Eastern Europe - Krakow. Poland

No 27 Email. Krakow – Poland

To go to my hostel reception from the train station, I had to go thru Krakow’s Main Square.

Not a bad introduction to a new city. I liked it immediately!. From the part of this hostel, where the reception is located they put me on a taxi to the other part of the hostel just north of the square.

Krakow’s Square, 200 meters by 200 meters is, apparently, the largest medieval square in Europe. In the center is the large Clothing Hall which today is full of souvenir shops. Unfortunately the outside of the Hall is being refurbished and is full of scaffoldings.

The Old town’s main entrance is thru a fort sitting outside the Old Town’s main walls, then over a bridged moat and finally thru the Florian Gate. A long street (Ulica Florianska) leads directly into the main square. The first thing you see is a McDonald on the left side! The street is full of tourist’s attractions; restaurants, nite clubs, souvenirs shops etc…

The Square, full of outdoor restaurants, colorful flower stands, street musicians, and other activities is where Krakow lives!

To the left of the square sits the last edition of St Mary’s Church, that was (rebuilt) 800 years ago. 239 steps up the church’s tallest tower gives you a wonderful overview of the square.

The inside of the church, with its starry blue ceiling, is very beautiful and the three-part Gothic altarpiece,by German Veit Stross, is supposed to be one of the best medieval woodcarving in existence.

There is another church on the square, the tiny Church of St. Adalbert where a string quartet from the Royal Chamber Orchestra is playing wonderful pieces of classical and other music.

I am not terribly found of ‘chamber’ music but when I saw the program listing pieces such as J.Pachelbel’ Canon, The Godfather, the Theme from Schindler’s List, Summertime, Hungarian Dances, I decided to give it a try. It was wonderful ! I could not believe that a string quartet could produce such incredible sounds. I think that the small church acoustical qualities also contributed to the effect. I enjoyed it so much that I went back the next day for another wonderful experience.

The Square is part of the Royal Way, so called because the king used to follow the same path when returning to Krakow after a journey. The walk goes by several churches and eventually climbs up to Wawel Hill (the most visited sight in the country) the Wawel Cathedral.

Architecturally, the far side of the cathedral presents an eclectic ensemble of centuries of seemingly haphazard additions. From left to right, 14^th century gothic, 12^th century Romanesque, 16^th and 17^th century Renaissance, and 18^th and 19^th century Neoclassical.

Somehow it works (you be the juges. Near the top of the hill is an equestrian statue of Tadenz Kosciuszko. A name that should be familiar to American history buffs, as he was a hero of the American Revolution and he also helped in the design of West Point.

From Krakow I joined an organized tour to a Salt Mine and another to Auschwitz and Birkenau.

Or sometimes referred to as Auschwitz I and Auschwitz II. Some of the rooms of Auschwitz I have been turned into a museum.

Some rooms display material evidence of the crimes that took place here, such as pile of shoes, eyeglasses, crutches and prosthetics limbs, suitcases, etc….

We could go on forever but what really got to me to the point of making me sick was viewing one of the gas chamber and the adjoining crematorium.

Even after visiting the complexes I am still depressed and unable to understand how this could have taken place.

I also walked to Schindler’s factory located in a run-down industrial area close to Krakow.

Next Warsaw.