Blogs from Lesser Poland, Poland, Europe - page 4

The next morning, having sussed the tram ticket question, we were all set to go. The exhibition at what was Schindler’s factory was incredible, immersing you in the times through film, lighting, audio and stage sets that disoriented you completely through the use of screen printed images on floor to ceiling glass panels. Was that another person over there? Have I just bumped into that little boy or girl? Is that tram coming my way? The worst was the walk through the dark narrow passage of tombstones with uneven ground not knowing (but really knowing) what was coming next. Eye witness and survivor accounts of the last days of the Ghetto, 13/14 March 1942, were very distressing. Oskar Schindler was a businessman and wanted to keep his Jewish workers as they were free i.e. slave, labour. ... read more

Krakow, Poland was a little gem of a city to visit. I had booked the first weekend of November to go to Krakow with the main purpose of the trip to visit Auschwitz, Europe’s infamous and most notorious concentration camp. However, Krakow pleasantly surprised me with its charm and I really enjoyed my stay there. Another early morning flight means another early start to get to Stansted airport by the coach. The flight to Krakow was pretty uneventful and I’m pretty certain I slept the majority of the 2/2.5hours it took to get over there. Once at the airport and through immigration, I stopped at an ATM to get my zloty (Poland’s currency) for the weekend and hopped on the train to take me into the city centre. My hostel wasn’t far from the main train ... read more

As Renée MacIntosh is to Glasgow Arts and Crafts, Stanisław Witkiewicz is To Zakopane style. In era and aspiration. Willa Koliba was built for Zygmunt Gnatowski. Gnatowski needed a building where he could store his collection of ethnographic artifacts. Originally he aimed to build a simple hut based on existing Tatra architecture, but was convinced by Stanisław Witkiewicz, painter, to have a house in the newly emerging Zakopane style built instead. Witkiewicz, already a well-known artist, draughtsman and playwright, was eager to introduce a new local style of architecture to the region when he noticed that wealthy local residents began erecting houses in the Swiss folk style. Witkiewicz was aiming to introduce a national variety of rustic architecture to Poland, and based his sketches on local decorative motifs. Sketches of Koliba Villa were made in 1891 ... read more

Day 2 Jews, Factories, Music and Stuffed Cabbage We haven’t reached the start of our POW trail, but already relevant themes are emerging, on our first day in Krakow. We came here more than ten years ago for New Year’s Eve. The choice of Hotel Kazimierz as our digs was made because it’s in the Jewish Quarter of Krakow, an area that we wished to explore again. It’s just the ticket, providing comfortable accommodation on Ul Miodowaa (Honey Street), next to the highly decorated Tempel. Pre war, it was a thriving business area with markets, shops and workshops. In 1942 the largely Jewish community here was forced over the river to form a ghetto in Podgorze. Apartments became crammed with extended families. Up to 500 people a day were rounded up off the streets to dig ... read more

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 ... read more