The Secret Capital of Poland
Kraków is located in the south of Poland and is the second largest city in the country with about 765,000 inhabitants. The city on the upper Vistula was the capital of the Kingdom of Poland until the end of the 16th century. It is the seat of the second oldest Central European university and has developed into an industrial, scientific and cultural centre.
Numerous buildings from the Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque and later epochs of art history characterize the cityscape. Even in the 21st century Cracow is still called the "secret capital of Poland" and the old town is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With the establishment of new universities and cultural sites during the formation of the Second Polish Republic in 1918 and throughout the 20th century, Cracow confirmed its role as an important national academic and artistic centre.
After the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany at the beginning of World War II, the city's Jewish population was forced into a walled zone, the so-called Kraków Ghetto, from where they were sent to German extermination camps such as nearby Auschwitz, never to return. Fortunately, the city was spared destruction and major bomb attacks.
A student city
My buddy James picked me up at the train station in Kraków and took me to my hostel. I put down my things and we went for lunch to get Pieroggi, the Polish dumplings, in a cheap student canteen. James is one of the many students here, it surely is a students city. The 170,000 students in total make up about 20% of the city's population. The city pulls students from regional areas all over Poland for a number of reasons but foremost it's for the quality of education.
the national sanctuary of Poland
Later he showed me briefly his city and many old carriages drove past us, in which tourists are chauffeured through the city. The other day I got a more in depth view of the city when I took part in the city tour which started near the historic walls that surround the city. We went on to the Main Market Square with St Mary’s church and Cloth Hall. After visiting the oldest university in Poland our final stop was the Wawel Hill with the Cathedral and Castle’s courtyard.
Another famous sight is the Wawel Cathedral, which has been enthroned on the hill of the same name for over 1000 years. It is considered the Polish national sanctuary, as it was the place of coronation and marriages of Polish monarchs, the burial place of most Polish kings and their families, as well as the bishops and archbishops of Kraków, some of Poland's national heroes and most famous artists.
Piano concert of Chopin compositions
In the cathedral of Wawel you can find a memorial to Frédéric Chopin, one of the most famous Polish composers and pianists. If you want to see some performance of some local talents playing Chopin songs on the piano, you should visit the Chopin concert hall. I watched the impressive one-hour performance of Paweł Kubica. It costs a little less than 70 złoty (around 16 €) and you get a free glass of wine.
Schindler's List
In Kraków had Oscar Schindler his famous factory, which Steven Spielberg turned into the Hollywood classic "Schindler's List". Schindler secretly received many Jews into his factory so that they could avoid being sent to concentration camps.
In the State Museum, Fabryka Emalia Oskara Schindlera, located in a former enamelware factory building, you can learn more about the Jews in the Kraków Ghetto and Plaszow Forced Labour Camp in comparison to the workers in Schindler's factory. You will also get a lot of information about the time of the German occupation of Kraków from 1939 to 1945, and it is advisable to get there as early as possible, because very long queues can build up. When I arrived there around dawn, I could enter immediately (but only because I was on my own). When I left the museum, there was already a huge queue in front of the museum.
An old salt mine
With my buddy I also visited the Wieliczka Salt Mine. It lies around 17 km away from Kraków It is one of the oldest and most famous salt mines in the world and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. From the 13th century until 2007, table salt was continuously mined here. A tourist route leads to a depth of 130 metres. It goes through the old salt mine and takes you to the underground cathedral.
Beautiful but too much rain, too many tourists
Kraków is definitely a beautiful city, but the city attracts so many tourists that it is already too much. Especially young western men come here to have bachelor parties or just to drink cheaply.
Unfortunately, the weather spoiled my stay in Kraków so much that I don't keep it in good memory. After nearly 1 week I drove to Wrocław. Of course it rained there as well. The city is similar to Kraków, but everything is one dimension smaller, but also less flooded with tourists. I stayed here only a few hours and then drove back home from there.
