Advertisement
Published: October 19th 2017
Edit Blog Post
After leaving Auschwitz late yesterday, we drove to our next destination, the city of Krakow. Krakow is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River, the city dates back to the 7th century. Krakow has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life and is one of Poland's most important economic hubs.
A legend attributes Kraków's founding to the mythical ruler Krakus, who built it above a cave occupied by a dragon. The city has grown from a Stone Age settlement, which began as a hamlet on Wawel Hill and was already being reported as a busy trading centre of Slavonic Europe in 965. In 1038, Kraków became the seat of the Polish government. By the end of the 10th century, the city was a leading centre of trade. The city was almost entirely destroyed during the Mongol Invasion of 1241. It was rebuilt practically identical, based on new location act and incorporated in 1257 by the Duke Boleslaw V The Chaste.
Austrian rule in Kraków ended in 1918 at the end of the First World War, and Poland enjoyed a
brief few years of relative peace and prosperity. After the invasion at the start of World War II, Germany from the west and Russia from the east, Krakow became the capital of the German General Government, led by the brutal Nazi, Hans Frank. The Jewish population of the city was forced into a walled zone known as the Krakow Ghetto, from which they were sent to German extermination camps such as the nearby Auschwitz, never to return.
Oskar Schindler of Schindler’s List fame, selected employees from the ghetto to work in his enamelware plant in Krakow, thereby saving hundreds from the death camps. In 1978, Karol Wojtyła, Archbishop of Krakow, was elevated to the Papacy as Pope John Paul II, the first Slavic pope ever, and the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.
From the church's main tower a trumpet call is sounded every hour. The melody, which used to announce the opening and closing of city gates, ends unexpectedly each time it is played in midstream.
After a good breakfast at our Hotel, we caught the tram in this morning for our morning Walking tour of Krakow. Unfortunately, we arrived
late in the Old Town due to incorrect advice at our Hotel as to where we should get off the tram. We ended up joining the tour one hour in. Jana was very informative about the history of Krakow, and walked us through the Old Town, from Market Square up to Wawel Hill, where the well preserved Royal Wawel Castle is located, along with Wawel Cathedral. One of the interesting stories from Jana, involved Karol Wojtyła as a young Uni Student just prior to World War II. He was studying at the Catholic University in Krakow when war broke out, and the Nazis first imprisoned, then released all of the Uni Professors, on the basis that they no longer tutored their students. The Nazis intended to wipe out all of Poland's intellectuals. The Professors continued to lecture in secret, with Karol disguising himself as a Monk to avoid being discovered, whilst he continued his studies. Later he became a Priest, and eventually became Pope John Paul II.
We joined the afternoon Walking Tour of Krakow, capably led by Anje, for the first hour of the tour. Anje walked us from the Barbican through to Market Square, detailing
the early history of the city. After the tour, we walked through to the National Museum, to see Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting, Lady With An Ermine. Unfortunately, it was a Monday and the museum was closed. We then walked through the Old Town, looking in churches and shops, and then walked down to the river to see the fiery dragon.
After taming the dragon, we caught a tram back to our Hotel accommodation. We found Krakow to be a much larger city than we envisioned, with a very well preserved Old Town.
Tomorrow, we have a long drive ahead of us, west across Poland to the German city of Dresden.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.309s; Tpl: 0.011s; cc: 6; qc: 45; dbt: 0.0891s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb