Krakow, Poland, 2023

May 10-13

The Polish trains could teach the German ones something about Wifi. Another thing that makes Polish trains superior to the German ones – there is no charge to have a reserved seat – EVERYONE has a reserved seat, which you get to pick when you book. We booked early enough (about a week in advance) to get window seats facing each other with a table. You also get free water. So overall strong thumbs up, 5 stars for the trains in Poland. You have to book them directly from their website (https://www.polishtrains.eu) – they don’t come up in my normal Omio app or Rome to Rio – common sites to find how to get from one place to another. 

Another plus – our AirBNB in Old Town Krakow was about 4 blocks from the main train station (which is also a large mall).

The Old Town is the same Old Town inhabited by the Nazis – they thought it looked like a “German City” after their invasion, so left everything intact.

For that matter, with the exception of the Swedes, when they invaded between 1701-1706, most conquerors came in, liked the place, and settled. Overall, it was my favorite of the 4 cities I visited in Europe this time around. The people were friendly and more relaxed and welcoming than the Varsovians (likely because they were not destroyed by their prior invaders- those kinds of things leave a lasting impact). The Old Town is surrounded by a lovely garden, even in areas where prior city walls still stand.

We found café’s with live musicians every night of the week (including Monday). 

Old Town is very walkable, and like many cities dating pre-Middle Ages, streets do not always make sense. Some seem to converge and split – with entirely new names. The newer parts of the city has a more predictable layout. The dividing lines between new and old are mainly the railroad/trolley tracks and the river. 

Our Guru walk took us through Old Town and to the Castle, relating the cities legends along with its history. Two of the main origin stories of Krakow is that there was a horrible monster – a dragon – eating all the livestock and virgins of the city (depending on the version). The Princess was one of the few remaining, and her hand would go to whomever could slay the dragon. A simple shoemaker baited the dragon with a goat hide he’d filled with pitch and sulfur. After it ate the goat, the shoemaker confronted it, and when the dragon tried to spit fire – it burned itself from within. The shoemaker’s name was Krac, the “ow” means belonging to (in some versions it’s already “King Krak” and the shoemaker’s name was Skuda).

In another legend, a Princess from Hungary, where there are many salt mines, was betrothed to the King of Krakow, and instead of a dowery, she brought salt miners. She flung her engagement ring into a salt mine at home before leaving. The miners knew where to look for salt deposits and soon hit on a mine. The first large salt crystal unearthed contained her engagement ring. 

In reality, there had been people in the area since the Stone Age collecting surface salt deposits, and occasionally digging deeper. As technologies changed and improved, deeper and deeper mines were created, bringing up precious salt- which was valued as much as silver through much of human history. This salt brought trade and wealth, which created a city, one that would tempt many an invader. The mine is no longer in use since salt is much cheaper to come by, but now it is the main tourist attraction in the Krakow area. The tour takes you deep into the mines, revealing caverns where skilled artisans – some trained and some not, carved out statues and reliefs in subterranean churches, lit by chandeliers made of salt crystals. (Tours, including transport from Krakow start at 110zt pp).

For the modern tourist invader, one of the must-see sights is the Schindler Enamel Factory and Museum (32zt for adults, 26 for seniors). It sits near what had been the Jewish Ghetto, and shows the city of Krakow through WWII. One wing honors Oscar Schindler and the 1200 survivors due to the list of “his” Jews. They do not gloss over Schindler’s early career, and that he started as a Nazi spy in Krakow and a war profiteer. No one knows what changed his heart, only that in the end, he did as much as he could to save as many as he could. 

History:

Krakow is in the southern portion of Poland, which went through some different rulers than the north and central portions of Poland. 

The first written records dating from 965AD, Krakow was a well-established trading city, part of the Moravian Empire, then conquered by the Bohemians. In 1038, Krakow became the seat of Polish government and the construction of the castle, which contained a church, cathedral and a Basilica.

During the 13^th century Krakow was repeatedly attacked and ransacked by Mongols, forcing the city to relocate and rebuilt almost exactly identical to the prior. The Mongols again ransacked the city, so increased fortifications were created and finally able to withstand the Mongols third attempt in 1287. The 14^th century fared better under Casimir III and a University was founded (the second oldest in Eastern Europe).

The city continued to flourish through the next 200 years as a center for arts and education. When King Segismund II died without an heir, the crown fell to Henry III of France and the capital was moved to Warsaw. Possession bounced between several European rulers, including the Austro-Hungarians and the Hapsburgs, and eventually to Russia until the end of WWI, when Poland again reunited in 1918.

Prior to WWII, the cities and towns surrounding Krakow had taken in thousands of German Jews fleeing the Third Reich. When the Nazis adopted the city as the base of one of their four General Government regions, they encouraged the now close to 200,000 Jews to leave. Those that remained as of March 1941 were forced into a ghetto. Rations were severely limited to as little as 300 calories per day and men were forced to labor, many sent to labor camps that soon became extermination camps. Most had been rounded up and by June 1942, and all but those deemed essential by manufacturers of the war machine (such as Schindler’s factory) were moved to camps by March 1943. 

When the Soviets entered the city in January, 1945, they promptly arrested the members of the Polish Home Army, loyal to the Polish Government-in-exile. The Universities curriculum now became communist centered, and the area was converted into an industrial hub, a steel mill opened, and workers poured in. Priest, then Archbishop, then Cardinal of Krakow Karol Wojtyła, worked to build churches in the burgeoning suburbs of the city. As mentioned in the Warsaw blog, his election to the papacy in 1978 and subsequent encouragement of the Polish people helped to fan the Solidarity movement. Throughout the 1980’s strikes and protests broke out despite brutal punishment for participants and Marshall law. Finally, the government capitulated and open elections occurred in 1989, with a new Solidarity-led coalition government seated in parliament in 1990, and their leader Lech Walesa as President of Poland. 

In 2004, along with many former Eastern Block countries, Poland joined the European Union (though chose not to adopt the Euro as currency). Modern Poland is a thriving country, and ranked 21^st in the world’s major economies. 

It was less expensive to take a train back to Warsaw then fly to Amsterdam from there than to fly directly from Krakow, so next stop – Amsterdam!