. Ducha 5 . The
Museum in the House under the Cross in the Old Town is dedicated to the
history of theater in Kraków.
Old Synagogue (Synagoga Stara w
Krakowie), 31-053 Kraków, ul. Szeroka 24. The museum in the Old
Synagogue is dedicated to the Jewish community of Kraków from the Middle
Ages to the present day.
Eagle Pharmacy Museum (Apteka Pod Orłem w
Krakowie), plac Bohaterów Getta 18, 30-547 Kraków. The museum in the
Adlerapotheke in the former Jewish ghetto is dedicated to the Jewish
ghetto.
Pomeranian Street Museum (Ulica Pomorska (oddział Muzeum
Historycznego Miasta Krakowa)) . The Museum in the Gestapo Torture
Cellar is dedicated to the history of Kraków from 1939 to 1956 during
the Nazi occupation and Stalinism.
Celestat wikipediacommons. The
museum is dedicated to the medieval Kraków Riflemen's Association.
Hipolitów House (Kamienica Hipolitów w Krakowie) . The museum is a
reconstruction of a typical dwelling house of the Kraków bourgeoisie
from the 17th and 18th centuries.
Zwierzyniec House (Dom
Zwierzyniecki), ul. Królowej Jadwigi 41, 30-209 Kraków. The museum is a
reconstruction of a typical 19th-century residential building on the
outskirts of Kraków.
Town Hall Tower (Wieża ratuszowa w Krakowie),
Rynek Główny w Krakowie 1 . The museum is the reconstruction of the
city's medieval town hall. From the top floor you have a beautiful view
of the old town.
barbican . The museum is the reconstruction of the
city's medieval fortifications.
City Walls (Trasa turystyczna Mury
Obronne) . The museum is a tour of the preserved part of the city wall.
Nowa Huta Museum (Dzieje Nowej Huty) . The museum is a reconstruction of
a typical workers' apartment from the communist era in Kraków.
Oskar
Schindler's Emalia Factory (Fabryka Emalia Oskara Schindlera) . The
museum is the reconstruction of the Emalienfakrik, where Oskar Schindler
employed forced laborers from the Jewish ghetto and was able to save
some of them from deportation to Auschwitz.
Cellars under the Main
Market Square (Podziemia Rynku w Krakowie) . The museum is the
reconstruction of the cellars and vaults under the Main Market Square.
Podgórze Museum. The museum is dedicated to the history of the city of
Podgórze.
concentration camp Plaszow. The museum is deals with the
history of the Nazi concentration camp Plaszow in Podgórze.
Home Army
Museum (Muzeum Armii Krajowej w Krakowie) . The museum is dedicated to
the history of the Home Army during World War II.
Museum of the
People's Republic (Muzeum PRL-u w Nowej Hucie), osiedle Centrum E1
wikipedia. The museum is dedicated to the history of the People's
Republic of Poland. It is located in Nowa Huta.
Aviation Museum
(Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego) (Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego w Krakowie),
al. Jana Pawła II 39. Tel.: +48 12 6428700 . The very interesting museum
offers a large collection of aircraft and aircraft technology. There is
also an exhibition about the Cold War. Also interesting is a collection
of old German airplanes from the beginning of the 20th century. The
museum is located in the Czyżyny district east of the city center. Train
line 12 ends near the museum, then it's a 10-minute walk. Open: Tue-Sun
09:00-19:00. Price: Admission: PLN. 10/5 (adults/children, students);
Free admission on Tuesdays.
Manggha House (Muzeum Sztuki i Techniki
Japońskiej “Manggha”), Konopnickiej 26, 30-302 Kraków . The museum
houses Japanese collections. It lies on the opposite side of the Vistula
from Wawel.
Museum of Contemporary Art (Muzeum Sztuki Współczesnej w
Krakowie), ul. Lipowa 4, 30-702 Kraków. The museum is dedicated to
modern Polish and foreign art.
Museum of Stained Glass Windows
(Muzeum Witrażu w Krakowie), al. Krasińskiego 23, 31-111 Kraków. Email:
info@muzeumwitrazu.pl . The museum exhibits stained glass windows from
the Middle Ages to the modern day, with an emphasis on Art Nouveau.
Palace of Arts (Pałac Sztuki w Krakowie) . The Art Nouveau museum shows
changing exhibitions of modern art.
Art Bunker (Galeria Sztuki
Współczesnej "Bunkier Sztuki"). Modern art in the western part of the
old town with changing exhibitions.
Archdiocesan Museum (Muzeum
Archidiecezjalne w Krakowie) . The museum exhibits sacred art.
University Museum (Muzeum Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego Collegium Maius),
ul. Jagiellonska 15, 31-010 Kraków. Museum of the Jagiellonian
University with numerous medieval exhibits, including one of the first
globes with America and the instruments of Nicolaus Copernicus.
Pharmaceutical Museum (Muzeum Farmacji Collegium Medicum Uniwersytetu
Jagiellońskiego). Located on the Royal Route in the old town, it is one
of the oldest medical museums in the world.
Archaeological Museum
(Muzeum Archeologiczne w Krakowie). With the permanent exhibitions: 1000
years of Kraków and Egypt. The museum is located in the southern old
town at Planty Park. Its Renaissance gardens offer an imposing view of
the Wawel.
Geological Museum (Muzeum Geologiczne Instytutu Nauk
Geologicznych PAN w Krakowie). Geological Museum of the Polish Academy
of Sciences.
Museum of Natural History (Muzeum Przyrodnicze Instytutu
Systematyki i Ewolucji Zwierząt PAN), Świętego Sebastiana 9, 31-049
Kraków . Natural History Museum of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Paleobotanical Museum (Muzeum Paleobotaniczne Instytutu Botaniki PAN w
Krakowie) . Paleobotanical Museum of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
Ethnographic Museum (Muzeum Etnograficzne in Seweryna Udzieli in
Krakowie) . The museum in the Old Town Hall of Kazimierz shows the folk
art of different peoples.
Jewish Museum of Galicia (Żydowskie Muzeum
Galicja w Krakowie) . The museum shows Kraków's Jewish past and present
from a contemporary perspective.
Main Market (Rynek Główny) . Medieval market square, laid out in its
present form in 1257. It is square in shape, each side measuring 200
meters, making it one of the largest medieval squares in Europe. In its
center stands the Renaissance-style Cloth Hall. The Romanesque Adalbert
church, the town hall tower and the Adam Mickiewicz monument are also
located on the square. It is surrounded by the Marienkirche as well as
representative palaces and town houses. There are numerous dining
establishments that set up their outdoor seating on the square when the
weather is nice.
Ring road (I obwodnica). A ring road leads around
the Planty park, which was laid out in the 19th century to replace the
medieval town fortifications. It is lined with numerous representative
buildings from the Imperial and Royal period, which is reminiscent of
the Vienna Ringstrasse. The ring has a total length of 3.7 kilometers
and is used by trams.
Aleje Trzech Wieszczów (Avenue of the Three
Poets; II obwodnica). Umbrella term for aleja Juliusza Słowackiego,
aleja Adama Mickiewicza and aleja Zygmunta Krasińskiego, which merge
into each other and are named after important Polish poets. They form
the western and north-western parts of the second ring road surrounding
the city center (district 1) and were built in the 1930s to replace an
earlier ring railway line. The avenues are lined with residential
buildings in the style of classic modernism and neoclassicism, but also
representative buildings such as the National Museum, the Agricultural
University and the Academy for Mining and Metallurgy.
Ghetto Heroes'
Square (Plac Bohaterów Getta) . The former Small Market (Mały Rynek) of
the once independent town of Podgórze. During the Second World War, the
National Socialists set up the Jewish ghetto here. The square has been
designed as a memorial since 2005: 70 empty chairs are spread across the
square, commemorating the victims and heroes of the ghetto. On the
square (no. 18) is the pharmacy under the eagle, whose non-Jewish owner
helped the inmates of the ghetto. There is a museum there today.
Plac
Nowy (New Square). Square in the center of the Jewish part of Kazimierz.
It was built in the early 19th century in place of the earlier Libuszhof
(hence it is "new" compared to the very old structures in Kazimierz). In
the middle of the square is a round low-rise building (Okrąglak), also
called rondel (“cooking pot”) by the locals. This was once a Jewish
slaughterhouse for poultry. Later it was converted into a market hall,
today it houses snack bars that are open late into the night.
The
Vistula Boulevards – walking and cycling paths along the Vistula.
Planty . The old town center is surrounded by a three-kilometre-long
green promenade ring that begins and ends at Wawel. It was created at
the beginning of the 19th century after the medieval city wall had been
removed and the moat filled up.
Błonia . A large green space west of
the Old Town that King Kazimierz the Great gave to Kraków's citizens
around the mid-14th century to raise livestock. Since then, the area
could not be built on and this has remained so to this day.
Jordan
Park (Park im. Henryka Jordana w Krakowie), between aleja 3 Maja and ul.
Reymonta. The park to the west of the old town connects to the Błonia to
the north. It was created in 1889 on the initiative of Henryk Jordan on
the site of a former state horticultural show. There is a pond with
pedal boats, tourist cafes and numerous busts commemorating important
Polish personalities.
Medieval gardens are still preserved in the
monasteries of the Cistercians, St. Bernard and Pauline monks, baroque
ones in the monasteries of the missionaries and the Capuchins.
The
Wawel Royal Castle Gardens - is a Renaissance garden laid out in the
early 16th century on the east wing of the Royal Castle.
Decius Park
- is a park in the Las Wolki city forest, laid out in 1535 in the
Renaissance style.
The Gardens of the Archaeological Museum in Kraków
- is an early 16th-century Renaissance garden in the Old Town,
originally laid out by the Discalced Carmelites.
The Botanical Garden
- is a botanical garden of the University of Kraków, created in 1783
east of the Old Town.
The Schützenpark - is a park east of the old
town that was laid out in 1831 by the Schützenvereinigung.
The
Krakauer Park - is a park to the east of the old town, which was laid
out in 1885 based on the Viennese model on the site of a site formerly
used by the Austrians for military purposes.
The Mehoffer Garden - is
a park west of the old town that was created in 1907 by the artist Józef
Mehoffer on his private property.
City Forest - City Forest stretches
north of the Vistula over much of Kraków's hilly west, which is already
part of the Kraków-Częstochowa Jura. There are numerous karst
formations, the Kraków Zoo, monasteries and castles, and vineyards.
Rakowicki Cemetery - from 1801 with numerous historical tombs, one of
the largest municipal cemeteries in Poland. Expanded in 1920 to include
a military cemetery.
Remuh Cemetery - Jewish cemetery from 1551 with
numerous Renaissance and Baroque tombs, the oldest preserved Jewish
cemetery in Kraków.
The New Jewish Cemetery - Jewish cemetery from
1800 with numerous tombs from the 19th century, the largest Jewish
cemetery in Kraków.
Mogiła Cemetery - from 1347, officially opened as
a municipal cemetery in 1836 with numerous historical tombs in the
Mogiła district.
Old Podgórze Cemetery - from 1784 with numerous
historical tombs in the Podgórze district.
Podgórze Cemetery - from
1900 with numerous historical tombs in the Podgórze district at the foot
of Krak Hill.
The Evangelical Cemetery - laid out before 1626, with
numerous historical tombs in the Łuczanowice district.
numerous
military cemeteries from the time of the First World War, when numerous
soldiers on both sides died when the Russian army invaded Galicia in the
Battle of Kraków in the first months of the World War.
Listed are just some of the most famous of Kraków's more than 30
theaters.
1 Teatr Stary. The Old Theater in the Old Town dates
back to the 18th century and is considered the most traditional stage in
Kraków. It is named after the actress Helena Modrzejewska, who first
appeared here in 1865.
2 theaters in the. Juliusza Słowackiego (Teatr
Miejski), plac św. Ducha w Krakowie 1 wikipediacommons. The Słowacki
Theater is a grand 19th-century building in the northern part of the Old
Town. It is named after the poet Juliusz Słowacki.
3 operas. The
opera was founded in 1954, the modern new building from 2008 is located
near the main train station.
4 Operetka. The operetta is in close
proximity to the opera.
5 Teatr Bagatela. The 1918 Bagatela Theater
is located in Planty Park, just north-east of the Old Town. It is named
after poet Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński.
6 Theater STU. The STU Theater from
1966 is located on the Dichteralleen.
7 Teatr Groteska. The Groteska
Theater from 1945 is located on the Dichteralleen and was initially
created as a puppet theater for children.
8 Theater KTO. The KTO
theater from 1977 was initially created as a student theater that
performed in public places.
9 Teatr Ludowy. The People's Theater of
1955 was built in the new Stalinist district of Nowa Huta.
10 Teatr
Łaźnia Nowa. The Theater Neues Bad from 2005 was also built in the Nowa
Huta district, but as a young new theatre.
11 Teatr Barakah. The
Theater Barakah from 2004 was also created as a young new theater in the
former Jewish district of Kazimierz.
12 Teatr El Jot. The El-Jot
Kraków Chamber Opera theater from 1991 was also built in the former
Jewish district of Kazimierz.
13 Teatr Nowy. The New Theater from
2006 was also built in the former Jewish district of Kazimierz.
Kraków is known for its old tradition of literary cabaret, which is
maintained to this day.
14 Piwnica pod Baranami. One of the most
famous cabaret theaters. The legendary Polish chanson singer Ewa
Demarczyk had her first performances in "Piwnica pod Baranami". She is
still closely connected to the cabaret cellar to this day.
15 Jama
Michalika. One of the most famous cabaret theaters.
16 holes Camelot.
A new, young cabaret.
Hourly trumpet call from the tower of St. Mary's Church (played by a
trumpeter)
International Sea Shanties Festival - (February)
International Festival of Alternative and Experimental Theater -
Krakowskie Reminiscencje Teatralne - (March)
Organ Music Days -
(April)
Off Camera - (April) - international festival of independent
cinema
Krakowskie Noce - Kraków Nights - (from May to September) -
free entry to five night events:
Night of the Museums
night of the
theatres
Night of Jazz
Cracovia Sacra Night (church music)
Night of Poetry
Photomonth - (May) - Photofestival
International Festival of Short Films - (May)
Juvenalia - Student
Festival - (May)
ArtBoom Festival - (June)
Wianki - (June) -
celebration of the beginning of summer
Festival of Jewish Culture -
(June) - one of the highlights of Kraków's cultural year
Bajit
Chadasz - Jewish cultural festival
Jazz Festival in “Pod Baranami” -
(July)
Pierogi Festival in the Small Market
Festival "Classical
Music in Historical Places" - (August)
Festival "Live Music Festival"
- (August)
Festival of Jazz Trumpeters - "Miles Davis Memorial Night"
- (September)
Festival "Sacrum Profanum" - (September) - Modern music
in ancient church buildings
Cracovia Music Festival -
(September/October) - International Choir Festival and Orchestral
Festival
Festival "Genius Loci" in Kazimierz - (October)
Festival
"Unsound" - (October) - Festival of experimental music
Etiuda&Anima -
(November) - international film festival
Christmas market at the main
market - (November/December)
Cracow Nativity Scene Competition -
(December)
There are many exchange offices in Kraków, which you should also use,
as the exchange rate is usually better than at Kraków Airport or the
main train station. Shops in Kraków are not expensive even by Polish
standards and very cheap compared to Western European ones. You can
always snag a few bargains at markets and in smaller shops. You can and
should haggle at markets. In Poland there are no shop opening time
restrictions for smaller shops. Many shops are open 24 hours a day, 7
days a week. Large supermarkets have to close on some Sundays.
In
Kraków there are numerous large shopping centers, but also many small
corner shops where you can browse for that special souvenir
1
Galeria Krakowska, Pawia 5, 31-154 Kraków, Polonia . one of the largest
shopping malls in Poland, centrally located at the main train station.
2 Bonarka City Center . large shopping mall south of the Vistula.
3
Gallery Bronowice. large shopping mall in the northwest of Kraków.
4
Kazimierz Gallery . large shopping mall east of the Kazimierz district.
5 Centrum Handlowe Serenada . large shopping mall in the north of
Kraków.
6 Cloth Hall (Sukiennice w Krakowie), Rynek Główny . medieval
shopping mall in the center of the main market with numerous souvenir
shops.
Polish cuisine has many specialties such as Żurek, bigos, pierogi,
borscht, uszka, gołąbki, flaki, etc. Polish meat products enjoy a high
reputation around the world, such as Kraków, which originated in the
city. Other local specialties are the obwarzanek and the bagel, which
has become extremely popular, especially in the USA. Among the most
famous local breweries are Okocim and Żywiec. The vodka, whose origin
goes back to the nearby town of Sandomierz, is either clear, e.g. B.
Wyborowa, with aromas, e.g. B. Grasovka or Żołądkówka. The local vodka
producer is called Krakus. In the urban area there are several vineyards
on the southern slopes of the Silberberg above the Vistula, which are
grouped around the Bielany Monastery. There are more vineyards in the
vicinity. Also drinking honey and Nalewkas, old Polish specialties with
roots in the Kraków region. Groceries and dining out are inexpensive in
Kraków. See also the relevant section on Polish cuisine in the Poland
article.
Cheap
The cheapest places to eat are in the
university canteens near the city center or in the student district and
in the milk bars, which are signposted as Bar Mleczny.
Restauracja Monarchia, Kraków-Kazimierz, Józefa 6. Tel.: +48 12
430-60-13.
1 U Babci Maliny, Ulica Sławkowska 17 (Old Town). Rustic
interior, good traditional Polish cuisine in a milk bar style at
reasonable prices, tucked away in the basement of a university building.
Bistro Kulinarne Rozmaitosci, Podbrezezie 2 (Kazimierz). Unpretentious
bistro with homemade pierogi, soups and smoothies. Perhaps the best
pierogi in Kraków, cheap prices, cash only.
2 Bar Smak, Karmelicka
10. Tel.: +48 12 431 21 49. Small place with only a few seats, quickly
overcrowded, but very good Polish home cooking at reasonable prices with
large portions. Open: daily 11am-10pm. Price: Main dishes from 8 PLN,
cash only.
3 Gościniec Pod Zamkiem, Kraków-Kazimierz, ul. Stradomska
11. Tel.: +48 12 292 22 12, e-mail: restauracja@gosciniec.krakow.pl.
Middle
4 Podkowa, Plac Wolnica 10 (Kazimierz district). Phone:
+48 12-3414966. Good Polish cuisine in a loving ambience. The somewhat
playfully designed inner courtyard with its fresh air places is very
nice. Open: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 a.m.
Restauracja Zdybanka, 3/1
Szczepańska Street (between the Main Square and the Teatr Bagatela tram
stop). Tel.: +48 12 426 4072, e-mail: restauracja@zdybanka.pl. Located
in a ground-level barrel vault, this restaurant primarily offers good
grilled dishes, including vegetarian dishes, created by the young team
with fresh ideas and a subtle Polish touch. The portions are plentiful,
the prices are reasonable given the good quality, and the service is
good. Open: daily 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m.
5 Restauracje Sioux, Rynek
Główny 22 (right on the main square). Phone: +48 12 421 3462, email:
krakow@sioux.com.pl. The Sioux is part of a chain with currently (March
2014) 8 restaurants in major Polish cities. The focus is on steaks, the
quality is good, the price is reasonable considering the central
location, the portions are generous, and the restaurant is lovingly
decorated in a Wild West style.
6 Szynk, ul. Podbrzezie 2 (near the
Temple synagogue). Tel.: +48 694 029 530. Fine Polish cuisine, mainly
meat dishes (e.g. duck or rabbit), but also fish; attentive service.
Open: daily 12pm-10pm. Price: main dishes 25–48 zł, draft beer 0.5 l 9
zł.
Upscale
7 Restauracja Wierzynek, Rynek Główny 16, 31-008
Kraków (directly on the Main Square). Phone: +48 12-424-9600, e-mail:
rezerwacja@wierzynek.pl. Wierzynek considers itself one of the oldest
restaurants in Europe, dating back to the Wierzynek Festival during the
Kraków Congress in 1364. There is excellent food that combines haute
cuisine with traditional Polish cuisine in a medieval-modernized
ambience with excellent service. Open: daily from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m.
8
Trzy Gęsi ("Three Geese"), ul. Kupa 7. Tel.: +48 602 690 494. Chic
restaurant with modern European cuisine and a seasonally changing menu.
The tasty creations are also visually beautifully prepared. The portions
aren't small, but they're big enough to fill multiple courses. You
should check the bill carefully. Open: daily 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. Price:
main dishes 26–69 zł.
Most of the nightlife takes place under the historic pavement. Cafes and restaurants, jazz clubs and discotheques have moved into many of the old brick vaults. Life pulsates here in the evenings. In recent years, however, Kazimierz has also developed into the "in" district of Kraków, overtaking the old town. Many bars and pubs are concentrated around the "Plac Nowy".
Anyone looking for cheap and clean accommodation should stay in a
student residence (see Żaczek: Hotel Studencki). The rooms are very
modern and on request you can also get a room with an integrated
bathroom (only a small surcharge). There are also single rooms. The
equipment is very modern and most of the rooms are newly renovated
(there is usually also a radio/kettle). The reception is open 24 hours a
day and the students are very friendly and helpful. The hotel is very
well located on the outskirts of the center. Supermarkets and train
stations are also in the immediate vicinity.
Hostels
1 «Bursa
Jagiellońska» hostel, ul. Śliska 14, Kraków XIII. Podgorze, PL 30-516.
Tel.: +48 12 3973113, mobile: +48 501 721949, fax: +48 12 3973118,
e-mail: info@bursa.krakow.pl. Hostel in a Polish old-new building and
residential area. Bed linen and towels are included in the price. Towels
can be obtained from reception on request. Open: Breakfast 07:30-11:00.
Check in: 11:00 am. Check out: 11:00 am. Price: SR 65 PLN. pzpn, double
room 110 PLN. pZpN, 3 bed MZ 132 PLN. pZpN, 4 bed MZ 164 PLN. pZpN, 5
bed MZ 200 PLN. pZpN, 6 bed MZ 240 PLN. pZpN, 10% discount for students,
teachers and pilgrims. Prices are calculated without breakfast. BB costs
12 zł. pPpN extra (as of 2019). Accepted payment methods: Mastercard,
Visa.
Facilities and services available: Towels (on deposit), Luggage
storage, Internet access LAN (no WiFi), Room for bicycles, City maps,
Possibility of laundry / washing machine.
Arrival: nearby public
transport stop Smolki, can be reached by tram lines № 8, 10, 19, 23.
From Kraków Main Railway Station walk to the "Dworzec Główny" tram stop
south of the old station building. Get on the № 10 towards Łagiewniki.
Get off at the 7th stop "Smolki" (it's the second stop after the
Vistula). Then go along Kalwaryjska Street about 150 m in the direction
of travel and turn right onto Śliska Street.
2 Hostel «Kadetus»,
Zwierzyniecka 25, PL 31-105. Phone: +48 12 422 36 17, email:
info@kadetus.com. Hostel in a Polish old-new building and residential
area. Bed linen and towels are included in the price. Towels are
available on request at the reception. Open: Breakfast 08:00 - 10:30.
Facilities and services available: Free internet access (WLAN), free
luggage storage, 24-hour reception, airport reception, guarded parking
lot, bike rental, laundry.
Getting there: nearby public transport
stops Filharmonia and Jubilat can be reached by tram lines № 1, 2, 6, 8,
13, 18.
From the Main Train Station (Kraków Główny) you can either
take tram line 2 to the stops mentioned above, or walk the two
kilometers across the Old Town.
3 4UHostel, Dietla 31/7, Kraków (near
the tram stop, south of the castle). Phone: +48727933259. Small hostel
on the second floor of an apartment building. Check-in: 2:00 p.m. -
11:00 p.m. Check-out: until 11:00 a.m.
4 Green Hostel, ul. Krakowska
1, Kraków (the intersection of Dietla and Krakowska streets).
Accommodation in the center of Kraków. Check-in: 2:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Check-out: until 11:00 a.m.
Overview of other hostels.
Hotel
5 Amadeus Hotel, Mikołajska 20. Tel.: +48 12 429 60 70. The hotel was
built in an ancient building in beautiful surroundings, near the Old
Town and the green areas surrounding Kraków. Nearby there is the
building of the Academy of Music and the Słowacki Theater, which was the
largest theater in Habsburg Galicia. The theater is now famous as the
opera stage and operetta stage of the royal city of Kraków. Feature:
★★★★.
Grand Felix, Osiedle Złotej Jesieni 12, 31-827 Kraków. Tel.:
+48 12 681 86 00. Price: upper middle class.
6 Hotel Gródek, Na
Gródku 4, 31-028 Krakow (On the eastern edge of the Old Town (Stare
Miasto), a five-minute walk from the Main Market Square (Rynek Główny)).
Phone: +48 12 4214865, email: grodek@donimirski.com. Very centrally
located boutique hotel. English speaking staff. Organizes excursions.
Price: double room €95.
Hilton Garden Inn Krakow. Modern chain hotel
southwest of the Vistula near the city center. Feature: ★★★★.
Hilton
Garden Inn Krakow Airport. Modern chain hotel located directly opposite
the airport terminal. Feature: ★★★★.
Holiday Inn Krakow City Centre.
Hotel of the well-known US chain with a historic, newly renovated main
building. Feature: ★★★★.
7 Hotel «Metropolitan», ul. Berka
Joselewicza 19, Kraków I. Kazimierz, PL 30-031. Tel.: +48 12 4427500,
mobile: +48 696 737708, fax: +48 12 4427501, e-mail:
hotel@hotelmetropolitan.pl. Boutique hotel with a total of 59 rooms (27
classic rooms, 24 superior rooms with extra bed and 8 suites), in a
former residential building with its side wing and back building from
the 19th century, to which two additional floors have been added. The
old town is about 20 minutes and the main train station about 30 - 40
minutes away on foot. Feature: ★★★★. Accepted payment methods:
Mastercard, Visa
Equipment and services available: towels, hair
dryer, TV with satellite reception. Luggage storage, wireless Internet
access, safety deposit box at reception.
How to get there: the nearby
public transport stop Miodova can be reached by tram lines № 3, 9, 19,
24, 50 or by night line № 69.
From Kraków Main Railway Station walk
to underground tram stop "Dworzec Główny Tunel" and get on tram № 50
towards Kurdwanów. At the 3rd Miodova stop on Starowiślna St. exit. Walk
back in the opposite direction to the junction with Berka Joselewicza
Street. Turn right there and then after about 20 m on the right-hand
side.
Radisson Blu Hotel Krakow. Modern Scandinavian style hotel in a
central location. Feature: ★★★★.
Sheraton Grand Krakow. Luxury hotel
of the Marriott chain directly on the Vistula with a view of the Wawel.
Feature: ★★★★★.
Cracow universities maintain exchange programs, e.g. B. Erasmus, with
universities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Polish courses for
foreigners are offered by various organizers (including universities) in
Kraków.
The most well-known include:
various
Everest
Poliglota
accent
prolog
glossa
Lingualand
Working in Kraków for EU foreigners is basically possible without any problems, the wages are low compared to Western Europe. German native speakers are often employed as language teachers and have very good chances in this market. Besides, it's not easy to get odd jobs if you don't speak Polish.
Kraków is considered a safe city. However, in large crowds - as everywhere in the world - one should not neglect the necessary care. The Nowa Huta district was long considered a problem area, but the situation has largely calmed down.
The medical care is very good. Most health insurance companies from other EU countries cover the costs of treatment in Poland. You may need to ask your own checkout. Some insurance companies also pay for cures in Poland. There is an emergency medical service. In Kraków there are always some pharmacies on night duty. See also the relevant section in the article on Poland.
Poland is well covered with landline connections and the mobile network is also well developed, which is especially true in large cities like Kraków. Telephone machines were numerous, but are being dismantled more and more, and work with cards, tokens or coins. In Kraków there are numerous Internet cafes with reasonable prices. There are also W-LAN hotspots, the first in Europe was on Kraków's market square. The Polish Post is represented at several locations in Kraków. Letters and postcards usually arrive quickly. Parcels usually take a little longer. Parcels are also carried by private carriers. The shipping costs are lower than in Western Europe.
In Kraków, Polish is spoken with a dialect of Lesser Poland, specifically the Kraków dialect, which is characterized by numerous loan words from the Austrian-speaking world due to its long association with Galicia and Lodomeria. In addition to Polish, many people in Kraków also speak English, German, French and Russian. Spanish and Italian are also very popular among young people.
Kraków is located in the Vistula basin and is surrounded by mountains to the north (Jura, Świętokrzyskie Mountains) and south (Beskydy, Gorce, Pieniny, High Tatras). The Polish winter sports capital of Zakopane in Podhale is only about 70 km away as the crow flies. The historic regions of Spis and Arva, which form the foothills of the Tatras, border on the Podhale. There is also no shortage of castles in the vicinity, such as the Alderhorste in the Jura or the Dunajec castles, as well as palaces, for example in Niepołomice, Sucha Beskidzka, Żywiec or Chęciny. A must-see is the Wieliczka Salt Mine, which is on Kraków's doorstep and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978. Another medieval salt mine is located in Bochnia. There is also an opportunity to visit the museum of the former concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, which is about 70 km west of Kraków. The memorial is part of the UNESCO World Heritage, as are the monastery and the Calvary in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska or the wooden churches of the Beskids in Lesser Poland. The birthplace of Pope John Paul II Wadowice is of particular interest to Catholic pilgrims. Also worth seeing are the old trading towns on the medieval trade route from Kraków to Buda and Pest, Stary Sącz and Nowy Sącz. Not far from them in the Sandezer Beskids is the Lesser Poland spa triangle of Krynica-Zdrój, Muszyna-Zdrój and Piwniczna-Zdrój. Other spas in the vicinity are Rabka-Zdrój, Szczawnica and Krościenko nad Dunajcem.
Krakow is located in southern Poland, in the central-western part of
the Lesser Poland Voivodeship on the Vistula River; in its area there
are mouths of the Vistula tributaries: Białuchy (lower course of
Prądnik), Rudawa, Dłubnia, Drwina Długa and Wilga. Krakow is located at
the junction of several geographical regions: the Krakow Gate, the
Oświęcim Basin, the Sandomierz Basin, the Zachodniobeskidzkie Foothills,
and the Krakow-Częstochowa Upland. The location of Krakow makes it a
base for trips to the Polish mountains or trips to the picturesque Jura
Krakowsko-Częstochowska.
The city has a meridional length of 18
kilometers and a latitudinal length of 31 kilometers. Within the
administrative borders of Krakow, the 20°E meridian intersects with the
50°N parallel (the only case of intersection with full tens of degrees
in Europe).
The following communes are adjacent to Krakow:
Igołomia-Wawrzeńczyce, Kocmyrzów-Luborzyca, Koniusza, Liszki,
Michałowice, Mogilany, Niepołomice, Skawina, Świątniki Górne, Wieliczka,
Wielka Wieś, Zabierzów, and Zielonki. These communes belong to three
poviats neighboring Krakow: Krakowski, Wieliczka and Proszowicki.
The longitudinally elongated axis of the city is the Vistula valley. The river network is formed by the Vistula, its right tributary the Wilga and the left tributaries: Rudawa, Białucha, Dłubnia, Sanka and others.
Heat record: 38.4 °C (June 30, 1833)
Cold record: −38.1 °C
(Mydlniki, February 10, 1929), −35.5 °C (Rakowice, February 10, 1929),
−33.1 °C (Astronomical Observatory of the Jagiellonian University,
February 10, 1929)
Rainfall record: 313 mm (July 1903)
Parks and nature protection
There are 43 parks in Kraków, which
together cover approx. 397 ha, which is slightly more than 1% of the
total area of the city.
There are 5 nature reserves in Kraków
with a total area of 48.6 ha (0.15% of the city's area). In the area of
the city of Krakow, there are small green areas that are part of the
Jurassic Landscape Parks Complex. This team deals with the protection of
the areas of the Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska, e.g. fragments of the
Bielańsko-Tyniecki, Tenczyński and Dolineki Krakowskie parks, along with
their buffer zones. In addition, the natural refuge of the
Kraków-Częstochowa Upland is part of the CORINE biotopes program due to
its flora, fauna, geomorphology and landscape.
The western part
of Krakow is the so-called The Krakow area is part of the Polish
ecological network, and part of the city is located within the
ecological corridor of the Vistula River. Rivers, their valleys and
water reservoirs are one of the most interesting places in Krakow from
the natural point of view. In the southern part of the slopes of
limestone hills, they offer conditions for the development of
thermophilous vegetation of xerothermic grasslands and thickets.
Uroczysko in Rząska – an area partly located in the commune of Kraków
and partly in Zabierzów, occupies about 59 ha. The purpose of creating
the use was to protect the swamp violet - an endangered species, which
in 2001 was entered on the list of the Polish Red Book of Plants. The
site also protects the remains of forest and water ecosystems in this
area.
Łąki Nowohuckie – an area of approximately 57 ha. This use was
approved in 2003 by the Krakow City Council and is located near the
Central Square. It was created to protect semi-natural plant communities
(wet meadows) in the Vistula valley.
Staw Dąbski – an area of 2.53
ha. This use was approved in 2010 by the Krakow City Council and is
located in District II Grzegórzki (Dąbie), in the vicinity of Galeria
Krakow Plaza. The main subject of protection is the pond's ecosystem
with rare animal species, such as the great Anodonta cygnea and the
Rhodes sericeus - symbiotic species of mussels and fish, listed in the
Polish Red Book of Animals.
Prądnik Valley - an area of approximately
14.15 ha (14.145) created by the resolution of the City Council of
Krakow No. LX/782/08 of December 17, 2008. It is located along the
Prądnik River (Białuchy) from ul. Górnickiego to the city limits of
Krakow. The main purpose of establishing the use is to preserve the
naturally meandering riverbed of the Prądnik river, along with the
habitat of e.g. 19 species of mammals (including noctule bat, beaver and
otter) and 51 species of birds (including gray wagtail - the only
confirmed place of occurrence in Krakow).
Pond at ul. Kaczeńcowa - an
area of 0.82 ha, created by the resolution of the City Council of Krakow
of December 19, 2007. It is a pond located in the valley of the Dłubnia
River in Nowa Huta-Bieńczyce in the XVI Bieńczyce District. It was
created to protect the refuge of several dozen species of birds,
butterflies and molluscs. The pond and its surroundings are protected.
The pool of the Rzewny stream - an area of 2.77 ha, was created by the
resolution of the Krakow City Council of December 19, 2007. It was
created to protect three types of habitats: forest (mixed forest and
alder forest), meadow and rush. This area is a refuge for many species
of birds, among which a large group are birds of prey and owls. It is
located between the cemetery in Borek Fałęcki and ul. Jeleniogórska and
covers a part of the valley of a small Potok Rzewny.
Uroczysko
Kowadza – an area of 1.82 ha, established by a resolution of the Krakow
City Council of December 17, 2008. Created to protect xerothermic
grasslands with a fauna of rare species of insects in Tyniec at ul.
Świętojańska.
Forest in Witkowice.
There are 2 health resorts in Krakow (there are parks in both of
them):
In Swoszowice - in its area there are two springs of healing
water, Zdrój Główny and Napoleon, which provide unique mineral waters
rich in sulphate anion, bicarbonate anion, calcium cation, magnesium
cation. The sulfur content in the waters ranks Swoszowice 5th in the
world and 4th in Europe. In the spa, rheumatic diseases are also treated
with baths with sulfur water and mud.
In the health resort Mateczny,
biological regeneration and balneology treatments are performed.
According to a report by the World Health Organization in 2016,
Krakow was classified as the eleventh most polluted city in the European
Union.
The geographical location makes it difficult to ventilate
the city, which is why it is often shrouded in smog, especially during
the heating season. Krakow is at the forefront of the ranking of
European cities with the most polluted air. Krakow's air is polluted
mainly with PM10 and PM2.5 dust and toxic benzo(a)pyrene. The result of
particulate pollution, apart from the obvious health consequences, is a
noticeable reduction in the transparency of the air in the city.
The sources of pollution are mainly solid fuel stoves (34%) and the
influx of dust from outside the city (36%), but also local industry
(17%) and cars (13%). Heating stoves are also responsible for 68
percent. the emission of carcinogenic benzo(a)pyrene, which - according
to the calculations of the Krakow Smog Alarm - the amount inhaled by
Cracovians per year is the same as in the case of smoking about 2,500
cigarettes.
Research conducted by scientists from the Collegium
Medicum of the Jagiellonian University and Columbia University in New
York shows that women from Kraków who were exposed to PM2.5 above 35
µg/m³ during pregnancy gave birth to children with an average birth
weight of 128 grams, shorter length body and an average head
circumference of 0.3 cm. In winter, residents of Krakow are advised to
shorten the time spent in the open air and to avoid physical exertion,
such as running. At the same time, in 2015 Kraków recorded the most
favorable life expectancy parameters among Polish subregions.
The
city increased the budget for the fight against smog, and a regulation
was passed prohibiting the burning of coal in heating furnaces. The ban
was supposed to come into force in 2018, but in August 2014 it was
revoked by the Provincial Administrative Court in Krakow. Another
attempt to introduce a ban was made in January 2016. According to the
resolution adopted at that time, from September 1, 2019, smoking is
prohibited in Krakow, among others. coal and wood.
The full title of the city is the Capital Royal City of Krakow.
Krakow is the depositary of the Polish emblem. As the only city in
Poland, it has the right to use the emblem of the Polish State in its
coat of arms. Such a possibility, according to heraldic symbolism, is
available only to capital cities and regions.
The author of the
first written source in which Kraków appears in 966 is Ibrahim ibn
Jakub. In Latin documents in 973 it appears as Cracoua.
The
linguist Jerzy Nalepa claims that the root krak means a river branch.
Cities with similar names are located in eastern Germany and
Austria, once inhabited by Slavs: e.g. Cracau - a right-bank district of
Magdeburg, Krackow, a few kilometers from the Polish-German border,
southwest of Szczecin, Krakow am See, south of Rostock, Krakau – 100 km
west of Graz, 30 km north of Villach and Klagenfurt. In the Czech
Republic, in the Rakowicki district, there is the town of Krakov, with
the nearby Krakovec castle, several dozen kilometers west of Prague. The
Ukrainian city of Krakowiec, on the Polish-Ukrainian border, is located
south-east of Lubaczów.
There are speculations that the name may
derive from the Old Slavonic name of the cemetery "cancer".
According to a legend recorded at the end of the 12th century by
Wincenty Kadłubek, the name of Krakow comes from the name of Prince
Krak, while in Czech legends there is a figure of Prince Krok.
The historical function of Krakow is referred to by its full name -
Capital Royal City of Krakow, legally sanctioned by the Council of
Ministers, as well as earlier by the supreme state authorities of the
Second Republic of Poland, which used this name in their legal acts.
Also the abbreviated name, i.e. St. Król. city of Krakow, st.kr. the
city of Krakow or the table. King. The city of Krakow. Some of these
laws are still in force today. Internationally, Krakow is perceived as
the "spiritual and scientific heart of Poland"
Krakow is one of the oldest cities in Poland, with many valuable
architectural buildings. There are many institutions and cultural
institutions that collect priceless monuments. In the past, the city
belonged to the Hanseatic League associating the most important trade
centers in Europe.
Until 1795, Krakow was formally the capital of
Poland, and until 1611, the seat of the rulers of the Polish state. It
was a royal city of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. The city had the
right to actively participate in the act of electing the king.
The first documented mention of Kraków is the account of the Cordoba
merchant Ibrahim ibn Jakub from 965, in which he mentions a rich city
surrounded by forests, situated at the crossroads of trade routes.
The oldest settlement center was on the defensive Wawel and was one
of the strongholds in the tribal state of the Vistulans. The lands of
the Vistulans could for some time, in the last quarter of the 9th
century, have been under the rule of the Great Moravian State, but there
is no direct evidence for this. In the 10th century (probably between
960 and 986), Kraków became dependent on Bohemia, ruled by the first
rulers of the Přemyslid dynasty. Around 990, the stronghold found itself
within the borders of the Piast state, later becoming one of the main
seats of the kingdom (Latin: sedes regni principalis); attempts to
precisely determine the time of incorporation into the Piast state
oscillate between 987 and 989. The first reliable written mention of
Krakow comes from the Dagome iudex document from around 992. On the
Vistula River, next to Wawel, on a small hill made of Jurassic
limestone, according to legend, there once stood a pagan temple, where
the Romanesque church of St. st. Michael the Archangel. At least from
1000, Krakow was the seat of the bishopric, and during the reign of
Casimir the Restorer, Krakow became the main ducal seat.
During
the period of the division of districts, Krakow was the seat of the
senior prince, but over time, the Krakow dukes lost their actual
supremacy over other Piast rulers. In 1241, the city was destroyed
during the Mongol invasion. This could have contributed to the failure
of the first location of Kraków, which was most likely planned at the
beginning of the 13th century. On June 5, 1257, following the example of
Wrocław, Duke Bolesław V the Chaste, his mother Grzymisława and wife St.
King granted the town a location privilege under Magdeburg law in
Kopernia near Pińczów. The founders were three mayors: Gedko Stilvoyt,
Jakub from Nysa and Dytmar Wolk from Wrocław. The newly laid out town
was inhabited mainly by newcomers from Silesia and Germany, which
explains the fact that the Kraków townspeople spoke German until the
16th century. It was then that the characteristic checkerboard layout of
the town was created, in which the preserved earlier elements were
fitted (Grodzka Street, St. Mary's Church). Between Krakow and Wawel
there was a settlement of Okół, a former borough, which was incorporated
into Krakow by King Władysław Łokietek after the revolt of mayor Albert.
Krakow obtained the right of warehouse in 1306.
In 1320,
Władysław Łokietek was crowned in the Wawel Cathedral, symbolically
ending the period of division in the district. Since then, until 1734,
Krakow was the place of coronation of Polish kings.
In the 14th
century, two more towns were founded on the outskirts of Kraków:
Kazimierz (1335) in the south and Kleparz (1366) in the north.
As
the capital of one of the European powers in the 15th and 16th
centuries, Krakow developed in terms of architecture, trade, crafts,
culture and science. The Wawel Castle complex was rebuilt and expanded
in the Renaissance style. The university established in 1364 was
renovated. The Barbican was also built together with the circle of city
walls.
Krakow after the transfer of the royal court
From 1493, the
citizenship of Krakow gave the privilege of owning land.
After
the Union of Lublin and the establishment of the Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth, Kraków found itself on the sidelines of a great country.
Seyms and elections of new monarchs were held near Warsaw, which was
located more or less halfway between the capitals of the Crown and
Lithuania.
From 1596, the process of moving the royal court of
Sigismund III Vasa from Krakow to Warsaw began, which ended around 1611.
Warsaw was granted the title of His Majesty's residence city, but Krakow
remained the formal capital of the Republic of Poland until the last
partition of Poland. The Wawel Cathedral remained the place of
coronations and burials of Polish kings, and Kraków - the capital and
royal city, where other capital institutions, such as the Crown
Treasury, functioned. Even in later times, the Turkish vizier Kara
Mustafa wrote in correspondence to Jan III Sobieski, who was associated
with Wilanów: "I will destroy your Krakow...".
With the fall of
the Commonwealth, the fall of Krakow began. The war damage severely
undermined the city's position and hindered its development. For the
first time, Krakow was destroyed by foreign troops in 1655, during the
"Swedish Deluge" (the suburbs, however, suffered heavily already in
1587, during an attempt to capture the city by Archduke Maximilian III
Habsburg). In the years 1656–1657, another siege of the city took place,
this time defended by the Swedes.
In the 18th century, Kraków was conquered by Prussian, Swedish,
Austrian and Russian armies. On March 24, 1794, Tadeusz Kościuszko swore
an oath to the nation on the Krakow market, thus starting the uprising.
On June 15, 1794, the Prussian army entered Kraków. The Prussians
garrisoned Wawel and set up military depots there. Jewels and coronation
insignia were looted from the crown treasury, which were transported to
Berlin and then partly incorporated into the Prussian treasury and
melted down or sold for war purposes. The Prussians left Kraków in 1795.
After the Third Partition of Poland, Kraków was occupied by the
Austrians. Aleksander Rożniecki - a cavalry commander, participating in
the Austro-Polish war, starting from Raszyn, with a detachment - an
outpost, reached Krakow on July 14, 1809 (the day before Prince
Poniatowski) and broke the last resistance of the Austrians before the
victorious entry of the prince.
On October 14, 1809, under the
treaty of Schönbrunn, Kraków and Podgórze were annexed to the Duchy of
Warsaw as the capital of the department. In 1813, it became the seat of
the government of the Duchy of Warsaw. In the years 1815-1846, it was
the capital of a small, formally independent state - the Republic of
Krakow. During this period, a thorough modernization and reconstruction
of the city, which was still stuck in the medieval urban layout, began.
Most of the city walls were demolished, the moat was filled in, in its
place a park - Planty was created. After the Krakow Uprising, organized
against the Austrian domination, but also against three invaders at once
(i.e. the so-called "protection states" of the Republic of Krakow), the
city was annexed by Austria in 1846, within whose borders it remained
until 1918. The name Rzeczpospolita Krakowska was replaced a new one:
the Grand Duchy of Krakow. From then on, the Austrian emperor used the
title of Grand Duke of Kraków.
In 1850, a great fire destroyed
about 10% of the city's area.
According to the Austrian census of
1900, 91,323 people lived in 2,099 buildings in Kraków on an area of 832
hectares, of which 64,209 (70.3%) were Catholics, 25,670 (28.1%) Jews,
727 (0. 8%) Greek Catholics, and 717 (0.8%) other religion or
denomination, 78,563 (86%) were Polish, 6,576 (7.2%) German, 219 (0.2%)
Ruthenian, and 1,092 (1.2%) other languages.
The beginning of the 20th century and the interwar period
At the
beginning of the new century, major changes took place in Krakow - also
in the city's technical infrastructure. On February 14, 1901, during the
presidency of Józef Friedlein, the municipal waterworks named after
Franz Józef were opened. The water tank was built at the foot of the
Kościuszko Mound, 49 m above the level of the Market Square. Water
flowed into the city through a pipe with a diameter of 70 cm and filled
the water supply network with a length of 66 kilometers. Initially, in a
population of 80,000 inhabitants of Krakow, there was statistically one
liter of tap water per person per day.
On July 12, 1903, Krakow
was hit by a flood - the largest since 1813. The height of the Vistula
River in the city reached 4 m 52 cm. The Podgórski bridge was in danger
of breaking, and the water also threatened the municipal gasworks. From
Podgórze, through the areas of Zawiśle, Zwierzyniec, Błonia Krakowskie,
up to Nowa Wieś and Łobzów, a huge pool was created from the combined
waters of the Vistula, Wilga and Rudawa. In the flooded districts,
communication was carried out by boats and rafts. Under the influence of
this natural disaster, it was decided to regulate the Ore Mountains in
conjunction with delineating its new channel. The project was
implemented in the years 1903–1910. The new mouth of the Rudawa was
placed at right angles to the Vistula, as a result of which part of the
buildings of the Norbertine monastery were cut off. The last mill in
Krakow was also demolished. The immediate surroundings of the monastery
also underwent significant changes - an embankment and a causeway with a
new road and a high bridge were built. These changes caused numerous
protests by lovers of monuments. The city experienced another major
flood in 1925. In the years 1910–1915, a regulatory plan for Greater
Krakow was announced and partially implemented, under which the towns,
settlements and villages located in its vicinity were included in the
administrative borders of Krakow.
In 1915, Podgórze, a city
founded in 1784 on the opposite bank of the Vistula, was incorporated
into Kraków.
On August 6, 1914, the 1st Cadre Company with Józef
Piłsudski set off from Krakow. It was the first Polish army since the
partitions of Poland, and in fact another uprising in the history of the
Republic of Poland. The 1st Company crossed the border of Congress
Poland with the intention of liberating the rest of the
Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The participation of the inhabitants of
Krakow in the preparation of this uprising was decisive. Shortly
afterwards, legionary formations, such as the 3rd Legions Infantry
Regiment in 1914, were formed in Krakow and from Krakow to the front of
the fight against the Russians.
At the beginning of 1918,
pro-independence sentiments intensified in Krakow, which was reflected
in the manifestation on January 20. The situation was aggravated by the
announcement of the provisions of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk on
February 11. The demonstrations began on February 12 with the demolition
of the Prussian consulate, and on February 18 a large protest
manifestation took place in the Main Market Square. The strike was
undertaken by railwaymen who stopped a train with troops sent to the
city by the concerned Austrian authorities near Chrzanów. On the fence
of the plot at the corner of the Main Square and ul. st. Jana Street and
on the trees along the A-B line, posters with inscriptions hurting the
invader appeared, which were removed only under the threat of the use of
weapons. On October 12, in response to the manifesto of the Regency
Council, the Krakow City Council held a ceremonial meeting during which
it fully supported its content. On October 15, Polish delegates in the
Viennese parliament made a declaration that henceforth they considered
themselves citizens of a free and united Poland. The National Department
then summoned parliamentary deputies and deputies to the Council of
State in Krakow, who on October 28 adopted a resolution stating that the
Polish lands within the former Austrian monarchy already belong to the
Polish State, and that a Liquidation Commission was created for these
lands.
On October 28, 1918, the Polish Liquidation Commission
headed by Wincenty Witos was established in Krakow and took over full
power in the city. Kraków, as a result of the mass action of disarming
Austrian soldiers, became the first (next to Tarnów) city in the
Republic of Poland free from the partitioning power. On October 31, in
the afternoon, posters appeared in the city informing Cracovians about
this joyful fact.
In the interwar period, just after regaining
independence, the Polish central authorities recognized the Wawel castle
as a representative building of the Republic of Poland, put to use by
the Head of State, and then for the President of the Republic of Poland
- by a resolution of the Sejm of the Republic of Poland in 1921, the
urban complex at Wawel became one of the official Residence of the
President of Poland. The apartment of the President of the Republic of
Poland, Ignacy Mościcki, has been preserved to this day.
In the
autumn of 1923, as a result of the deteriorating economic situation and
social conflicts, bloody street clashes took place in Kraków. On
November 5, a general strike was declared. On November 6, under the
building of Kasa Chorych (Workers' House) at ul. Dunajewski at On 9, the
first clashes with the police took place (20 policemen were injured).
Later, an armed mob attacked the police and military cordon, pushing the
officers towards ul. Szewska. The army company was surrounded and
disarmed. Armed with captured weapons, the demonstrators and militants
moved along ul. Szczepańska to the Market Square and planted Planty. In
the morning hours there were already regular fights with the use of
firearms. A squadron of uhlans sent to the area of ul. Dunajewski. From
the windows of the houses and from behind the pillars of the Cloth Hall,
another squadron standing in the Market Square next to the Guardhouse
was shot at. The military command of the city sent three armored cars to
fight. One of them, deprived of infantry support, was captured by
demonstrators. Around noon the shots began to fall silent. The entire
western part of the city was under the control of the strikers. In the
building of the Health Fund, disarmed and wounded soldiers were kept as
prisoners. In conditions of chaos and lack of information, the
authorities ordered the army and police to cease fire and withdraw from
the streets. Negotiations commenced. The strikers immobilized the
gasworks and the power plant, as a result of which already at The city
began to plunge into complete darkness. Fighting in Krakow, known as the
Krakow Uprising, resulted in the death of 14 officers and soldiers; 101
military personnel and 38 policemen were injured. There were also 14
dead on the side of the demonstrators. Also, 4 random civilians were
killed and dozens were injured. In addition, 61 horses were killed and
70 injured.
In March 1936, during the suppression of the strike
in Polskie Zakłady Gumowe "Semperit" and subsequent street
demonstrations, 8 people were killed and 46 people, including 26
policemen, were injured.
German troops occupied the city 6 days after the start of World War
II. At dawn and in the afternoon of September 1, 1939, a total of 150
Luftwaffe aircraft participated in the raid on the Rakowice-Czyżyny
airport in Kraków. The first Polish airman who died in combat was the
pilot of the Krakow squadron, Capt. pilot Mieczyslaw Medwecki. The pilot
who took off with him, Sec. drink Władysław Gnyś shot down two German
planes in the Olkusz area, which were returning from a bomb attack on
Kraków. These were the first Polish aerial victories during World War
II. On the first day of the war, the pilots of the Krakow II Air
Regiment shot down a total of five German planes.
During the
German occupation (1939–1945), Kraków functioned as the capital of the
General Government. In March 1941, the German occupier closed about
60,000 Jews in the Krakow ghetto. people recognized as Jews according to
the racist Nuremberg Laws (25% of all residents of Krakow). Ghetto
prisoners were murdered during the liquidation action (March 13–14,
1943) and in the concentration camps in Płaszów, Bełżec and Auschwitz.
As a result of this extermination action after World War II, about a
thousand Krakow Jews survived.
Many works of art were plundered
and taken to Germany, many of which did not return to the country.
Kraków suffered minor losses during the bombardment of the city by the
Red Army air force.
In 1939, the first underground organization
in Poland during World War II, the Organization of the White Eagle, was
established in Krakow. In addition to the Krakow District of the Home
Army, there was, among others, the scouting organization "Szere
Szeregi", whose headquarters was located in Krakow after the fall of the
Warsaw Uprising. Numerous other underground groups were active. The
underground cultural and educational life also played an important role
in the occupied city. at ul. Łobzowska 6, in a book and stationery shop
run by Spółdzielnia Księgarska "Czytelnik", there was a meeting point
for writers, where underground press and publications were supplied.
There, material support was also provided to Krakow writers and artists,
using the store's income. The district cell of the Secret Teachers'
Organization was located at pl. New, at the premises of the "Szkolnica"
Bookshop Cooperative. It dealt with the distribution of textbooks for
clandestine teaching (the collection point for teachers was located at
pl. Nowy 7 and in the drugstore at ul. Sienna 7), as well as issuing
duplicated textbooks for middle school classes in the form of duplicated
textbooks (ready scripts were transferred to the store at 13 Szewska
Street, where the distribution point was organized). There was also a
point for directing candidates to secret university courses. It was also
a meeting place for Krakow's writers, such as Kazimierz Czachowski,
Tadeusz Kudliński, Tadeusz Seweryn, Jan Wiktor, Wojciech Żukrowski;
there was also Prof. Stanislaw Pigon. On the basis of the preserved
materials of the District School Office in Kraków, "Szkolnica" alone
donated about 30,000 during the occupation. copies of books and
textbooks for secret education. An important form of help was also
sending food parcels to prisoner-of-war camps and taking care of
teachers displaced from Warsaw after the fall of the uprising. One of
the main suppliers of textbooks saved from destruction was Stefan
Kamiński's bookstore at ul. st. Jana 3. He bought from the Germans
entire book collections from liquidated bookshops and libraries. It was
another place of underground meetings of people of underground culture
and education.
Krakow was to become a German city not only in
terms of name and national composition of the population, but also in
terms of external appearance. For this purpose, the occupant planned to
destroy Polish cultural heritage and expose its own historical
tradition. The Germans began the urban "ordering" of the city with
demolition in the Wawel area - the then seat of the governor of Dr. Hans
Frank. In the years 1940-1941, for example, a tenement house called
"Dębno" at the intersection of ul. Grodzka and ul. Podzamcze. Several
tenement houses in Kazimierz were also demolished to reveal a view of
the Corpus Christi church. Some changes were introduced to Wawel itself
(e.g. a new entrance and gate). However, the western district of the
city was of particular interest to German builders. The representative
government district (Regierungsviertel) was to be a spectacular
achievement of German urban planning. It was planned to erect a
monumental complex of government buildings in Błonia, over which
monuments of the glory of the German arms would dominate in the long
term. In 1941, Hans Frank ordered the Kościuszko and Piłsudski mounds to
be leveled so that these monuments could be erected in their place, but
this plan was never implemented. The occupants also did not have time to
expand the town hall or rebuild the Main Square in the Germanic spirit.
Only plans and sketches remain. Uprising moods prevailed in the city.
Sabotage and liquidation actions were carried out, e.g. an attack on
senior SS officers Koppe and Krüger, which is the first attempt on a
German dignitary in Poland occupied by the Nazi German Reich, and an
unsuccessful attempt on Hans Frank. The Polish Underground was preparing
for the uprising in Kraków. Among others, Polish partisan groups
concentrated around Krakow. However, the command of the Home Army did
not finally decide to announce the uprising in Krakow, both due to the
small number of armaments of Poles in the city itself and the inability
to significantly arm them by that part of the Krakow Home Army District,
which operated outside the city, as well as due to the significant
breakdown of the Home Army structures in Krakow during the great
round-up (the so-called "Black Sunday"), during which 15,000 people were
arrested and transported to the concentration camp in Płaszów in one
day.
On January 18, 1945, the troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front under the
command of Marshal Ivan Konev occupied the city. Kraków, as one of the
few Polish cities, did not suffer major losses of material substance
during the war, and in 1946 it was the third most populous city in
Poland after Łódź and Warsaw.
In the post-war period, the city
developed strongly in terms of territory and population. In 1951, Nowa
Huta was annexed to Krakow, which, according to the original plans, was
to be a separate city[97], planned as the opposite of Krakow, i.e. a
working-class city without churches and the social intelligentsia. To
this day, one of the historical places in this district is the Town Hall
Square, where this institution was to be erected in the plans of the
builders of the "socialist city". From January 1, 1957 to May 31, 1975,
the city of Kraków constituted a separate, independent province. In
1957, the city was awarded the Order of Polonia Restituta, and in 1966,
the Order of Builders of People's Poland.
The first summit of the Visegrad Group in the territory of the
Republic of Poland was held in 1991 in Krakow, i.e. just after its
establishment, and the theses adopted at that meeting were recorded in
the form of the so-called Krakow Declaration. The next summit of the
Visegrad Group in Poland was also held in Krakow in 1993.
In 2000,
Krakow was awarded the title of the European Capital of Culture.
US
President George W. Bush visits Poland May 30-31, 2003. At Wawel Hill,
President Bush spoke on the PSI initiative and on expanding Poland's
involvement in Iraq.
By a resolution of August 3, 2006, the Senate of
the Republic of Poland decided to establish 2007 as the Year of the City
of Krakow.
On May 11, 2007, the Presidential Energy Summit began with
the participation of the President of the Republic of Poland Lech
Kaczyński and the presidents of Central and Eastern European countries.
In June 2007, Krakow celebrated the 750th anniversary of the location of
the city.
In 2008, the World Mining Congress was held in Kraków
In
2009, a summit of NATO defense ministers was held in Krakow, the first
meeting of this kind in Poland.
On April 18, 2010, the funeral
ceremony of the tragically deceased President of Poland Lech Kaczyński
and his wife Maria took place in St. Mary's Church, whose coffins were
then buried in one of the crypts of the Wawel Cathedral.
On January
17, 2011, in the Wawel Royal Castle, the President of the Republic of
Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, awarded the Order of the White Eagle to
the creators of culture, including the Nobel Prize winner Wisława
Szymborska.
On October 2-4, 2011, Krakow hosted the European Economic
Summit entitled Internal Market Forum (SIMFO).
During the Polish
presidency in the structures of the European Union, Krakow was
designated as one of the cities hosting interstate meetings within the
EU at that time.
Since December 7, 2011, the resolution of the Krakow
City Council on the establishment of the Old Town Cultural Park,
protecting the Old Town, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List,
has been in force.
On October 7-9, 2013, a meeting of the presidents
of Poland, Ukraine and the presidents of countries belonging to the
Arraiolos group was held in Krakow.
In February 2014, the Weimar
Economic Summit was held in Krakow.
On May 25, 2014, a local
referendum was held in Krakow, in which the inhabitants rejected by a
large majority the idea of applying for the organization of the Winter
Olympic Games in 2022, while opting for the construction of bicycle
paths, a subway and the creation of a video monitoring system.
On
July 26-31, 2016, World Youth Day was held.
In July 2017, the 41st
Session of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Committee was held in
Krakow
In 2018, Kraków (together with Katowice) hosted the Congress
of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
On April 26-27, 2018, the 4th
European Congress of Local Governments took place in Krakow
In June
2019, Krakow hosted the participants of the 15th Congress of the
Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC). And he got a seat on the
Board of Directors and the Presidency of that organization.
In
September 2020, the Three Seas Exchanges Conference was held in Krakow.
On February 6, 2021, the fire of the Archives of the City of Krakow
began, the fire lasted 12 days, most of the collected documents were
burned.
In April 2022, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR)
opened a financial support center for refugees from Ukraine in the
"Tauron Arena Kraków". The creation of a UNHCR representation in Krakow
was announced.
In 2023, the 3rd European Sports Games will be held in
Krakow.