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| Cracow
Sightseeing |
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Sightseeing Overview
Cracow is extremely easy to navigate on foot as most of the main sights are located within the Planty, a leafy park that forms a green belt around the historic centre or Stare Miasto (Old Town). The epicentre of tourist Cracow is the Rynek Glowny (Main Market Square), one of Europe’s most striking public spaces, which is overrun by tourists during the high season. Relaxing in a pavement café here is a nice way to get acquainted with the city. Furthere away from the main square, busy Grodzka leads towards Wzgorze Wawelskie (Wawel Hill), the buttress where Cracow’s castle complex overlooks the city. It was here the Polish Kings ruled from the 14th to 17th centuries and there is enough to see to occupy at least a day or two, including the Castle itself, the State Rooms, Treasury and Armoury, Royal Tombs and Wawel Cathedral.
10 minutes’ walk from Wawel is the district of Kazimierz, southeast of the Old Town, where the city’s sizeable Jewish population used to prosper before the Nazis arrived. There is little of sightseeing merit on the other bank of the sleepy Wisla River (Vistula River), apart from the old wartime Jewish ghetto of Podgorze, an area which has received an ever growing number of visitors since the release of Schindler’s List in 1993.
Tourist Information
Cracow Tourist Information Centre
Ulica Szpitalna 25 (Kiosk on Planty)
Telephone: (012) 432 0110/0060.
Website: www.krakow.pl
Opening hours: Mon-Sun 0900-1700 (Oct-May), Mon-Sun 0800-2000 (Jun-Sep).
There is a tourist information centre on ulica Jozefa 7 for the Kazimierz District (tel: (012) 422 0471) and one on os. Centrum B (tel: (012) 685 5900) for Nowa Huta District. In high season, there is a tourist information centre in the Town Hall Tower on the main market square.
A cultural centre, offering full tourist information service to Cracow and the Malopolska Region, is located at ulica Sw Jana 2 (tel: (012) 421 7787). Jordan, on ulica Pawia 8 (tel: (012) 422 6091), also offers information and tours.
The Malopolska Tourist Information Centre
Rynek Glowny 1/3 (main market square)
Telephone: (012) 421 7706.
Website: www.mcit.pl
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 0900-1800, Sat 0900-1400.
Passes
The Krakow Tourist Card, available for 2 or 3 days, entitles the holder to free travel on city buses and trams (including bus 192 to the airport) and to free entry in up to 32 Krakow museums. For additional information visit www.krakowcard.com .
Key Attractions
Rynek Glowny (Main Market Square)
Dating from 1257, this was one of the biggest market squares in medieval Europe. Occupying the centre of the square, the Sukiennice (Cloth Hall) is filled with market stalls in its vaulted ground floor passages. Along the sides of the building, pavement cafés draw locals and tourists. A branch of the National Museum is upstairs.
Surrounding the square are remarkable period houses and two of the city’s most important churches. Kosciol sw Wojciecha (St Adalbert’s Church) dates from the 10th century and is the oldest extant church in Cracow, however it is the Gothic Kosciol Mariacki (St Mary’s Church), with its twin spires, that really catches the eye. Within this church is the 15th century Chapel of Our Lady of Czestochowa and Wit Stwosz’s large stone crucifix and wooden polyptych, The Dormition of the Virgin of 1477-1489, the largest Gothic altar in Europe. Above the organ loft, the church also boasts excellent 14th century stained glass and Art Nouveau works by Wyspianski and Mehoffer. The taller of the two towers was the city’s watch tower and every hour the heynal is played by the town trumpeter, who cuts off the last note to commemorate the death of a trumpeter killed by a Turkish arrow.
Also on the square is the Wieza ratuszowa (Town Tower), the only surviving part of the town hall, which dates from the 14th century.
St Mary’s Church
Rynek Glowny
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 1150-1800, Sun 1400-1800.
Free admission, charge to see the altar.
Zamek Krolewski (Royal Castle)
From the year 1000, when the bishopric of Cracow was established, Wzgorze Wawelskie (Wawel Hill) has been at the core of Poland’s history. Situated at Wawel, the Royal Castle was the seat of Poland’s kings from the 11th to the early 17th century. The majority of the castle is in Renaissance style (1504-35), although Romanesque and Gothic elements remain. Presently, it is a museum, and among the treasures in the historic interior of the State Rooms is a collection of 16th century Flemish tapestries, paintings and period furniture. Other separate sections of the castle open to public includes the Royal Private Apartments and the Crown Treasury and Armoury. Also worth a look is The Lost Wawel exhibit, which showcases the excavated remains of Wawel’s original buildings, including foundations of the oldest known church in Poland, the early 11th century Rotunda of St Felix and St Adauctus. The Museum of Oriental Art has an excellent collection of Near and Far Eastern art, including important 17th century Turkish items. More whimsical is the Dragon’s Den, a karstic cave reached by a spiral staircase, where Prince Gracchus (Krak) allegedly killed the Wawel dragon.
Wawel 5
Telephone: (012) 422 5155 ext. 291.
Website: www.wawel.krakow.pl
Opening hours: Wawel Hill: daily 0600-2000 (Apr-Sep); daily 0600-1700hrs (Oct-Mar). Attractions: Mon 1930-1200hrs, Tues and Fri 0930-1600, Wed and Thurs 0930-150hrs0, Sat 0930-1500hrs and Sun 1000-1500hrs. Royal Apartments and Oriental Art closed Mon. Dragon’s Den: daily 1000-1700hrs.
Admission charge; concessions available; free Mon (where open) except the Dragon’s Den.
Katedra Wawelska (Wawel Cathedral)
Part of Wawel, this cathedral, also known as the Archcathedral Church of SS Venceslaus and Stanislaus or the Royal Cathedral, is the coronation site and burial place of almost all of Poland’s monarchs. It was built in the 11th century by King Boleslaw the Brave after Cracow was made a bishopric. Though there are Romanesque elements, the overall impact is determined by the 14th century Gothic structure. The relics of St Stanislaw, the patron saint of Cracow and Poland, are kept here. Of the many royal chapels that are there, the Renaissance Chapel of King Zygmunt (Sigismund) stands out. It is possible to climb the tower to see the 11 tonne Zygmunt Bell and enjoy the beautiful view.
Wawel 3
Telephone: (012) 422 5155.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat 0900-1700hrs, Sun 1215-1700hrs (May-Sep); Mon-Sat 0900-1500hrs, Sun 1215-1500hrs (Nov-Mar).
Admission charge; concessions available.
Muzeum Narodowe (National Museum)
The museum’s large collection is located in many separate buildings, including the Czartoryski Museum (see below). The Main Building houses a collection of decorative art, 20th century Polish art and Polish arms and national colours, in addition to the temporary exhibitions. The Gallery in the Cloth Hall, Rynek Glowny 1/3 (tel: (012) 422 1166) exhibits 19th century Polish art and temporary exhibitions.
Aleja 3 Maja 1
Telephone: (012) 295 5500.
Website: www.muzeum.krakow.pl (Polish only)
Opening hours: (Main building) Tues-Thur and Sun 1000-1530hrs, Fri-Sat 1000-1800hrs; (Cloth Hall) Tues, Thur and Sat 1000-1530hrs, Wed and Fri 1000-1800hrs.
Admission charge; concessions available; free Sun.
Muzeum Czartoryskich (Czartoryski Museum)
A large collection of ancient art from Egypt and Greece, as well as Oriental artefacts, weapons and Turkish carpets can be found here. European sculpture and paintings cover the 13th to 18th centuries – the most famous works here are Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine and Rembrandt’s Landscape with the Good Samaritan.
Ulica sw Jana 19
Telephone: (012) 422 5566.
Website: www.muzeum-czartoryskich.krakow.pl (Polish only)
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1550hrs (Fri until 1800).
Admission charge; concessions available; free Sun.
Muzeum Historyczne Miasta Krakowa (History Museum of the City of Cracow)
This museum’s collection is spread over many sites. The branch in Rynek Glowny occupies 3 burgher houses and displays objects from Cracow’s earliest times. Other galleries showcase an assortment of portraiture and antique clocks.
Krzysztofory Palace
Rynek Glowny 35
Telephone: (012) 422 9922.
Website: www.mhk.pl (Polish only)
Opening hours: Tues, Wed, Fri 0900-1530hrs, Thurs 1100-1800hrs.
Admission charge; concessions available.
Stara Synagoga or Alte Shul (Old Synagogue)
Kazimierz was initially a separate town, only merging with Cracow in 1868. Here the memories of the Jewish community who lived in the Kazimierz district for centuries are collected in physical form. Part of the Historical Museum of the City of Cracow, the Old Synagogue accomodates a permanent exhibit – Tradition and Culture of Polish Jews. The Synagogue was built in the 15th century and reconstructed with Renaissance aspects by the Florentine architect, Matteo Gucci, after the fire of 1574. The surrounding area had been ignored until Steven Spielberg’s film, Schindler’s List (1993), drew attention to the Kazimierz (there are also a number of sites around the former wartime ghetto, south of the Vistula River, which are included in tours). The only two functioning synagogues in Cracow (Remuh Synagoga, ulica Szeroka 40, with cemetery attached, and Isaak Synagoga, ulica Kupa 18, which shows documentary films) are located nearby.
Ulica Szeroka 24
Telephone/fax: (012) 422 0962.
Opening hours: Mon 1000-1400hrs, Tues-Sun 1000-1700hrs.
Admission charge; concessions available; free Mon.
Muzeum Uniwersytetu Jagiellonskiego (Jagiellonian University Museum)
Housed in the mid 15th century Collegium Maius, the oldest building of the Cracow Academy (the university’s forerunner) this museum is home to an eclectic collection. The University was founded in the year 1364 and reformed by King Wladyslaw Jagiello in the year 1400. Visits are by guided tours only, which includes important rooms and reconstructed professors’ chambers, as well as significant historical objects, such as astronomical instruments that may have been used by Copernicus.
Ulica Jagiellonska 15
Telephone:(012) 422 0549.
Website: www.uj.edu.pl/muzeum
Opening hours: Mon-Fri 1100-1500, Sat 1100-1400 (last entry 40 minutes before closing time); closed Sun and holidays.
Admission charge; concessions available; free Sat.
Further Distractions
Muzeum Archidiecezjalne (Archdiocesan Museum)
Sacral art from the Cracow Archdiocese, 13th century paintings and Pope John Paul II’s room (he lived here twice) are among the attractions in this 14th-century canonic house. A number of the presents received by the late Polish pontiff in his role as pope from many world leaders are also on display.
Ulica Kanonicza 19-21
Telephone: (012) 421 8963 or 628 8211.
Opening hours: Tue-Fri 1000-1600hrs, Sat-Sun 1000-1500hrs.
Admission charge; concessions available.
Centrum Sztuki i Techniki Japonskiej Manggha (‘Manggha’ Centre of Japanese Art and Technology)
While its appearance may be at odds with Cracow’s several historic buildings, this centre has one of the continent’s finest collection of ancient Japanese art housed in a sleek, glass and concrete building designed by Arata Isozaki. The compilation was created by Felix ‘Manggha’ Jasienski (1861-1929), who first discovered Japenese art while studying in Paris in the 1880s. He adopted the alias‘Manggha’ from a transliteration of the Japenese ‘manga’ – the title of Hokusu’s famous series of sketches. He collected throughout his life and bestowed the collection to the National Museum in the year 1920. However, there was no place to show it until the new museum was opened in the year 1994.
Ulica M Konopnickiej 26
Telephone: (012) 267 2703.
Website: www.manggha.krakow.pl
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1800hrs.
Admission charge; concessions available; free Sun.
Nowa Huta (New Town)
Though all traces of Communist rule are being systematically erased from the Old Town, those with an interest in ‘Real Socialist’ architecture can travel out of town to the model Soviet suburb of Nowa Huta. Tours are run by the PTTK Association (tel: (012) 643 7905).
This ‘New Town’, with its wide boulevards, geometrically ordered streets and imposing buildings, extends from the Central Square. Yet while it characterises Communist architectural style, it also displays the Poles’ resistance to certain features of Communism – as can be witnessed by the Church of the Virgin Mary Queen of Poland (designed by Wojciech Peitrzyk), constructed between 1967 and 1977 in the Bienczyce Quarter.
Not everything in Nowa Huta is brand new. The Church of St Bartholomew (located at ulica Klasztorna, just in front of the 18th century Cistercian Abbey), built by Maciej Maczka, dates from 1466 and is Poland’s only surviving example of a medieval wooden church. Now part of the European Culture Programme, the church houses some very beautiful 14th century wall paintings and a sculpture of Jesus. According to a local belief, hair is said to grow from the head of the statue. The church is open 24 hours a day.
Also worth visiting is Centrum, the Gallery of Nowa Huta Cultural Centre, located at aleja Jana Pawla II (tel: (012) 644 2863).
Nowohuckie Centrum Kultury (Centre of Culture in Nowa Huta)
Aleja Jana Pawla II 232
Telephone: (012) 644 0266.
Website: www.nh.pl or www.nck.krakow.pl |
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