Krakow was one of the big cities in Poland that survived destruction during the world war. The Nazi army first attacked Warsaw and they completely destroyed it. Then Poland came under Nazi occupation and hence Krakow was spared as it was now a Nazi territory. Krakow used to be the capital of Poland before the seat of power shifted to Warsaw around 400 years back. The huge city center and the castle boasts of the glory even if the power is residing at another city.

16^th Century was considered to be the golden age of Krakow. By the 17^th century things started getting bad as several new laws were introduced. The king started to be getting elected instead of selecting from the bloodline. This lead to lobbying and the prospect kings would bribe the aristocrats to vote in their favor. The law of veto was also introduced where one single guy has the power to stop any idea from being implemented. The growth was stalled as new changes were difficult to push through. During 17^th century they were also attacked by the Swedish and the Ottoman empire. They were followed by Russia and the Austria-Hungarian empire. The country saw 100 years of occupation and finally got free in 1918. Post world war they were still under Russian influence till 1989. They consider themselves to be practically independent only from the last 30 years. For more details on the history of Poland during the world war, you can visit our other blog on Warsaw here.

We did our regular walking tour of the city crossing through all the important buildings and listening to the connected history of the city and the country.

Things to do:

• The Castle: The castle was built in 16^th century when Krakow was doing pretty well. Inside the castle the royalty used to live. The then king had an arranged marriage with a princess from Italy. Coming from a warm country to cold Poland, life was not easy for her. To make her feel a bit at home, the architecture of the royal housing in the castle was made in Italian renaissance style. The last king to reside here was interested in alchemy and he had set up a laboratory inside the castle. He was trying to convert water to gold and during his experiments he ended up burning a part of the household. Gradually the king became unpopular here. This period also saw the coronation of a new king in Sweden and he had to frequently travel all the way to Krakow. Soon the appointments started to be fixed in Warsaw and gradually the capital also moved.
  There is also a nice cafe in the cathedral complex where there are some outdoor sitting overlooking the city. Not a bad idea to recharge yourself a bit here.

• Cathedrals in the Castle: There are several cathedrals inside the premises of the castle. The biggest one, Wawel Cathedral, was built a total of 3 times and the earliest one being over 900 years old. The older structures were made of wood and were replaced. You can also climb to the top of the castle. The great king Casimir wanted to be buried in his own chapel and this set off a new tradition for the kings. With time the royal purse shrunk and more money was spent on war. This lead to the subsequent cathedrals being smaller in size.

• St Andrews Church: This is the oldest church in Krakow and is from 11^th Century. It also used to be a shelter for people during war. This is the only building in the city which is made of stone.

• St Peter’s church: This is the biggest in Krakow in terms of capacity and is pretty famous for its shows in classical music.

• Royal House of Pope: Pope John Paul II is definitely the greatest and most famous citizen of Krakow. He resided in this city for four decades before he moved to the Vatican. He was very popular among the young people and he used to spend many hours near this house with the people singing songs. When he died, the entire street was lit with candles. His death anniversary is still remembered here. People gather here to sing songs and remember him.

• The City Tower: The tower is the only part of the city hall that is left standing. The Austrian occupation destroyed the remaining city hall to make space for the market. You can also climb to the top of the tower.

• The Head: It is next to the tower. This piece was created by a Polish artist Igor Mitoraj. He was not that popular in Poland and he earned his fame after moving to France. He did an exhibition later in this city and gifted this to the city center. The Polish people have the habit of protesting and complaining and the same happened with this as well. But finally they decided to keep it and it acts as a meeting point now.

• St Mary’s Cathedral: This is one of the most beautiful churches in the city. There are two towers on top. Every hour a guy comes to the top of one of the towers and plays trumpet in four directions. The legend has that during 12^th century Mongol invasion of Poland, one sentry on duty at the tower played the trumpet to warn the citizens of the attack. The tradition is continued in his memory.

• Barbiken: This was built in 15^th century to reinforce the city’s defenses. Soldiers used to pour boiling oil from the top to prevent any invasion from this side.

• The City Wall: The Austrians tried to destroy the wall but the citizens of Krakow protested against it. The people mentioned that strong winds from outside can spread diseases but the rulers were not convinced. They again took their case saying that the wind will blow the skirt of the ladies exposing their ankles and knees. Now this was problematic and the decision was taken to keep the wall.

• Juliusz Slowacki Theater: This was built in the 19^th century and is named after a Polish poet Juliusz. He was a futuristic writer and his work did not gain popularity among the common masses of Poland in the early stages. Much later his work started gaining appreciation and this theater stands as a token of this gratitude.

• Krakow University (aka Jagiellonian University): This is the oldest university in Poland and probably one of the oldest surviving universities in the world. It was built by Casimir the great in 14^th century. The main old building is now a museum. Several prominent names like Copernicus, Marie Curie and Pope John Paul II have studied in this university.

We took the walking tour from City Walks and booked it online. The guide was superb and only looking at the monuments without the narration of the history would have been a very bad decision.

Food: Poland is very famous for its soups and especially the soup in a bread bowl. We had it in one of the restaurants close to the old town square.

Quick tips:

– The city center is usually crowded so you might want to go there at odd hours. So ensure that your accommodation is close by. We stayed near the bus station from where the old was in walking distance.
– Make sure that you spend at least 3 days in this city.
-The weather gets cold in the evening even in summers. So carry a light jacket.