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Krakow Maps & Attractions Guide
Krakow maps & Attractions - Things to do
in Krakow
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Krakow
Attractions - Things to do
1. Main Market Square (Rynek Glówny)
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What is it? Dating from 1257, the Central Market Square
was one of the largest squares in Medieval Europe, and is the
social heart of Krakow today. Surrounded by historic buildings,
museums and magnificent churches, the impressive expanse of
flagstones is a hub of commercial and social activity. Flower
sellers, ice-cream vendors, musicians, pigeons, students and groups
of tourists fill the square. Occupying the centre of the square is
the splendid medieval Cloth Hall, a covered arcade with a soaring
vaulted interior where merchants once sold their wares; today it is
filled with lively market stalls. The upstairs art gallery houses a
collection of 19th century Polish paintings and sculptures. Along
the outside walls of the building are elegant terrace cafes. Most
famous of these is the Noworolski, which was the centre of Krakow
social life before the war, with Lenin a notorious regular. The
cafe has now regained its reputation as the prime cake and coffee
venue in the city. The most striking church on the square is St
Mary's, an impressive twin-spire Gothic structure. Every hour a
mournful bugle sounds from the tallest church spire in memory of
the lone watchman whose trumpeted warning of an invasion was cut
off mid-note by a Turkish arrow in the throat. Within is the famous
carved wooden altar, a majestic piece of Gothic
art.
Hours of Operation:
Phone: |
2. Wawel
www.wawel.krakow.pl |
What is it? Overlooking the city is Wawel, a hill topped
with the castle complex, including Wawel Castle and beside it, the
gothic Cathedral. It was here that the Polish kings of the 14th to
the 17th centuries were crowned and buried and it lies at the heart
of Polish history. The Renaissance-style Royal Castle is now a
museum and the historic interior houses an astonishing collection
of treasures from the Polish monarchy, including tapestries, period
furniture and paintings. Visitors can see the Royal Private
Apartments, Crown Treasury, Armoury, and the State Rooms. The Royal
Cathedral was the coronation and burial site of all of Poland's
monarchs, many of whom are interred in the Royal Tombs. Of the many
royal chapels, the golden-domed Renaissance Chapel of King
Sigismund is the finest. The bell tower can be climbed for views
over the city and to see the enormous 11-tonne
bell.
Hours of Operation: Wawel Hill: open daily from 6am to 8pm (April to
September), and from 6am to 6pm (October to March). The various
castle attractions are open on Mondays from 9.30am to noon; Tuesday
and Friday 9.30am to 4pm; Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday 9.30am
to 3pm; Sunday 10am to 3pm. The Royal Private Apartments are closed
on Mondays. The Cathedral is open Monday to Saturday 9am to 5pm,
and Sunday from 12.15pm
Phone:(0)12 422 1697 or 422 5155 ext 291 |
3. Kazimierz District and the Old Synagogue
Old Synagogue: Ulica Szeroka 24
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What is it? Once a separate town and now an inner suburb
of Krakow, the Kazimierz quarter was the centre of Jewish religion,
culture and learning and the home of the city's large Jewish
population before the war. Badly damaged during the Nazi
occupation, with most of the residents either killed or deported to
the nearby death camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau during the
Holocaust, today it has been rebuilt so visitors can admire the
restored historical architecture and experience daily Jewish life.
Its renewed interest was brought about by Spielberg's film
Schindler's List that was set in Kazimierz,
and the Jewish culture of the area is being livened up by art
galleries, kosher restaurants and specific cultural events. The Old
Synagogue is part of the Historical Museum of the City of Krakow,
and houses a permanent exhibition, 'Tradition and Culture of Polish
Jews', where the collection of physical memories from the Kazimierz
Jewish community is kept.
Hours of Operation: Old Synagogue: Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and
Sunday 9am to 3.30pm; Friday 11am to 6pm; closed
Mondays
Phone:(0)12 422 0962 |
4. Wieliczka Salt Mine
Ul. Danilowicza 10, Wieliczka
www.kopalnia.pl |
What is it? The Salt Mine at Wieliczka is a unique
underground complex that has been in continuous use since its
construction in the Middle Ages and is a UNESCO World Cultural
Heritage Monument. The series of labyrinthine tunnels, chambers,
galleries and underground lakes are spread over nine levels and
reach a depth of more than 1,000ft (304m), but visitors are
restricted to a tour of three levels. Following winding
passageways, hand-hewn between the 17th and 19th centuries,
visitors are guided to magnificently carved chapels, past salt
sculptures created by previous mine workers and through huge
crystalline caverns. Among the chambers is the oldest creation in
the mine, the 17th century solid salt Chapel of St Anthony. The
highlight of the tour is the Blessed Kinga Chapel, dedicated to the
patron saint of Polish mine workers. Everything in this huge ornate
chapel is carved from salt, including the altar and chandeliers,
and the walls are covered in beautiful sculptured pictures. A dark,
clanking lift whisks visitors back to the surface at the end of the
guided tour. The world's first subterranean therapeutic sanatorium
is situated 656ft (200m) below the surface and makes use of the
saline air for the treatment of asthma. There is also a Salt-Works
museum that documents the history of the mine and the local
geological formation with primitive mining tools and machines on
display.
Hours of Operation: Daily 7.30am to 7.30pm (April to October), and 8am to
5pm (November to March). Closed on 1 January, Easter Sunday, 1
November, and 4, 24, 25 and 31 December
Phone:(12) 278 7302 |
5. Auschwitz Memorial Museum
Ul. Wiezniow Oswiecimia 20
www.auschwitz-muzeum.oswiecim.pl |
What is it? The Auschwitz concentration camp is actually
made up of three camps - Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II-Birkenau and
Auschwitz III. Together the complex forms the largest cemetery in
the world preserved as a sombre memorial to the victims of the
Holocaust, commemorating the hundreds of thousands of people
exterminated there by the Nazis during the Second World War. The
Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum was established in 1947 and visitors have
access to both camps and can wander freely around the structures,
ruins and gas chambers, and visit the exhibits displayed in the
surviving prison blocks at Auschwitz I. The hushed atmosphere is
one of shock and revulsion from the moment visitors enter the
barbed-wire compound through the iron gate, ironically inscribed
with the words 'Arbeit Macht Frei' (Work Makes Free). The buildings
contain displays of photographs and horrific piles of personal
articles of the victims, including battered suitcases, and
thousands of spectacles, hair and shoes collected from the bodies.
The experience is vivid and disturbing. There are also general
exhibitions dedicated to the Jews and their history as well as an
interesting documentary film screened in the museum's cinema.
Birkenau sees far fewer tourists as it has less visitor facilities
and much of the camp was destroyed by the retreating Nazis, but it
is here that the sheer scale of the tragedy can be experienced,
with a viewing platform to give some perspective over the vast
fenced in area stretching as far as the eye can see. Birkenau was
the principal camp where the extermination of millions took place,
a chillingly efficient set-up with rows of barracks and four
colossal gas chambers and ovens. Purpose-built railway tracks lead
through the huge gateway, terminating in the camp, by means of
which victims were transported from the ghettos to the camp in
crowded box-like carts, often being led straight into the gas
chambers upon arrival.
Hours of Operation: Daily 8am to 3pm (16 December to February), 8am to
4pm (March, November and 1-15 December), 8am to 5pm (April and
October), 8am to 6pm (May and September), 8am to 7pm (June, July
and August)
Phone:(033) 844 8102 |
6. Galicia Jewish Museum
Ul. Dajwor 18
www.galiciajewishmuseum.org |
What is it? Situated in the heart of Kazimierz, the
Jewish Quarter of Krakow, the Galicia Jewish Museum houses a
permanent photographic exhibition, "Traces of Memory", documenting
the history of the Jewish people in the villages and towns of
Poland. This poignant museum also hosts a range of special events,
lectures and Jewish music concerts. It also has a well-stocked
bookshop.
Hours of Operation: Daily 9am to 8pm, closed on Yom Kippur
Phone:(12) 421 6842 |
Krakow Holidays guide
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Transport -Buses and trams are the easiest and
cheapest way to get around in Krakow, though they can be crowded
during rush hour.
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