The fourth largest
city in Poland, Krakow (Cracow) is the new capital of the Malopolska (Little Poland)
region in the southeast of the country, between the Jura uplands and the Tatra
Mountains. This magical city, on the banks of the Wisla (Vistula) River, has one
of the best-preserved medieval city centres in Europe, with dozens of churches
covering almost every architectural period and surrounded by monasteries and abbeys.
Laid
out in 1257, the Rynek Glowny (Main Market Square) is one of the largest medieval
market squares in Europe - and a remarkable set piece fronted by elegant façades.
It is dominated by the sixteenth-century Sukiennice (Cloth Hall), which continues
to perform its role as a trading centre with lively market stalls and pavement
cafés in and around the building. The surrounding lanes of the Stare Miasto
(Old Town) are ringed by the Planty, a leafy, linear park that follows the line
of the Old Town walls. Wawel Hill, to the south, is home to Wawel Castle, the
seat of Polish kings from the eleventh to the early seventeenth century. It was
at this location, in 1000, that the bishopric of Krakow was established and the
Cathedral remains the spiritual home of Poland.
The city has largely been
left intact since the Tartar raids of the thirteenth century - and this accounts
for the largely unspoilt Old Town - now a World Heritage Site. One area that has
seen traumatic changes is the Kazimierz district. For centuries it was a centre
of Jewish culture, until the Nazis killed many of its residents and deported most
of the rest to the wartime ghetto and thence to Auschwitz-Birkenau. An astonishing
one third of tourists visit Krakow within the context of a visit to the concentration
camps an hour's drive away.
Although the former ghetto had largely fallen into decline since World War II,
the area is rapidly changing in response to the renewed interest brought about
by the film, Schindler's List and the Jewish culture, if not the Jewish community,
is being revived with lively Klezmer concerts in the city's theatres.
Krakow's
millennium coincided with the Krakow 2000 festival - a celebration of the city's
many musical, literary and artistic achievements - and the choice of Krakow as
one of the nine European Cities of Culture for 2000. The recognition of Krakow
as a cultural capital is justly deserved - almost a quarter of Poland's museum
holdings can be found here and the city's cultural scene is without equal in Poland.
While Warsaw may be Poland's administrative capital - Krakow is frequently referred
to as Poland's cultural capital.
Krakow is steeped in myth and legend and
many of its medieval traditions have carried forward to the present day. The city's
cultural heritage is mirrored in its intellectual achievements - the Jagiellonian
University is the oldest in Poland. The student population of the city numbers
almost 100,000 and this can be felt in the lively atmosphere throughout the city.
Added to this are the increasing numbers of tourists who have discovered Krakow.
In response to this, even more bars, cafés and restaurants have been opening
up, making the city centre all the more attractive a place to enjoy. Summers tend
to be busy, as the weather is at its most pleasant. The seasons are sharply differentiated,
with cold, snowy winters and 'fresh' springs and autumns - visitors should beware
of the locals' use of the word 'fresh' - an optimistic reference to blatantly
cold weather. The labyrinthine cellars of the Old Town are an ideal place to huddle
in escape of the winter weather.
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