Krakow, Pt. 1

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Thanks to all my readers, glad you like it! So, last weekend we went to Krakow. The first day, we had a five-hour long tour walking around the old city. A recap:

We went to the old town, where, instead of the walls there used to be, is now grassy areas in a kind of oval-like shape encircling it all. We walked along that, passed a church and the archbishop's house. There, in a window, is a picture of John Paul II, who lived there as an archbishop and stayed there when he visited. Unlike most places in Poland, the grass had been somewhat trod upon-- apparently, the Catholic youth gather there for events, etc. The guide, who was excellent, said the younger generation is more faithful than many of their parents, because of JP2. Having noticed a number of young nuns and priests/seminarians in Poland, I think this must be true. There was also a number of pictures of the popes (Benedict was included, although I think we can all guess who got better billing, lol). The pictures were adorable. There was JP2 on a boat, in the arctic, with Native Americans, and, as below, with a koala!



We also walked by an old college building I want to say. Krakow surrendered immediately to save the buildings when the Nazis came. But they were not spared everything. Krakow had a significant Jewish population that ended up mainly at Auschwitz, which is nearby. In that building we saw, there was also a sad story. The Nazis invited all the professors at Jagellonian University to it for a lecture on Nazi education theories or something like that. When they showed up, they were all arrested and deported to camps.


Wawel Hill, where the palace and cathedral are

We continued walking and went up the long hill to the cathedral and palace. The cathedral was beautiful. Outside, while waiting in the line, I figured out a poster that said Sunday, the 4th, they would be making John Paul II a Servant of God (a step to sainthood). The church is, of course, beautiful inside. I saw the grave of St. Stanislaw there, who was, apparently, the Polish version of Thomas Becket-- the king had him killed because they kept butting heads over who controlled the church. Apparently, he was cut up and scattered around the church where he was killed, but when they collected the pieces up and put them together in the coffin, they miraculously joined together again. Many saw this as a sign of hope for Poland itself, which was carved up but Prussia, Russia and Austria. It came true, too, as it did again in WWII when Germany and the Soviet Union cut it up, and it was restored afterwards (and fully restored in 1989). We weren't supposed to take pictures in there, so unfortunately I can't show you much, but I did mention to the guide that if we were allowed, I would take a picture of his grave because my little sister loves the name Stanislav so much. She said she thought it would be okay without a flash, so here it is:



Every king of Poland after that one would march on foot from the Cathedral to where Stanislaw had been killed (about 500m I think the guide said) the day before his coronation. It was not taken to be a valid coronation unless he made this journey. I believe Stanislaw was killed in the 10th or 11th century, but don't quote me. 😊

We also learned about St. Jadwiga, a Polish king and then the Polish queen-- no lies. There was some king who died without legitimate heirs and so searching through relatives, they came upon Jadwiga (Hedwig in English), a 12 year old at the time. She was crowned king! Later on, through her marriage to a Lithuanian prince, the Lithuanians were all converted to Catholocism (they'd been playing with both Poland and Russia on whether they would go Catholic or Orthodox). There are little miracle stories about her, there are lots of beautiful legends in Krakow!, that she gave a jewel from her foot to a poor mason, and when she left, her foot had left an imprint on the stone. She saved Jagellonian University from going out of business by giving it a lot of her personal wealth. She was also very devout, and I think it was a love-match between her and her husband, which is nice. Unfortunately she died in childbirth at 26, but she sounds like an absolutely incredible young woman, especially given her times. John Paul II canonised her.

Okay, well, unfortunately I am out of time right now, but hopefully I can get Krakow, Pt. 2 up soon! Thanks for reading and any comments!
~Zee

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Comments

[Linda]

Messy!
LOL! How messy of the killers to scatter poor Stanislaw that way. At least we buried Beckett in one piece, albeit somewhat punctured:) Thank you for the interesting bits of history and the fascinating photos!