Sights in Kraków
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Salt Mine
Just outside the administrative boundaries of Kraków, some 14km southeast of the city centre, Wieliczka (vyeh- leech -kah) is famous for its ultra-deep Salt Mine, which has been in continuous operation for 700 years and can be visited. It’s an eerie world of pits and chambers, and everything has been carved by hand from salt blocks. The mine was included on Unesco’s World Heritage List in 1978.
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St Mary's Church
Rising over the northeastern corner of Rynek Główny, St Mary's is Kraków's most important church, after Wawel Cathedral. The original church, built in the 1220s, was destroyed during the Tatar raids, and the edifice you see today is a 15th-century creation. From the outside, the most striking feature of the church is its two towers, of unequal height.
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Oskar Schindler’s Enamelware Factory
About 400km east of Plac Bohaterów Getta is Oskar Schindler’s enamelware factory.
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Kazimierz
Today one of Kraków's inner suburbs and located within walking distance south of Wawel and the Old Town, Kazimierz was for a long time an independent town with its own municipal charter and laws. Its colourful history was determined by its mixed Jewish-Polish population, and though the ethnic structure is now wholly different, the architecture gives a good picture of its past, with clearly distinguishable sectors of what were Christian and Jewish quarters.
The suburb is home to many important tourist sights, including churches, synagogues and museums. The western part of Kazimierz was traditionally Catholic, and although many Jews settled here from the early 19th century…
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Royal Chambers
The Royal Chambers, also known as the State Rooms, is the largest and most impressive exhibition; the entrance is in the southeastern corner of the courtyard, from where you’ll ascend to the 2nd floor Proceed through the apparently never-ending chain of two-dozen rooms and chambers of the castle, restored in their original Renaissance and early Baroque style and crammed with period furnishings, paintings, tapestries and works of art.
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Cistercian Abbey
Until the construction of the Church of Our Lady Queen of Poland in 1977, Nowa Hutans used the two historic churches that had somehow managed to escape the avalanche of concrete. They are both on the southeastern outskirts of Nowa Huta, in the Mogiła suburb about 2.5km southeast of Plac Centralny (tram 15), and are worth a visit if you are in the area.
Across the road from the small, shingled Church of St Bartholomew is the Cistercian Abbey , which consists of a church and monastery with a large garden-park behind it. The Cistercians came to Poland in 1140 and founded abbeys around the country, including this one in 1222. The church, open most of the day, has a large…
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Podgórze
The working-class suburb of Podgórze would pique few travellers' curiosities if it wasn't for the notorious role it played during WWII. It was here that the Nazis herded some 15,000 Jews into a ghetto and continued to empty it by way of deportations to the concentration camps, including one a short distance to the southwest in Płaszów.
The centre of the ghetto was Plac Zgody, the ironically named 'Peace Square' that is today known as Plac Bohaterów Getta, where the process of selecting who would stay and who would be placed on the waiting train to one of the camps was made. Today it is marked by a memorial by Kraków architects Piotr Lewicki and Kazimierz Latak…
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Pauline Church of Ss Michael & Stanislaus
This most esteemed church is commonly known as the Skałka (Rock) due to its location on a once-rocky promontory. Today's mid-18th-century Baroque church is associated with Bishop Stanisław (Stanislaus) Szczepanowski, patron saint of Poland. In 1079, the bishop was beheaded by King Bolesław Śmiały (Boleslaus the Bold): see the very tree trunk where the dirty deed was done, now in a place of honour next to the altar. Apparently the bishop's dismembered remains were tossed into a nearby pond, but the body miraculously re-formed, demonstrating the healing powers of the waters. Now the Skałka is a sort of national pantheon. The crypt underneath the church shelters the tombs of…
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Adam Mickiewicz statue
A few steps north from the Church of St Adalbert on Rynek Główny (the Main Market Square) is the Adam Mickiewicz statue surrounded by four allegorical figures representing the Motherland, Learning, Poetry and Valour. The szopki (Nativity scenes) competition is held beside the statue in early December.
The flower stalls, usually to the north of the statue and traditionally run by women, have been trading on this site since medieval times. The area in between is the 'pasture' for Kraków's pigeon population, which the city - unbelievably - encourages. The area is currently fenced off as excavations for a possible underground shopping and entertainment complex are going on…
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Remuh Cemetery
Founded in the mid-16th century, it was closed for burials in the late 18th century, when a new and larger graveyard was established. During WWII Nazis vandalised and razed the tombstones, but during postwar conservation work some 700 gravestones, many of them outstanding Renaissance examples and dating back four centuries, were uncovered. It seems that the Jewish faithful themselves had buried the stones to avoid their desecration by foreign armies, which repeatedly invaded Kraków in the 18th century. The tombstones have been meticulously restored, making the place one of the best-preserved Renaissance Jewish cemeteries anywhere in Europe.
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Kantor's Atelier
Even in life it was hard to define Tadeusz Kantor, a master of both performance and visual arts, who blurred the line between genres. Poet, painter, set designer and actor, he delighted and confounded his audiences with his one-man avant-garde extravaganzas. The venue for his performances was the Cricot 2 Theatre - defunct since his death in 1990. But the Crikoteka archive documents his life work, maintaining a collection of set designs, costumes, photographs and videos. Kantor's Atelier is also open to the public, housing a small gallery of pieces that the artist created towards the end of his life.
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Church of Our Lady Queen of Poland
The Church of Our Lady Queen of Polandis otherwise known as the Arka Pana (Lord’s Ark). This interesting, though rather heavy, ark-shaped construction was the first new church permitted in Nowa Huta after WWII, and was completed in 1977 entirely by volunteer labourers. Up till then, Nowa Hutans used the two historic churches that had somehow managed to escape the avalanche of concrete. They are both on the southeastern outskirts of Nowa Huta, in the Mogiła suburb about 2.5km southeast of Plac Centralny (tram 15), and are worth a visit if you are in the area.
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Mariacka Basilica
The twin steeples of the Mariacka Basilica tower over the Rynek Główny, acting as a geographic and historic landmark. From here the bugler plays the hejnał every hour, marking the time and remembering the legend of the trumpeter of Kraków. Enter the side door into the church, which is a veritable museum of artistic masterpieces: wall paintings by Jan Matejko; windows by Stanisław Wyspiański and Józef Mehoffer; and the gilded pentaptych altarpiece by Wit Stwosz. You can also climb to the tall tower to get up close and personal with the bugler.
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Old Synagogue
Dating back to the end of the 15th century, the aptly named Old Synagogue is in fact the oldest Jewish house of worship in the country. It now houses a branch of the Museum of the History of Kraków. The prayer hall contains the original aron kodesh (the niche in the eastern wall where Torah scrolls are kept) and a reconstructed bimah (raised platform at the centre of the synagogue where the Torah is read). Adjacent rooms are dedicated to Jewish traditions and art, while upstairs there's a photographic exhibit.
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Rynek Główny
Measuring 200m by 200m, Kraków's Rynek Główny is the largest medieval town square in Europe and one of the finest urban designs of its kind. Its layout, based on that of a castrum (Roman military camp), was drawn up in 1257 and has been retained to this day, though the buildings have changed substantially over the centuries.
Most of them now look neoclassical, but don't let the façades confuse you - the basic structures are much older, as can be seen by their doorways, architectural details and interiors.
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Wawel Cathedral & Museum
Poland's most important church is the 1364 Gothic beauty that sits atop Wawel Hill. Admire the central silver Shrine of St Stanislaus and the many chapels that ring the sanctuary, before descending into the tiny Poets' Crypt and the mazelike Royal Crypts. Finally, you can climb the 70 wooden steps to the top of the Sigismund Tower to see the great Sigismund Bell.
Opposite the cathedral is the Cathedral Museum, which displays various ecclesiastical treasures and royal funerary regalia.
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Church of St Catherine
About 250m east sits the Church of St Catherine. One of the most monumental churches in the city, and possibly the one that has best retained its original Gothic shape, it was founded in 1363 and completed 35 years later, though the towers have never been built. The church was once on the corner of Kazimierz’s market square but the area was built up in the 19th century. The lofty and spacious whitewashed interior boasts the imposing, richly gilded Baroque high altar from 1634 and some very flamboyant choir stalls.
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Benedictine Abbey
The Benedictine Abbey dramatically perched on a cliff above the Vistula. The Benedictines came to Poland in the second half of the 11th century, and it was in Tyniec that they established their first base. The original Romanesque church and the monastery were destroyed and rebuilt in the 14th and 18th centuries. Today the church is essentially a Baroque building, though the stone foundations and the lower parts of the walls, partly uncovered and behind protected glass to the west of the church, show its earlier origins.
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Remuh Synagogue & Cemetery
Still a functioning place of worship, Remuh Synagogue was established in 1558 by a rich merchant, Israel Isserles, but it's associated with his son Rabbi Moses Isserles, a philosopher and scholar, who is buried here. Behind the synagogue, the cemetery was founded in the mid-16th century. It was closed for burials in the late 18th century, when a new and larger graveyard was established. The tombstones have been meticulously restored since WWII, making the place one of the best-preserved Renaissance Jewish cemeteries anywhere in Europe.
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Schindler's Factory
The massive enamelware factory (made famous by Steven Spielberg) was where Oskar Schindler employed thousands of Jewish prisoners - and eventually saved many of their lives. The factory is as an interactive, multimedia museum of WWII history. The museum features exhibits on the Nazi invasion of Poland, daily life in the ghetto and the Płaszów Camp, as well as a re-creation of Schindler's office. The thought-provoking 'room of choices' encourages visitors to consider the difficult judgments that every person had to make during the war.
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Church of St Anne
Designed by the omnipresent Tylman van Gameren, and built in the late 17th century as a university church, the Church of St Anne was long the site of inaugurations of the academic year, doctoral promotions and a resting place for many eminent university professors and rectors. A spacious, stark-white interior fitted out with fine furnishings, gravestones and epitaphs, and embellished with superb stucco work and murals – all stylistically homogeneous – puts the church among the best classical Baroque buildings in Poland.
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Plac Bohaterów Getta
The centre of the Jewish ghetto was Plac Zgody, now named after the 'heroes of the ghetto'. This was the point of departure for thousands of Jews who boarded the waiting trains to the various camps. Today it is marked with a memorial by Kraków architects Piotr Lewicki and Kazimierz Latak consisting of 70 eerily empty chairs, which represent furniture and other remnants discarded by the deportees. Just south of the square on ul Lwowska is a remaining piece of the ghetto wall with a plaque marking the site.
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Collegium Maius
The oldest surviving university building in Poland is the Collegium Maius, the Gothic structure that was built as part of the Kraków Academy. Guided tours (1pm, in English) give a glimpse at the historic interiors, as well as fascinating old scientific artefacts. In summer it's advisable to reserve in advance, either in person or by phone. If you can't get inside, it's still worth taking a look at the magnificent arcaded courtyard for which admission is free. There are a few additional exhibits for an extra charge.
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Ethnographic Museum
The Renaissance building on Plac Wolnica was once the town hall of Kazimierz, but now it houses the Ethnographic Museum. It has one of the largest collections in Poland, including the reconstructed interiors of traditional Polish peasant cottages and workshops. There are also plenty of folk costumes, craft and trade exhibits, alongside extraordinary Nativity scenes, and religious artwork. Temporary exhibits take place at the branch around the corner at ul Krakowska 46 (adult/concession 6/3zł).
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Barbican
The most intriguing remnant of the medieval fortifications, the Barbican is a powerful, circular brick bastion adorned with seven turrets. There are 130 loopholes in its 3m-thick walls. This curious piece of defensive art was built around 1498 as an additional protection of the Florian Gate, and was once connected to it by a narrow passage running over a moat. It’s one of the very few surviving structures of its kind in Europe, and also the largest and perhaps the most beautiful.
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