Krakow Castle

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We knew almost nothing about Krakow before our Easter trip to this ancient and beautiful city. All we knew came from the Eastern European guidebook we brought with us from the States and a few comments by various people at IBTS. Kasha, the young woman from Krakow who was giving us a ride to her hometown, told us that Market Square was very nice and that the old section was flat and that made for very easy walking and sightseeing.

Kasha was right Krakow is flat. It is hard to find a hill or place of high ground in Krakow. In our wanderings we only discovered one such place and, of course, that is where the castle complex stands. While it is high ground, standing above both the city and Vistula river, it is not high ground with an almost vertical cliff as found with many castles in Europe. Rather it is more like a high knoll sitting above the city and the Vistula River that flows through Poland and into the Baltic Sea.

We visited the castle several times as well as the Wawel Cathedral that stands within the castle complex. It seems that everyone who was anyone in Poland is buried in the cathedral. To the left of the main entrance there is a golden dome. Copper domes stand on each side of the golden dome. The cathedral is not as large as some we have seen, but it is worthy of writing home about.

Walking through an archway we entered a large paved courtyard. What stories the paving stones could tell if they could only speak. The arched porches are very pleasing to the eye.

In one corner of the courtyard, actually in the corner of the building is one of the places that some, who believe in these things, say, is the focal point of mystic energy. I cannot remember the word they use to name such a place. There are supposed to be only a few places in the world that are focal points. I have no idea how these believers determine where such a place is located. But this is supposed to be one of those places. So, if you want to “feel the force” go to the castle in Krakow and stand in this corner.

The castle is a popular destination. Each time we visited there were touring groups being led from place to place, listening to lectures and taking myriads of photos. Everyone, or so it seems, has a digital camera and almost nothing that happens in our world is not photographed or recorded in some way or another.

In one corner there is a small outdoor café, serving coffee, soft drinks and light snacks. The proprietors do not mind people, like Nancy and me, sitting at their table, drinking a bottle of water that we brought with us. We found it very pleasant to sit and watch people passing and to admire the architecture of the castle complex.

The castle is built on a small hill, there is no other kind in Krakow, and there is a wall around the complex. It is not a high wall, but high enough to make it more difficult to capture the castle than if it were not there. The surrounding area is quite flat and there is a good view up and down the Vistula River. This would make it difficult to approach the castle unseen. Interestingly the most famous warning of impending invasion did not come from a castle lookout. Rather it came from a trumpeter. I’ll tell you the tale we read about this event in Polish history. In the town square there is a church, the Church of XXXXXXXXX. In centuries past a trumpeter played an hourly Hymn to Our Lady. He was to play the hymn four times and then wait an hour and play the hymn again.

One day as he played he saw a large cloud of dust that grew larger and larger. He realized it was an invading army of Tartars who, more than once, had burned and pillaged Krakow and the surrounding countryside. Thinking quickly he began playing the Hymn to Our Lady over and over as a warning to the people. I am sure that at first this was quite puzzling to the people of the town. After all he was supposed to play the hymn only four times. But soon they realized it was a warning. Soldiers were scrambled to their defensive places on the city wall. Citizens ran into their houses, locking the doors behind them. The trumpeter continued to play until a Tartars arrow pierced him in his throat. Because of the trumpeter’s warning the Tartar’s were fought off and the city was saved.

Now a trumpeter plays the Hymn to Our Lady each hour. Part way through the fourth playing the trumpeter cuts off the hymn on the note that was sounded long ago when the arrow pierced the Trumpeter of Krakow’s throat.

We heard the trumpeter a number of times and looked to see him. For two or three days we could not find him. Apparently the Tartars have very good eyesight. Finally one day we were sitting, enjoying a cup of coffee and a cup of hot chocolate. I was looking at the tower of the church and saw one of the topmost windows open and the trumpeter began playing the hymn.

“Look Nancy,” I said pointing to the tower. “There he is, there where the window is open, the lower window of the top most section.”

Nancy looked for a few second, “Yes, there he is”, she said.

Knowing where to look we saw him several times during the remainder of our stay. Our last full night in Krakow it was dark and we were making our way back to the hotel. By chance, as we neared the church the trumpeter started to play and we had our last look and heard the last note cut off so abruptly as if saying, “Goodbye, but come back again.”

- As a former children’s librarian, I was thrilled to hear and see the famous trumpeter. Children have been reading the award winning book, “The Trumpeter of Krakow” as long as I have been in the profession. I NEVER, ever thought I would be lucky enough to visit Krakow and actually see the tower, hear the music and experience the wonder of Poland. I had never thought of Poland as a fabulous tourist destination but it certainly is just that. Apparently the Poles are very self-effacing. When we got back to the Czech Republic and told others that the Poles of Krakow had told us repeatedly that if we thought Krakow was a good place to visit we would be thrilled to visit southern Poland’s mountains. The Czechs, Russians, Bulgarians, etc. all laughed. They said, “Oh yes, no matter how fabulous a place is that is Polish the Poles refuse to brag about it. They always say somewhere else is better. The other Eastern Europeans think of Polish people in part as those who never acknowledge the greatness, loveliness, etc. of the local wonders. Very humble people. There is much in Poland to brag about and American tourists would be well advised to visit Krakow and then take the suggestions of those who live there to travel even more broadly in the country. Everyone had to agree that the mountains of Poland are magical. What a pity we didn’t have more time to explore. What a wonderful thing it was that Kasha made our long stay in Poland possible for us.

One of our friends who works in the public library here is retiring this fall. She has a ‘thing’ about castles. We bought her retirement gift in the castle area. It is a model of the castle to be cut out, folded, glued and admired! We plan to give it to her this afternoon. We figure she will have to live to be around 99 in order to have time to put the entire castle complex together. We would have liked to have owned one for ourselves but realized we didn’t have the skill and patience to put this enormous model together. One of the neatest things about Poland and the Czech Republic is the availability of these beautiful paper models of most of the fine castles and churches. We bought good paper models of several interesting things to give as gifts but her Krakow Castle is the best of the lot.

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Photos

The Church in the Market Square
The Trumpeter of Krakow plays from the upper window of the tallest tower.