Woolly says – Having thoroughly enjoyed our time in Warsaw we were on an early train to the next destination. The train sped through the Polish countryside allowing us to see loads of farmsteads and forested areas along the route. Within an hour and a half, we had arrived in the city of Krakow.
Kraków is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century it was the official capital of Poland until 1596. It began as a hamlet on Wawel Hill and was reported by Ibrahim Ibn Yakoub, a merchant from Cordoba, as a busy trading centre of Central Europe in 985. With the establishment of new universities and cultural venues at the emergence of the Second Polish Republic in 1918 and throughout the 20th century, Kraków became a major national academic and artistic centre. In 2000, Kraków was named European Capital of Culture.
Having found our way along the busy streets to our accommodation both Jo and I were very excited to show Zoe how close we were to the centre of the old town, especially as Jo had presented Zoe with a whole list of places we planned to see as soon as we had dropped off our luggage which looked like a lot but was all actually within a very short walk of each other.
From our digs we walked the two hundred metres straight into Rynek Główny the 13th century square at the city’s heart, even I was stunned as we took in our first sights, as the women stood there unable to say anything but wow I took them in paw and told them that we would walk all the way round first and then start really looking inside places. The Main Market Square occupies four quarters of the city located under the Magdeburg Law, laid out in a checkerboard pattern it covers four square hectares.
Everywhere we looked were wonderful tall buildings with cafes surrounding the outskirts, we paused for a drink which allowed us to time take in more and watch the horse drawn carriages that were constantly clip clopping past us along the cobbled streets. Its strange to think that in 1940 the Germans had taken this beautiful place over renaming it Adolf-Hitler Platz.
With our thirsts quenched we headed towards the incredible building of St. Mary’s Basilica with its two towers, one of which has a bugler playing every hour on the hour. The tune breaks off in mid-stream, to commemorate a famous 13th century trumpeter who was shot in the throat while sounding the alarm before a Mongol attack on the city.
Built in the 14th century, its foundations date back to the early 13th century and serve as one of the best examples of Polish Gothic architecture. Standing 80 m (262 ft) tall, I couldn’t wait to get inside.
It is rare that I or the mammoth are speechless but on entering the interior we couldn’t believe our eyes at the splendour we could see, I’m not sure how many times I said wow, but it was a lot.
Woolly says – It was stunning, from the star covered ceilings to every single piece of wall I didn’t know where to look first.
Each of the alters gave us more to admire.
The chancel however was even better with painted angels on the walls and canopied stalls, I had to sit down to try and take it all in. Conservation work taking place but even that didn’t detract from the incredible place. I could have happily sat there for hours but with other places to see we headed back into the sunshine and headed towards Saint Adalbert’s Church.
Much much smaller it looked lovely, built in the 11th century and named after the martyred missionary Saint Adalbert whose body was bought back for its weight in gold from the pagan Prussia and placed in Gniezno Cathedral by Boleslaus I of Poland. Inside was tiny and as there were several people in prayer, we took a quick couple of pictures and crept back outside.
The centre of the square is taken up with the Cloth Hall, dating back to the Renaissance it was filled with stalls selling trinkets and amber which seems to be the stone of choice across Poland. We wandered through looking up at the shields and town shields that lined the top of the walls, before heading outside and taking some more time to inspect the exterior.
A few feet away was the most impressive structure of the renovated Gothic tower and history museum, the former Town Hall Tower. One of the oldest buildings in its time it had been much bigger with a building standing under the tower and had housed he towns treasury and prison as well as providing meeting rooms for the town council.
Having paid for our tickets we started our ascent, having taken several minutes to scale the first step Jo very obliging picked me up and struggled up the high steps. Arriving on the first floor the interior seemed so big compared to what the outside would make us think, high domed rooves looked down over some interactive boards and a model of how the town hall would have once looked.
Climbing up to the next floor, a room with a inside balcony, we found out about local costumes before we headed upwards again.
This floor allowed us to look more closely at the colourful windows and stone benches as well as some reproduction items from the hall’s days of glory.
Heading to the top floor Jo hung onto the iron link chain to haul us up as the steps got even higher, we arrived finally puffing and panting in the area where the clockworks for the tower lived. Better still we could peer out of the small windows to take in the views on three sides going across the city landscape, it was incredible.
The descent was far easier although still too much for my short legs and as we arrived at the bottom the women slumped onto a stone bench telling me that their knees where shot and that we needed to sit still, I suggested some food to help with the recovery and the broken humans nodded eagerly.
We headed across the square to one of the many eateries and sat watching the light change as the sun started to set enjoyed some of the most delicious food I have ever tasted. A fabulous end to a fabulous place, a real wow factor on my travels.