Part-2 of a Trilogy comprising Warsaw, Krakow and Auschwitz

Krakow: The City with Many Faces

Krakow: The City with Many Faces
One of the many old churches – Kazimierz Area

While Krakow, the second largest city in Poland, may have been relegated from being the capital of Poland during medieval times to being the capital of Lesser Poland today, its charm surely has not lessened. In fact, in the year 2000, it was declared one of the European Capitals of Culture. Not only that, this year it has been selected as the European City of Sports.

Krakow: The City with Many Faces
Open park in new Krakow – a haven for walkers, cyclists, skaters and more

It projects multiple identities. The area around Wawel Castle and Town Square (a UNESCO World Heritage site) is distinctly medieval. Ghetto, the Jewish quarters, Kazimierz, and the Schindler’s Factory collectively have a WW-II Holocaust gestalt. The riverside of Vistula (or Wisła in Polish) is as scenic as any other European city on banks of a river and the newer outskirts of the city have a strong European countryside imprint. That prompts me to call Krakow the city with many faces.

Krakow: The City with Many Faces
Jewish Quarters

Many things fascinated me about Krakow and these were instrumental in my cancelling my trip to Prague as Krakow itself offered plenty to see and experience. I was fortunate to have a couple of local friends act as guides. They helped me determine my itinerary. I decided to do what the locals in Krakow would.

Krakow: The City with Many Faces
Scenes from Schindler’s List that were shot at this location

I spent a couple of evenings in the Kazimierz area generally strolling around the Jewish quarters of the city, checking out an old building block where Steven Spielberg shot ‘Schindler’s List’, visiting a Jewish cemetery and sipping beer at roadside cafés popular amongst the locals.

Krakow: The City with Many Faces
Singer Pub in Kazimierz – Old Singer Sewing Machines are guest tables here

I also spent almost half a day in the Town Square. It is the largest town square in Europe. Besides housing the Renaissance Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) and the old clock tower, it also has St. Mary’s church, a Hard Rock Café, a few bronze statues and a few score roadside cafés.

Krakow: The City with Many Faces
The courtyard, which links Jozefa street with Meiselsa street, in Kazimierz, where the ‘Schindler’s List’ scene of Podgorze Ghetto being liquidated was shot

That sunny afternoon in the main market square turned rainy in a couple of hours. Mesmerised, I watched the rain while an endless stream of people, with or without umbrellas, walked, cycled or skated about the square. My viewing vantage was the outdoor summer lounge of Hawełka – a restaurant established in 1876!

Krakow: The City with Many Faces
A horse-drawn carriage in Town Square
Krakow: The City with Many Faces
A roadside cafe in Wolbrum, en route Ogrodzieniec Castle

Another afternoon, I found myself collecting ink-stamped postcard souvenirs in ‘Schindler’s Factory’, which has now been turned in to a museum. It vividly illustrates the role played by Oskar Schindler in saving the lives of hundreds of Jews while Nazis were sending them all to Auschwitz and other concentration and extermination camps. This is certainly the best curated museum I have ever seen.

Krakow: The City with Many Faces
Schindler’s Factory signage
Krakow: The City with Many Faces
Flag of Nazi Germany exhibited in Schindler’s Factory

I even devoted a day driving out to a couple of ancient castles (Zámek in Polish), which attract local weekend picnickers. It was a joy to drive through quaint small towns where the cemeteries had fresh flowers on every grave, thick forests had well-defined walking trails, roadside offered a view of freshly harvested fields with rolled up hay bails and every face you saw had a genuine smile.

Krakow: The City with Many Faces
Pieskowa Skała Castle (literally translates to ‘Little Dog’s Rock’) near Krakow
Krakow: The City with Many Faces
Krakow countryside – just after harvesting

One of the castles we visited was in ruins – the Ogrodzieniec Castle. This late 14th century castle is perhaps the most scenic one I have ever seen. The landscape around is idyllic, the calcium (limestone) rocks in the vicinity have a character and the approach to the castle ruins had a carnival feel. Locals from Krakow throng here for a weekend outing. Since it was a warm summer day, there were plenty of ice cream and drink kiosks. I found visitors donning both, the most modern attire and the period outfits.

Krakow: The City with Many Faces
Ogrodzieniec Castle
Krakow: The City with Many Faces
A bow-arrow wielding girl at Ogrodzieniec Castle in a near-medieval costume

In Krakow, it didn’t surprise me to see buskers playing concert instruments like the cello or the concert flute, the tourists sipping a Tyskie beer in stagecoach drawn by a couple of well-fed, well-looked after, spotted stallions, or even a roadside café using old sewing machines as tables for the guests. Like Warsaw, cycling seems a religion even in Krakow. Despite its many ups and downs, the disposition of the city is generally happy and I have no hesitation is saying that here is a city I would perhaps want to settle down in.

Krakow: The City with Many Faces
Pawas Cemetery near Krakow

Comments

comments

19 COMMENTS

  1. When I was a little girl I used to want to visit Poland because I had an elderly neighbor who was Polish who I spent a lot of time with. I had forgotten about that!

  2. You have brought alive the different faces of Krakow. I liked the photo of the girl with the bow and arrow, the look is so enigmatic.
    Is she a professional model or a local?

  3. Krakow has such a history with so many players and events. Every time I see an article about it I’m impressed with how well it’s held up, even though there’s been a lot of intense restoration. And I love that the people are friendly enough that it’s worth mentioning.

  4. Funny how I had a mental image of Krakow and now I realise it has nothing in common with the real thing! The market square is somehow similar to what I had in mind but I had no idea the city was as varied or that it had castle as peculiar as Ogrodzieniec Castle – really beautiful and unusual

  5. Krakow is an amazing city, We have visited twice and are heading back to Poland again this year at Christmas time. Hope to visit the Christmas market in the old town square

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