Kraków — History lessons through tourism
When it comes to history, Poland won’t leave anything behind.
All the states of Eastern Europe are known for their very rich and similar history, but, in spite of this, Poland has learned best how to show off its own. This is mainly due to its promotion of cultural and historical tourism. What happened in the past will always be remembered in the present: the Poles don’t miss a moment when it comes to sharing their history with every foreigner that steps into their country.
Whether it’s about the Piast dynasty (around the middle of the 10th century, when Poland began to form as a recognizable unitary and territorial state), the events of WWII, or the Communist era (which marked the country’s fate forever), Poland knows how to highlight every event in its history.
Kraków is one of the best examples. Every corner of this city has its own story (or at least a captivating legend). This former royal capital of Poland (1038–1569) should be visited at least once in a lifetime. If you’re just as curious as we were, we must warn you that a three-day city break will not be enough. Even so, we have done and seen many things during our three days there, out of which we have selected only the most impressive places and experiences to write about.
Polish folklore says that the city was first built on Wawel Hill, atop the cave of a dragon that was slain by the mythical King Krakus. Nowadays, the Gothic Wawel Cathedral and Kraków’s Royal Wawel Castle stand on top of this hill. Together, the two sites take more than 4 hours to visit — at least that’s how long it took us. A dragon statue featured inside the cathedral and its former cave, located below Wawel Hill, is a popular tourist stop.
Rynek Główny, Kraków’s Old Town center and the largest medieval main square in Europe, is a truly spectacular sight, surrounded by all its astonishing Neoclassical buildings. However, nothing compared to listening to the Hejnał Mariacki (Trumpet Signal) in the morning while savoring a coffee. The signal is played live every full hour of every day from the tower of St. Mary Church to commemorate the trumpeter killed by a Tatar arrow in 1241 when Kraków was almost entirely destroyed.
Underground Rynek Główny, we discovered an entirely different world. The Rynek Underground permanent exhibition is an underground museum opened five years ago, thanks to the archeological study that was conducted continuously from 2005 to 2010. It covers an area of over 6,000 square meters; found during the study, the objects exhibited there narrate the tumultuous medieval history of Kraków.
Down there we saw medieval tools, toiletry articles used over 600 years ago, preserved stretches of transport routes, reconstructions of goldsmith’s and blacksmith’s workshops, an ancient horse’s skull, and an 11th-century cemetery. The exhibition also features models and multimedia (holograms, touchscreens, and documentary films) that make you understand and feel the atmosphere of medieval Kraków. Truthfully speaking, the Rynek Underground strengthened our belief that the Poles really know how to value their history.
Kraków is also known as a place where Jews lived free from persecution for centuries, thanks to King Kazimierz II, who established the Kazimierz district for them. The area remained mainly Jewish until the Nazi occupation during WWII when 90 percent of the inhabitants were killed.
A 50-year-old Polish man led us through the tight streets of the former Jewish district and told us the story of almost every house and old synagogue that we passed by. At the end of the tour, we decided to stay a little longer and try Jewish cuisine in a restaurant in Kazimierz. The place was only 100m away from the house where the famous Helena Rubinstein was born.
The former administrative building of Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory (located at 4 Lipowa Street) has been turned into a historical museum about WWII. It is home to an exhibition about the stories of Jewish and Polish people under the Nazi occupation of Kraków from 1939 to 1945.
We allotted a couple of hours to visit the place where Oskar Schindler, an ethnic German and member of the Nazi Party, saved the lives of over a thousand Jewish people. This incredible story came to light in 1993, in Steven Spielberg’s movie Schindler’s List.
We spent our last day in Kraków on top of Kościuszko Mound, an artificial mound built by the locals between 1820–1823 to commemorate the Polish national leader Tadeusz Kościuszko. Thirty years after its construction, the Austrian authorities built a citadel around the mound and began using it as a strategic lookout. It was the best place to admire Kraków and the Vistula River from above before leaving.
If we’d had one more day, we would have joined a Communism tour with these guys in the centrally-planned Socialist district of Nowa Huta (a project that ended as one of the centers of revolution and resistance within Poland). Maybe next time.
Now, for those who have read this entire article and reached this line: congrats, you have just learned a little bit of history. This is the fascinating effect of Kraków and indeed all of Poland.
Written by Alexandra Palconi.
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We have also written about Prague, Viscri, Košice, the unique cave bath of Miskolctapolca, Plitvice Lakes Natural Park, Kuressaare, Ruhnu, Zadar, Mostar, Tartu, Wigry National Park, Krk Island, Budva,and Mileştii Mici Winery.
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