The City of Crows.

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When Peter woke up next day, he wasn't feeling well. I think the heat and all the problems of the day before had made him quite ill. This was the only hotel on our stay where we had breakfast included and Peter couldn't eat anything. He was just incredibly thirsty and had glass after glass of water and apple juice. I had bread, cheese, scrambled eggs and pancakes. After breakfast, Peter said he just wanted to lie in a cool, darkened room and he was still thirsty. I went out and bought lots of soft drinks, as he was obviously dehydrated. Then I went out again to have a look around Krakow. It was a roasting hot day with an intensive heat warning in place.

Krakow, located on the banks of the Vistula River, is the second largest city in Poland. It's also one of the oldest cities here, and can trace its origins back to the seventh century. It was the capital of Poland until 1596. The name Krakow is likely to mean City of the Crows or Ravens.

We have been to Krakow once before many years ago, but that was in the depths of winter. It was really quite different in summer.

Krakow has several areas of interest. It basically consists of an Old Town with a huge market square in its centre. There's a basilica and an indoor market here. There are many interesting side streets off this main square and the whole of the old town is encircled by Planty Park. This park is located where the walls of the old town once stood. The side of the old town nearest to the Vistula River is dominated by an old castle, known as Wawel Castle.

In addition to the old town there's an old Jewish area which I also visited.

Across the river there are some interesting burial mounds and Heroes Square. I wanted to see these, but the intense heat during our stay really slowed me down, so I didn't get there.

We were staying in the Ibis Stare Miasto Hotel, which means Ibis Old Town Hotel. It was an easy five to ten minutes walk from there into the Old Town.

Our hotel.

The first sight I came to was St Florian's Church. Legend has it that an ox cart carrying the remains of St Florian from Rome stopped here and refused to travel any further. This was taken as a sign to build a church here to house the remains. Nowadays St Florian is the Patron Saint of Poland. He is revered as the patron saint of firefighters and chimney sweeps and is usually depicted holding a pitcher of water. St Florian's Church was built between 1185 and 1216. It has been destroyed and rebuilt several times.

St Florian's Church.

Inside St Florian's Church.

A bit further on from the church there was an equestrian statue of King Władysław II Jagiełło, fighting at the Battle of Grunwald in which the Poles and Lithuanians defeated The Teutonic Knights. The statue was created to mark the five hundredth anniversary of this battle.

Statue of King Władysław II Jagiełło.

King Władysław II Jagiełło.

The leader of The Teutonic Knights lies dead at the king's feet.

Next I reached The Barbican. This fortified gateway was once part of the city walls and led into the Old Town of Krakow. Nowadays it is a museum. There was a lot going on here. First of all there were lots of horse drawn carriages waiting to take tourists on a city tour around Krakow. Then there was the bubble man, a sort of modern day Pied Piper, surrounded by children laughing and chasing the huge soapy bubbles he produced. It was fun to watch.

The Barbican.

The bubble man outside The Barbican.

Children chasing bubbles.

The bubble man.

Happy child.

Horse and carriage.

I then headed through St Florian's Gate into the Old Town proper. This tower used to be joined on to the Barbican. It was built in the fourteenth century and is considered to be the starting point of The Royal Road which leads through the Old Town to Wawel Castle.

The Barbican and St Florian's Tower taken from outside the city walls.

At Florian's Tower taken from inside the Old Town.

On St Florian's Street.

Krakow's city walls were built in the thirteenth century. At one time there were eight gates, thirty-nine towers and a six metre wide moat. Almost everything got demolished though and was replaced by the beautiful Planty Park. However, a two hundred metre stretch of wall still remains between St Florian's Gate and Carpenter's Tower. There were several stalls along the city walls in one direction and several cafes in the other

Stalls along the city walls.

Cafes along the city walls.

I could see that the main square lay straight ahead from St Florian's Gate, but I got sidetracked, as always, because I saw a delightful statue of Mercury, messenger of the gods and god of commerce and an interesting looking building which turned out to be The Czartoryski Museum.

Mercury.

Czartoryski Museum.

I also saw some churches. One was the Church of the Transfiguration, which I could look into from the doorway, but it was closed and being cleaned. The other was The Church of St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist. I was able to go inside this one. There were several nuns praying inside.

The Church of the Transfiguration.

The Church of St John the Baptist and St John the Evangelist.

Inside the church.

Of course, I ended up on Rynek Główny, Krakow's main square, eventually. This square dates back to the thirteenth century. On it stands St Mary's Basilica, The Church of St Adalbert, the Cloth Hall, the Adam Mickiewicz Monument and the Town Hall Tower. There's also a statue of a giant head.

Saint Mary's Basilica wasn't quite looking its best as it was undergoing some renovation. The foundations of this church date back to the thirteenth century, but most of it was erected during the fourteenth century. Its towers are eighty metres tall. It's beautiful inside with ceilings that look like starry skies, but I went in during a mass so could not wander around.

Saint Mary's Basilica.

Inside Saint Mary's Basilica.

The Church of St. Adalbert, dates from the eleventh century, making it the oldest church in Krakow. I didn't go inside.

The Church of St. Adalbert.

The Cloth Hall, known in Polish as the, Sukiennice, was rebuilt in 1555. It divided the main square in half. It has always been an important place for trade. Nowadays it attracts lots of tourists. It sells arts and crafts and souvenirs.

The Cloth Hall.

Cloth Hall.

Icons.

T-shirts and baseball caps.

Bags.

Souvenir shop.

Amber and glass.

Wooden goods.

Souvenir shop.

Cafe next to the Cloth Hall.

There's a statue of Adam Mickiewicz, the greatest Polish Romantic poet of the nineteenth century, outside the Cloth Hall. This was unveiled in 1898 on the hundredth anniversary of Mickiewicz's birth. There was a Ukrainian anti war demonstration taking place here.

Adam Mickiewicz Statue.

There was an old postal carriage on display on the Main Square, apparently it belongs to one of Krakow's museums. There were also several stalls.

Post carriage.

Stalls.

On the other side of the Cloth Hall all that remains of the old Krakow Town Hall is a single tower, the rest was demolished in 1820 in an attempt to open up the square. At the bottom of the tower there are two stone lions guarding the entrance. Below ground the tower's dungeons were once a prison and torture chamber. It's possible to climb up the tower for views, but I didn't. Nowadays the tower tilts 55 cm as the result of a terrible storm that occurred in 1703.

Krakow Town Hall Tower.

There's a statue of a giant head outside the Town Hall Tower. This is called Eros Bound and is the work of Polish artist Igor Mitoraj.

Eros Bound.

All around the edges of the square there are restaurants and shops.

Krakow's Main Square.

When I was finished looking around the Main Square, I headed into Planty Park and walked towards Wawel Castle. Planty Park became my lifesaver in Krakow, because while everywhere else seemed to be in constant bright sunlight, Planty Park always had lots of shade. I passed a couple of interesting sculptures here, too. One showed characters from Adam Mickiewicz's work entitled 'Grażyna'. This sculpture was made by Alfred Daun in 1884. The other showed Stefan Banach and Otto Nikodym, famous mathematicians from the University of Krakow who met in 1916 to discuss higher mathematics.

Flowers in Planty Park.

Lots of shade in Planty Park.

Planty Park.

Grażyna and Litawora.

Stefan Banach and Otto Nikodym and a cute little girl.

Just before I reached the castle I came to a beautiful building which turned out to be The Higher Theological Seminary of the Archdiocese of Krakow. Next to it was Długosz House, which dates from the fourteenth century and once housed the royal bathhouse. Nowadays it is the seat of the rectorate of the Pontifical University of John Paul II.

Higher Theological Seminary of the Archdiocese of Krakow

Higher Theological Seminary of the Archdiocese of Krakow and Długosz House.

Długosz House.

Wawel Castle is situated on Wawel Hill, overlooking the Vistula River. It was originally established by King Casimir III, but has been enlarged over the centuries. Most of the castle dates from the fourteenth century, but the oldest parts date back to 970AD. Nowadays it is considered to be the most culturally and historically significant site in Poland. It consists of several different buildings such as: Wawel Cathedral where many Polish monarchs were crowned and where many lie buried, royal apartment buildings, the treasury and several towers. There's also a cave known as the Dragon's Den leading to a dragon statue on the Vistula River. We saw that last time, but I didn't go this time. There are also beautiful gardens and views over the river.

I began climbing up to the castle after leaving Planty Park.

The road up to Wawel Castle.

When I entered into the castle courtyard next to the cathedral, I saw a statue of Pope John Paul II. He was born in Wadowice, thirty-one miles south of Krakow. The statue was designed by Gustaw Zemła and unveiled in 2008. Pope John Paul II opened the nearby Cathedral Museum in 1978.

Statue of Pope John Paul II.

Saint Joseph and Jesus outside the cathedral.

Wawel Cathedral used to be called The Archcathedral Basilica of Saint Stanislaus and Saint Wenceslaus. There have been religious buildings on this site since the eleventh century. The current cathedral dates back to the fourteenth century. From the outside one of the most noticeable features is the golden dome of Sigismund's Chapel.

Entrance to the cathedral.

Wawel Cathedral.

The castle was very busy and there were long queues for tickets for everything. If you want to go in, it's probably better to get tickets online if possible. I didn't want to go in and I had no intention of queuing. I just wandered. There was quite a bit of renovation going on, so the castle wasn't looking its best.

Wawel Castle.

At one point I saw a small queue of people, so I joined them. I ended up in a strange video about the Wawel dragon.

I joined this queue.

And ended up in this video.

My favourite parts were the flower filled gardens.

Flower filled gardens.

I walked down to the end of the castle where the entrance to the dragon's den is. I had considered going in here, but it was too busy. Instead I walked around the side of the castle overlooking the River Vistula. It was difficult to photograph the view due to the sun. There were lots of towers in this area.

Heading towards the river.

Heading round the castle.

Towers.

Views over the River Vistula.

Through a gateway.

Passing the castle.

Towers.

Right round the castle.

There was a church at the far end of the castle. I visited it the next day. I was so overheated by this time I could take no more. Thank you God for Planty Park. I went in there to cool down and passed some interesting things on the way home.

Church.

I passed the Juliusz Slowacki Theater, the Holy Cross Church and a monument to Florian Straszewski who helped create Planty Park.

Juliusz Slowacki Theater.

Juliusz Slowacki Theater

Holy Cross Church.

Monument to Florian Straszewski.

The Polonia Hotel.

Restaurant overlooking Planty Park.

I picked up some snacks and drinks on my way home. Peter still didn't feel well. He didn't want to go out and wouldn't eat anything. I bought myself a sandwich for dinner. It wasn't very nice. I think we are both dehydrated and run down.

This featured blog entry was written by irenevt from the blog Trip To Europe 2024.
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By irenevt

Posted Thu, Sep 05, 2024 | Poland | Comments

The City of Crows.

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