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Krakow is a beautiful and charming city, which is Poland’s former royal capital and one of the country’s cultural strongholds. The city has cozy streets and squares that belong to the most charming of any European city. You will find an abundance of beautiful buildings and fine churches and much more.
The old royal and cultural center was the castle Wawel, where the rulers were forward thinking as one of the major cities in the country and region with, for example, one of Central Europe’s oldest universities. Krakow’s large and beautiful market square is another of the many places to visit while in the city.
Of recent history, Krakow is a place to experience 20th century wars and ideological history. The Jewish district of Kazimierz is located just south of Krakow’s Old Town. Here you can walk the Jewish ghetto from World War II with monuments and synagogues. The Nowa Huta district is from another era; it is an example of a city built according to communist planning.
The surroundings of Krakow have something for every interest; the history is emphasized in Auschwitz, while the mountains in the south are attractive for both hiking and swimming as well as skiing in the winter. The UNESCO inscribed Wieliczka salt mine is also a great place for a day trip from Krakow.
Kościoł Mariacki or Church of the Virgin Mary is a church that was originally the parish church of Krakow in the Middle Ages. It was built in its first version in 1222, while the current Gothic appearance comes from alterations and extensions that were made throughout the 1300s and 1400s. A famous and continued detail from that time is that a trumpeter has blown a signal in the direction of all four corners of the world from the church’s 80 meter high tower every hour since 1477.
Maria Kirke’s church room is richly decorated, and the impressive altar, which was carved by Veit Stoss in the years 1477-1489, is particularly famous. It is the world’s largest medieval Gothic altar, and the fine work was paid for in its time by the citizens of Krakow. The altar is 13 meters high and 11 meters wide when the side panels are unfolded.
The altar figures are up to 2.7 meters high, and the scenes in the altar carvings show, among other things, the Virgin Mary and the twelve disciples, the Ascension of Mary and the Resurrection of Christ. In addition to the altar, the rest of the church room is also worth seeing with, among other things, impressive mosaic windows and beautifully decorated ceilings.
Rynek Główny is Krakow’s central market square, which with its 200×200 meters is the largest medieval square in Europe. It was built in 1257 and has served as a market ever since. At the time, Krakow was the capital of the Kingdom of Poland, and the purpose of the large square was precisely to attract traders who could strengthen the city’s development and thereby Poland’s status as a European superpower.
The market square remains the center of Krakow, where residents meet and relax. Today, there are many cafés and restaurants here, and this creates a lovely atmosphere among the many beautiful buildings.
All of the market square’s 47 buildings are almost worth seeing, and together they create a beautiful ensemble that is worth enjoying on a quiet stroll or from a café. Here, constructions remain from the 11th century, and the styles include Renaissance, Baroque and Classicism.
In the center of the square stands a bronze monument in memory of Adam Mickiewicz, Pomnik Adama Mickiewicza, which is a favorite meeting place for the city’s citizens. The monument was dedicated on 16 June 1898 to Adam Mickiewicz, who is considered one of Poland’s greatest romantic poets. In 1898 the centenary of Mickiewicz’s birth was celebrated, and in 1890 his remains had been brought from Paris for a funeral in the Wavel Cathedral in Krakow.
The Mickiewicz monument was destroyed in 1940 after the German invasion of Poland and it had been removed from the Market Square. In 1946, the majority of the figures were found in a metal scrap yard in Hamburg, and thereby the monument could be recreated and re-erected, which happened in 1955.
Kościół Św. Anny in Krakow is one of Poland’s most beautiful and impressive baroque churches. It was built by the Dutchman Tylman van Gameren in the years 1689-1703. Van Gameren drew inspiration from some of Rome’s great church buildings, and it came not least from Sant’Andrea della Valle.
The church’s elegant and double-towered facade is matched by a beautiful church room with an impressive decoration. Among the many works of art is the altar painting of Saint Anna. It was painted by Jerzy Siemiginowski-Eleuter, who was court painter to King Jan III Sobieski.
Kanonicza is a street that forms the southernmost stretch of the so-called King’s Road, which stretches from Florian’s Gate/Brama Floriańska through Krakow’s Old Town to the Royal Castle on Wawel Hill. Until the 14th century, there were noble houses along the street, and they were eventually replaced by mainly ecclesiastical mansions.
Today there is a special atmosphere in Kanonicza, which is a must during a visit to Krakow. The street is considered one of Europe’s finest Renaissance streets with many beautiful buildings from this period. A walk through the street is also like a journey from the atmosphere of the old town to the impressive buildings of Wawel.
Wawel is the name of the limestone hill in Krakow on the banks of the Wisla River. Due to its strategic location, the hill has been inhabited for many millennia, but over the past thousand years or so it has been a natural home for fortresses and residences for regents in Krakow.
Over time, a number of buildings have been built, which now collectively make up the castle complex, which is also called Wawel. These include the cathedral Katedra na Wawelu and the castle Zamek Królewski, which was the city’s residence castle and which today stands as one of Krakow’s major attractions.
Katedra na Wawelu is Wawel’s cathedral, which in its basic form was completed in 1364, but over the centuries many chapels have been built in different styles. In the center of the church building you can see a silver coffin containing Bishop Stanislavs, who under the name Św. Stanisław ze Szczepanowa is known as the town’s saint.
Sigismund Kapel/Kaplica Zygmuntowska from 1510-1531 is a masterpiece in Renaissance style and very prominent with its golden roof. The chapel’s architect was the Florentine Bartolomeo Berrecci, who did most of his work in Poland. The chapel is named after the builder, who was King Sigismund I.
Over time, most Polish kings and national heroes have been buried in the cathedral. A total of 10 regents and their families lie in the building’s crypt, which thereby contains a significant part of Polish royal history. A section of the crypt dates from the 11th century Romanesque period, and it is considered the finest Romanesque room in Poland.
Zamek Królewski is the royal castle at Wawel, and it was founded under King Casimir III in the 14th century. However, there had already been fortifications on the Wawel hill since King Boleslaw I and thus from around the year 1000. The castle is built with a central courtyard, around which the buildings lie all the way around.
The first expansion of the original Gothic building was built in the 14th century, when the Hønsefodstårnet/Wieża Kurza Stopka was built. The tower is located to the north-east on the outside of the castle. In the early 16th century, King Sigismund I had the castle rebuilt in the contemporary Renaissance style. For this, he got Italian architects and sculptors to carry out the work, among others.
In 1595, part of the castle burned down and, despite a rebuilding under King Sigismund III, the same king chose to move the capital to Warsaw in 1609, and this naturally became the start of Wawel’s decline as a distinguished residence.
The buildings were then not maintained as before, and various wars and foreign armies increased the wear and tear on the castle, which was also partially modified. Some buildings were also demolished. This decline only stopped when the Austrian Emperor Franz Joseph ordered Austrian troops to leave the castle in 1905. After that, a long-term reconstruction could be initiated.
After World War I, the new Polish state decided to furnish the castle at Wawel for representative purposes, and in 1921 the castle became the official residence of the Polish president. After the devastation of World War II, the castle was turned into a national museum.
Today, in addition to the interesting building mass, you can see, among other things, effects from the Polish royal family. The Polish coronation sword Szczerbiec is stored here, which is the only preserved part of Poland’s crown jewels from the Piast dynasty. Szczerbiec was used from the coronation of Vladislav I in 1320 to the last coronation in 1764. Over the following centuries, the sword was a spoil of war in Prussia, before it came to Russia, from where it was delivered back to Poland in 1928.
In addition to the collection of royal effects and the crown jewels, Skarbiec Koronny in Zbrojownia, there is a lot of older furniture in the castle, and you can see an interesting review of both the royal castle and the history of Wawel on site.
In the castle you can also see the Royal Rooms/Komnaty Królewskie, which contain famous Flemish tapestries with motifs from the Bible. The tapestries belonged to King Sigismund Augustus and were produced in the years 1550-1560. The Royal Rooms are located around the castle’s courtyard, which is one of the results of the reconstruction in the early 16th century according to the Italian model.
Sukiennice is a building located in the middle of Krakow’s market square, Rynek Główny. The 108 meter long market hall Sukiennice was built around the year 1300 to cover the site’s many sales stalls with textile goods.
Many merchants met here, and in the 15th century, which was the market’s golden age, Asian goods were traded in Sukiennice, among other things. After a fire in 1555, the hall was rebuilt into the current Renaissance building, which still forms the framework for many smaller sales outlets.
A section of the city’s national museum has been set up on the first floor of the Market Hall. It’s called the Gallery of Polish 19th Century Art/Galeria Sztuki Polskiej XIX wieku, and the museum exhibits the country’s largest collection of Polish paintings and sculptures from the 19th century.
The Polish 19th-century painters were characterized by the fact that the country went through a long and deep crisis, which resulted in, among other things, a strong national consciousness. In this way, the art differs from the contemporary works of the surrounding countries.
The museum premises are very beautifully decorated, and among the many fine works you can experience Jan Matejko’s large film-like canvas paintings from around 1880 and the painting Neros Fakler/Pochodnie Nerona, painted by Henryk Siemiradzkis in 1876.
Muzeum Czartoryskich is a museum founded in 1796 by Princess Izabela Czartoryska with the aim of preserving and preserving Polish culture. The museum is based on the Czartoryski family’s private collections from the 18th century.
The rich collections contain old European handicrafts, Greek, Egyptian and Roman ancient art and, not least, paintings by, among others, Rembrandt and the famous Lady with Ermine/Dama z gronostajem by Leonardo da Vinci. In this way, both Polish and international art are represented here.
Theater im. Juliusza Słowackiego is a beautiful theater that was built according to Jan Zawiejski’s drawings in the years 1892-1893 with the Paris Opera as a model. There used to be a monastery on the site, but it was demolished in 1892 to make way for the current theater building.
The decoration of the theater is very beautiful and rich, and the theater was the first building in Krakow to have electric lights installed. In 1909, the theater was named after the 19th-century Polish poet Juliusz Słowacki.
Wieża ratuszowa is Krakow’s 70-meter-high town hall tower that stands on the city’s market square. The tower originates from the town’s old town hall, which was built around the year 1300. The town hall itself was demolished in 1820, when they wanted to create a larger square around the Sukiennice market hall.
The tower leans 55 centimeters, which happened in connection with a strong storm in 1703, and since then the tower has been supported. You can climb the town hall tower, and from here there is a great view of Krakow’s old town. At the top, you are close to the tower clock, where the first movement was inserted in 1524. The top of the tower today is the result of a reconstruction carried out in the 1680s.
In the old town hall cellars, there is, among other things, a cozy café. The rooms are exciting, and in the Middle Ages the basement was designed as both a prison and a torture chamber. Fortunately, it is a somewhat better atmosphere that you can experience in the café today.
Brama Floriańska is a gate building that was built as part of Krakow’s Gothic defensive wall around the year 1300. It is the focal point of the street ulica Floriańska, which is part of the historic royal road, Droga Królewska, which led from the gate over the city’s market square to Wawel Castle. This important strategic entrance to the city was manned from early times as protection against not least a feared Turkish attack.
The top of the tower was built in baroque around the year 1660 and changed slightly during a renovation in 1694. In the 18th century, a relief was inserted towards the city; it shows Saint Florian, the patron saint of Poland. Florian Gate is the only preserved of the original gates from medieval Krakow. It stands impressively with a height of 34 meters.
The Barbican originates from medieval Krakow, when the city was surrounded by walls and moats, which can still be seen in some places. The Barbican is a part of the building that was built in 1499, and it was both the city’s main entrance and part of its fortifications.
Originally, the Barbican was an integral part of Krakow’s city walls. It was built together with Florian Port/Brama Floriańska, to which you could go through a covered corridor.
The Barbican stands as an almost circular outpost, which in itself is an impressive military installation. The inner courtyard measures 24 meters in diameter, and the building is crowned by seven small shooting towers. Incidentally, the Barbican is the best-preserved military building of its kind in Europe.
Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie is part of the Polish National Museums, and in Krakow there are branches in several places in the city. The main building in the city is located at the address aleja 3 Maja 1, after it was previously located in the Sukiennice market building in Krakow’s central market square.
The museum was established in 1879, and the main building was built from 1934. World War II put an end to construction, and the museum was not completed until 1992. World War II also caused some of its valuable effects to disappear. The Germans looted the collection, which had to be recreated as best as possible after the end of the war, but many valuable works are still missing.
The exhibition mainly consists of recent Polish art, including fine examples from Cubism, Expressionism and several types of avant-garde art. There is also a large collection of military effects dating back to the 12th century. Here you can see uniforms, orders, medals, armour, weapons and much more.
Kościoł św. St. Piotra i Pawła or St. Peter and Paul Church was built in elegant baroque in the period 1596-1619 with inspiration from several churches in Rome. It came from, among other things, the famous Gesu church. The church was initiated by King Sigismund III Vasa for the Jesuits, and the design was drawn up by several architects before the architect Giovanni Maria Barnardoni was responsible for the completion and construction itself.
The church is one of the largest of Krakow’s many churches, and it is considered one of the first Baroque buildings in Poland. The ceremonial inauguration took place in 1635, and it took place within the framework of the beautiful interior created by Giovanni Battista Trevano in the years 1605-1619.
In front of the church you can see sculptures of the 12 apostles. They were made in the 18th century by Dawid Heel after Kacper Bażanka’s design. Heel also produced the figures that can be seen in the facade niches of the church, which made room for four saints of the Jesuit order.
The interior is elegantly decorated in the church’s baroque style. In the center, you can see Kacper Bażanka’s impressive late-baroque main altar, which dates from 1735. A curiosity is that during construction, a Foucault pendulum was hung up under the large dome. The pendulum was supposed to show that the Earth rotates.
Kościół św. Franciszka z Asyżu is a church that is also called the Franciscan Church, as it was built as the monastery church of the Franciscan monks in the Romanesque style in the period 1237-1269. Over time it has been ravaged by fires several times, but it has been rebuilt after each time.
The church contains some beautiful stained glass windows, which the artist Stanisław Wyspiański executed at the end of the 19th century in his characteristic style. Wyspiański also painted murals in another part of the church.
In the church, you can also see an official and church-consecrated copy of the Shroud of Turin, which is a good 4×1 meter large linen cloth, which is said to be the Shroud of Jesus. The cloth shows imprints from marks that match the Bible’s description of Jesus’ crucifixion. Since 1578, the cloth has been kept in Turin’s cathedral, where it is only shown on special occasions.
At Francis of Assisi Church, there is an adjacent Franciscan monastery from the 15th century, and together with the church, it forms a beautiful building ensemble. In the monastery you can see, among other things, frescoes from the 16th century.
Kazimierz is a neighborhood located south of Krakow’s Old Town. It has been the city’s Jewish quarter for over 400 years. That status started when King Jan I Olbracht moved the city’s Jews to Kazimierz in 1495. Kazimierz became its own city within the city, and it attracted Jews from other countries and cities in Europe as a place of refuge.
In 1630, 4,500 inhabitants lived in Kazimierz. The Jewish history ended abruptly with World War II, and today almost exclusively recent Polish immigrants live in the district. However, Kazimierz’s Jewish history can still be seen in a number of places through buildings that stand as some of the attractions in the neighborhood.
Kościoł in Klasztor na Skałce is a building complex located along the Wisla River. Skałka Church and Monastery is today one of Poland’s most important places of pilgrimage. It was here that Bishop Stanisław Szczepański, canonized in 1253 as Poland’s national saint, was killed in 1079 by King Boleslav II.
The murder of Stanisław later became such a significant event that regents during coronation ceremonies had to pass the monastery as a symbol of the sins of their predecessors. To this day, Saint Stanisław Day, which falls on May 8, is an important event that is marked with great ceremony.
There was already a church here in the 11th century, and the current baroque church from the 18th century is the fourth in a row on the site. The monastery dates from the 17th century, and it was built with architectural inspiration from various castle buildings.
Fabryka Schindlera, also known as Schindler’s Factory, is a department of the Krakow Historical Museum, which is housed in Oskar Schindler’s historic factory, and which is dedicated to the time in Krakow in the years 1939-1945. The factory and Oskar Schindler became not least known after Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List, which is about Oskar Schindler and the Jews who worked in his factory.
The museum itself is an exhibition on many different themes in Krakow’s time during the Second World War. They count, among other things, everyday life, the city’s Jews, the city as the center of power in the General Government, as well as Oskar Schindler and the factory itself, which are the original setting for the events of the years.
Nowa Huta is a district located east of the center of Krakow. It is Poland’s first communist-designed city, which followed the urban planning ideas of Josef Stalin’s Soviet Union. Nowa Huta’s urban planning and architecture is exceptional and one of the world’s best examples from its time of the constructors’ ambition to create an ideologically perfect city.
Plans for the construction of Nowa Huta, built around a central new Lenin steelworks, were developed in the 1940s by Poland and the Soviet Union. Nowa Huta was intended as a workers’ counterpoint to the traditionally religious and intellectual Krakow.
The semi-octogonal town plan was based on the ideas of the Renaissance. The buildings erected adhered to a strict and geometric plan, and the style was a mixture of Renaissance, Baroque and Classicism.
The center of Nowa Huta is Centralpladsen/Plac Centralny, which was built in the years 1949-1955. From the square, the radial streets radiate towards the suburbs, which were laid out as units with 5-6,000 inhabitants each. Between the many residences and administrative units, many green areas were laid out.
Not all of the original plans for buildings in Nowa Huta were realized, but on a visit to the district you can sense both the grandiose planning and the special architecture. Both parts make the place a different attraction.
The museum Nowa Huta Historical Museum/Dzieje Nowej Huty (osiedle Słoneczne 16) is located in an apartment building from 1958, which is part of the Krakow Historical Museum. It depicts the history of the district of Nowa Huta, and with its location in one of the classic buildings in the town plan, the visit itself gives an insight into the buildings in the area.
Kopalnia Soli Wieliczka is the Krakow area’s famous salt mine, located in Wieliczka, which has been in operation for 900 years. In recent centuries, the mine has been one of Poland’s major attractions, visited by Goethe and Sarah Bernhardt among many others. The salt mine was the region’s major economic locomotive in the Middle Ages, when salt was one of the most important trade goods.
In the mine, a total of over 200 kilometers of mine tunnels have been excavated over time, of which only a very small part is accessible to visitors. The mine goes down to a depth of more than 300 meters underground. The route taken by tourists starts at a depth of 64 meters and ends 135 meters underground, where one of the world’s largest mining museums is located. Here you can see, among other things, century-old tools that have been used in the mine.
On the trip through the mine corridors, you can see the large rooms and artificial lakes that the miners have carved out of the underground. Among the highlights of the impressive tour is Saint Anton Kapel/Kaplica św. Antoniego, named after the miners’ saint, and which was first used for high mass in 1698.
Duchess Kinga Chapel/Kaplica św. Kingi is the mine’s largest room with a length of 54 meters and up to 12 meters in height. It is almost like stepping into a cathedral, and the room is also furnished with altars, sculptures, etc., and it is all carved out of the mine’s salt. The large room is used for concerts today.
Auschwitz, called Oświęcim in Polish, is a facility that was originally built as a Polish barracks. The place developed into the infamous concentration camp when the Germans set it up in 1940 to collect political prisoners, but in the following years Jews and Soviet prisoners of war were also interned here.
There was room for more than 200,000 prisoners, many of whom worked in German factories in the area. Others did not make it further than arrival before meeting their end, which is naturally what the camp became so notorious for.
Today you can see, among other things, the railway tracks that brought people in wagons from large parts of Europe to Auschwitz, and virtually all barracks and buildings from the period 1941-1945. The entire camp is set up as a museum, depicting the everyday lives and destinies of the many inmates.
The nearby Birkenau camp is not as well preserved as Auschwitz, as it was built of wood. There are remains, however, and one can form an impression of the place and its history until January 1945, when Soviet military captured and liberated the area from Germany.
Katowice is a city located in the large Polish industrial area of Silesia. It was the large amounts of coal in the Silesian mountains that initially made Katowice a larger village when, after the Silesian War, it became Prussian in 1742. From the beginning of the 19th century, Katowice and this part of Silesia were industrialized with mining, steelworks, workshops and factories, and Katowice grew rapidly due to the industry and inflow of workers for the plants.
In the 1900s, Katowice became Polish again, and Polish soldiers arrived in the city on May 3, 1921. The local parliament was seated in Katowice, which thereby became the capital of the region. Germany annexed Katowice in 1939, and the city was under German control until liberation on January 27, 1945. Eight years later, for a period of three years, Katowice was renamed Stalinogród, the name was a tribute to the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin.
Zakopane is a city located at the foot of the Tatra Mountains south of Krakow. Since the 19th century, it and the very beautiful mountains have attracted tourists. Among Zakopane’s attractions is the street ul. Kościeliska with the area’s typical 19th-century wooden houses. They include Villa Koliba/Willa Koliba (ul. Kościeliska 18), which dates from 1893 and stands as the city’s first house in the so-called Zakopane style.
The pedestrian street ul. Krupówki is the city’s business district, and here is the Tatra Museum/Muzeum Tatrzańskie (ul. Krupówki 10), which provides a fine introduction to the area’s people, mountains and nature parks.
The surrounding Tatra Mountains offer experiences all year round. In the immediate vicinity of Zakopane, many hiking trails lead to the highlands and the beautiful views of the jagged peaks, green landscapes and mountain lakes. In winter, the place is Poland’s leading ski resort with many lifts, slopes and everything else that belongs to a ski resort.
ul. Pawia 5, al. Pokoju 44, ul. Zapopiańska 62, ul. Witosa 7
carrefour.pl
ul. Św. Anny 2
galeriacentrum.pl
ul. Podgórska 34
galeriakazimierz.pl
ul. Pawia 5
galeria-krakowska.pl
al. Pokoju 44
krakowplaza.pl
al. Pokoju 67
krakow.m1-centrum.pl
al. Pokoju 67, al. Bora-Komorowskiego 37
real.pl
ul. Zapopiańska 105
solvaypark.pl
ul. Kapelanka 54, Józefa Wybickiego 10, Włoska 2
tesco.pl
ul. Zapopiańska 62
Florianska, ul. Bracka, Szewska, Grodzka, Slawkowska
Aquarium
ul. św. Sebastiana 9
aquariumkrakow.com
Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego
ul. Jana Pawła II 39
muz-lotnictwa.krakow.pl
Muzeum Przyrodnicze
ul. św. Sebastiana 9
isez.pan.krakow.pl
Ogrod Zoologiczny
ul. Kasy Oszczednosci 14, 10 km/6 mi W
zoo-krakow.pl
In the 8th century, activity arose, among other things, with an established trade between the Wawel area and the Roman Empire, a permanent settlement in the Krakow area, which came into existence during the end of the century during the Great Empire. In 965, Krakow is first mentioned by the Arab Ibrahim Ibn Jakub.
The settlement in Krakow came under the leadership of Mieszko I, and the city became the capital of the Polish piaster kingdom. About 992 they introduced Christianity into the kingdom.
Krakow became the bishop’s seat in the 11th century and the first cathedral was erected. The city was the dominant Polish city, and Kazimierz made Krakow the capital of Poland.
At the request of King Boleslav, Poland was divided into independent duchies in 1138, and Krakow became an independent province whose nobility had a special status in the Polish countries.
From 1241 and 40 years on, Tatars invaded Poland three times. After the first invasion, Krakow was almost completely destroyed, but to the city’s luck, Castle Wawel still remained. The partially walled city walls were rebuilt around Krakow to protect against future invasions.
In 1257 under Boleslav, the city gained its market town rights, which at the same time applied to the citizens of the city and the trading conditions of the merchants. At this time, today’s Krakow city plan with squares and streets was constructed.
Kazimierz the Great ruled from 1333-1370, and he made much progress for the city with its expansion of cultural institutions, among other things. Wawel was expanded and rebuilt in Gothic style, and in 1364 the University of Krakow was founded.
Kazimierz’s reign became the basis for centuries of economic, political and cultural growth for Krakow and for Poland. After the wedding of King Jagiello and Queen Jadwiga, the Polish-Lithuanian Empire was established.
In 1410, the Polish-Lithuanian forces stopped the German Order in the Battle of Tannenberg. The German Order was particularly penetrated in former Polish areas in the areas along the Baltic Sea.
The 16th century became the pinnacle of the Polish-Lithuanian Empire. Culturally the country flourished and, among other things, the later world-famous astronomer, Nikolaj Copernicus, studied at the University of Krakow.
The end of the 16th century marked the beginning of Krakow’s decline in significance in Poland. In 1596, King Sigismund Vasa moved the Polish capital from Krakow to Warsaw, which also became a royal residence city. Krakow’s political role was minimized.
In Krakow, the 17th century was marked by stagnation. The city fell victim to a plague epidemic, invasions and economic downturn that accompanied Sigismund Vasa’s move to Warsaw.
Poland-Lithuania was greatly weakened in the 18th century. The country was at the center of neighboring countries’ war actions, including during the Great Nordic War of 1700-1721, and the expansionary plans of Russian tsar Peter the Great.
Politically, the decline of Poland-Lithuania ended with the divisions of Poland in the decades around 1800. After the second division in 1792-1793, in 1794, Krakow became the center of the Polish uprising against foreign rule. The failed rebellion was led by Tadeusz Kosciuszkos.
In 1795, the southern Polish territories, including Krakow, came under the rule of the Habsburgs, Austria. However, the alien rule again created a boom for the city, as the Austrians allowed the continuation of Polish culture, which quickly found its natural capital in Krakow.
In 1807-1815, Krakow became part of the Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw, and after the Vienna Congress in 1815, Krakow was established as an independent kingdom, but in 1846 was incorporated into Austria.
Between World War I and World War II, the major industries in southern Poland were established, including in and around Krakow. Thus, it gained an important strategic importance during World War II, in which the Jewish ghetto in 1941-1943 was created and eliminated. The war did not destroy Krakow like other Polish cities, with the Red Army conquering the city by surprise attack.
After the war, and as a counterbalance to Krakow’s cultural intelligentsia, the new Soviet-planned working and industrial city, Nowa Huta, was constructed, concentrated around the colossal Lenin steel mill.
In the 1970s, Krakow’s John Paul II was elected the new pope of the Catholic Church, thereby helping to put the Polish city on the world map. John Paul II was the first Slavic pope in the history of the Catholic Church.
In recent decades, Krakow has undergone a major restoration that has brought out the splendor of the past, and at the same time, Krakow has on several occasions hosted major international events such as the European Football Championships in 2008.
Krakow, Poland
Overview of Krakow
Krakow is a beautiful and charming city, which is Poland’s former royal capital and one of the country’s cultural strongholds. The city has cozy streets and squares that belong to the most charming of any European city. You will find an abundance of beautiful buildings and fine churches and much more.
The old royal and cultural center was the castle Wawel, where the rulers were forward thinking as one of the major cities in the country and region with, for example, one of Central Europe’s oldest universities. Krakow’s large and beautiful market square is another of the many places to visit while in the city.
Of recent history, Krakow is a place to experience 20th century wars and ideological history. The Jewish district of Kazimierz is located just south of Krakow’s Old Town. Here you can walk the Jewish ghetto from World War II with monuments and synagogues. The Nowa Huta district is from another era; it is an example of a city built according to communist planning.
About the Whitehorse travel guide
Contents: Tours in the city + tours in the surrounding area
Published: Released soon
Author: Stig Albeck
Publisher: Vamados.com
Language: English
About the travel guide
The Whitehorse travel guide gives you an overview of the sights and activities of the Canadian city. Read about top sights and other sights, and get a tour guide with tour suggestions and detailed descriptions of all the city’s most important churches, monuments, mansions, museums, etc.
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Sukiennice is a building located in the middle of Krakow’s market square, Rynek Główny. The 108 meter long market hall Sukiennice was built around the year 1300 to cover the site’s many sales stalls with textile goods.
Many merchants met here, and in the 15th century, which was the market’s golden age, Asian goods were traded in Sukiennice, among other things. After a fire in 1555, the hall was rebuilt into the current Renaissance building, which still forms the framework for many smaller sales outlets.
A section of the city’s national museum has been set up on the first floor of the Market Hall. It’s called the Gallery of Polish 19th Century Art/Galeria Sztuki Polskiej XIX wieku, and the museum exhibits the country’s largest collection of Polish paintings and sculptures from the 19th century.
The Polish 19th-century painters were characterized by the fact that the country went through a long and deep crisis, which resulted in, among other things, a strong national consciousness. In this way, the art differs from the contemporary works of the surrounding countries.
The museum premises are very beautifully decorated, and among the many fine works you can experience Jan Matejko’s large film-like canvas paintings from around 1880 and the painting Neros Fakler/Pochodnie Nerona, painted by Henryk Siemiradzkis in 1876.
Muzeum Czartoryskich is a museum founded in 1796 by Princess Izabela Czartoryska with the aim of preserving and preserving Polish culture. The museum is based on the Czartoryski family’s private collections from the 18th century.
The rich collections contain old European handicrafts, Greek, Egyptian and Roman ancient art and, not least, paintings by, among others, Rembrandt and the famous Lady with Ermine/Dama z gronostajem by Leonardo da Vinci. In this way, both Polish and international art are represented here.
Theater im. Juliusza Słowackiego is a beautiful theater that was built according to Jan Zawiejski’s drawings in the years 1892-1893 with the Paris Opera as a model. There used to be a monastery on the site, but it was demolished in 1892 to make way for the current theater building.
The decoration of the theater is very beautiful and rich, and the theater was the first building in Krakow to have electric lights installed. In 1909, the theater was named after the 19th-century Polish poet Juliusz Słowacki.
Wieża ratuszowa is Krakow’s 70-meter-high town hall tower that stands on the city’s market square. The tower originates from the town’s old town hall, which was built around the year 1300. The town hall itself was demolished in 1820, when they wanted to create a larger square around the Sukiennice market hall.
The tower leans 55 centimeters, which happened in connection with a strong storm in 1703, and since then the tower has been supported. You can climb the town hall tower, and from here there is a great view of Krakow’s old town. At the top, you are close to the tower clock, where the first movement was inserted in 1524. The top of the tower today is the result of a reconstruction carried out in the 1680s.
In the old town hall cellars, there is, among other things, a cozy café. The rooms are exciting, and in the Middle Ages the basement was designed as both a prison and a torture chamber. Fortunately, it is a somewhat better atmosphere that you can experience in the café today.
Brama Floriańska is a gate building that was built as part of Krakow’s Gothic defensive wall around the year 1300. It is the focal point of the street ulica Floriańska, which is part of the historic royal road, Droga Królewska, which led from the gate over the city’s market square to Wawel Castle. This important strategic entrance to the city was manned from early times as protection against not least a feared Turkish attack.
The top of the tower was built in baroque around the year 1660 and changed slightly during a renovation in 1694. In the 18th century, a relief was inserted towards the city; it shows Saint Florian, the patron saint of Poland. Florian Gate is the only preserved of the original gates from medieval Krakow. It stands impressively with a height of 34 meters.
The Barbican originates from medieval Krakow, when the city was surrounded by walls and moats, which can still be seen in some places. The Barbican is a part of the building that was built in 1499, and it was both the city’s main entrance and part of its fortifications.
Originally, the Barbican was an integral part of Krakow’s city walls. It was built together with Florian Port/Brama Floriańska, to which you could go through a covered corridor.
The Barbican stands as an almost circular outpost, which in itself is an impressive military installation. The inner courtyard measures 24 meters in diameter, and the building is crowned by seven small shooting towers. Incidentally, the Barbican is the best-preserved military building of its kind in Europe.
Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie is part of the Polish National Museums, and in Krakow there are branches in several places in the city. The main building in the city is located at the address aleja 3 Maja 1, after it was previously located in the Sukiennice market building in Krakow’s central market square.
The museum was established in 1879, and the main building was built from 1934. World War II put an end to construction, and the museum was not completed until 1992. World War II also caused some of its valuable effects to disappear. The Germans looted the collection, which had to be recreated as best as possible after the end of the war, but many valuable works are still missing.
The exhibition mainly consists of recent Polish art, including fine examples from Cubism, Expressionism and several types of avant-garde art. There is also a large collection of military effects dating back to the 12th century. Here you can see uniforms, orders, medals, armour, weapons and much more.
Kościoł św. St. Piotra i Pawła or St. Peter and Paul Church was built in elegant baroque in the period 1596-1619 with inspiration from several churches in Rome. It came from, among other things, the famous Gesu church. The church was initiated by King Sigismund III Vasa for the Jesuits, and the design was drawn up by several architects before the architect Giovanni Maria Barnardoni was responsible for the completion and construction itself.
The church is one of the largest of Krakow’s many churches, and it is considered one of the first Baroque buildings in Poland. The ceremonial inauguration took place in 1635, and it took place within the framework of the beautiful interior created by Giovanni Battista Trevano in the years 1605-1619.
In front of the church you can see sculptures of the 12 apostles. They were made in the 18th century by Dawid Heel after Kacper Bażanka’s design. Heel also produced the figures that can be seen in the facade niches of the church, which made room for four saints of the Jesuit order.
The interior is elegantly decorated in the church’s baroque style. In the center, you can see Kacper Bażanka’s impressive late-baroque main altar, which dates from 1735. A curiosity is that during construction, a Foucault pendulum was hung up under the large dome. The pendulum was supposed to show that the Earth rotates.
Kościół św. Franciszka z Asyżu is a church that is also called the Franciscan Church, as it was built as the monastery church of the Franciscan monks in the Romanesque style in the period 1237-1269. Over time it has been ravaged by fires several times, but it has been rebuilt after each time.
The church contains some beautiful stained glass windows, which the artist Stanisław Wyspiański executed at the end of the 19th century in his characteristic style. Wyspiański also painted murals in another part of the church.
In the church, you can also see an official and church-consecrated copy of the Shroud of Turin, which is a good 4×1 meter large linen cloth, which is said to be the Shroud of Jesus. The cloth shows imprints from marks that match the Bible’s description of Jesus’ crucifixion. Since 1578, the cloth has been kept in Turin’s cathedral, where it is only shown on special occasions.
At Francis of Assisi Church, there is an adjacent Franciscan monastery from the 15th century, and together with the church, it forms a beautiful building ensemble. In the monastery you can see, among other things, frescoes from the 16th century.
Kazimierz is a neighborhood located south of Krakow’s Old Town. It has been the city’s Jewish quarter for over 400 years. That status started when King Jan I Olbracht moved the city’s Jews to Kazimierz in 1495. Kazimierz became its own city within the city, and it attracted Jews from other countries and cities in Europe as a place of refuge.
In 1630, 4,500 inhabitants lived in Kazimierz. The Jewish history ended abruptly with World War II, and today almost exclusively recent Polish immigrants live in the district. However, Kazimierz’s Jewish history can still be seen in a number of places through buildings that stand as some of the attractions in the neighborhood.
Kościoł in Klasztor na Skałce is a building complex located along the Wisla River. Skałka Church and Monastery is today one of Poland’s most important places of pilgrimage. It was here that Bishop Stanisław Szczepański, canonized in 1253 as Poland’s national saint, was killed in 1079 by King Boleslav II.
The murder of Stanisław later became such a significant event that regents during coronation ceremonies had to pass the monastery as a symbol of the sins of their predecessors. To this day, Saint Stanisław Day, which falls on May 8, is an important event that is marked with great ceremony.
There was already a church here in the 11th century, and the current baroque church from the 18th century is the fourth in a row on the site. The monastery dates from the 17th century, and it was built with architectural inspiration from various castle buildings.
Fabryka Schindlera, also known as Schindler’s Factory, is a department of the Krakow Historical Museum, which is housed in Oskar Schindler’s historic factory, and which is dedicated to the time in Krakow in the years 1939-1945. The factory and Oskar Schindler became not least known after Steven Spielberg’s film Schindler’s List, which is about Oskar Schindler and the Jews who worked in his factory.
The museum itself is an exhibition on many different themes in Krakow’s time during the Second World War. They count, among other things, everyday life, the city’s Jews, the city as the center of power in the General Government, as well as Oskar Schindler and the factory itself, which are the original setting for the events of the years.
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