Krakow

Picturesquely set overlooking the Vistula River, Krakow has a history going back over a thousand years, a host of monuments of Mediaeval, Renaissance, and Baroque architecture, and an old University (founded l364). A looking glass for Polish and European tradition, Krakow was registered in 1978 on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List.

City sightseeing

You can start your walk at the fortification walls near the Barbican and Florian Gate. The Gate (c. 1300) leads to an ancient route through town, along Florianska Street, known as "the drawing-room of Krakow". Pass the Jama Michalika Literary Coffee House, which has a Cracovian Art Nouveau decor of late, 19th-century drawings and cartoons.Then walk by an impressive street of historic town houses, you reach Krakow's Market Square, one of the biggest and most beautiful markets in Europe. The double spires of St. Mary's Basilica tower over the Market Square, and from one of them the famous Bugle-Call rings every hour over the city. Inside the Basilica holds a monumental 15th-century masterpiece, the High Altar carved by Wit Stwosz.

In the center of the Market Square stands the Medieval Cloth Hall, Sukiennice with a Renaissance outer decoration but still with shops and stalls inside as busy as ever selling souvenirs. The top story houses a gallery exhibiting Polish art. The Market Square of Krakow is cheerful all day and night long, with numerous cafés offering a tasty welcome in their summer street-gardens. Just off the Market Square is the Gothic Collegium Maius, the Jagiellonian University's oldest extant building. Passing the quaint little Church of St. Adalbert in the middle of the Market Square, we move on into the Grodzka Street, the Royal Way which brings us up to Wawel Castle. The mighty Castle of Wawel, Poland's heart and witness to her history, is situated on a hill of the same name towering 25 meters over the Vistula River. For many centuries Wawel Castle was the chief residence of the kings of Poland. Embellished in a Renaissance development in 1499-1536 with its single-arcaded courtyard and with a Renaissance interior decor, the Castle now houses a rich collection of 16th-century Flemish wall tapestries of Arras, alongside a Polish art collection. Prior reservation is required for a visit to the Royal Residence. Wawel Cathedral is another building on the Hill, next to the Castle. The present day Cathedral was consecrated in 1364, and is noted for its Renaissance Sigismundian Chapel alongside the Sigismundian Bell hanging in a tower which gives a magnificent view of the entire city.

There are many museums in Krakow; Museum Czartoryskich, is one of the most popular museums which contains the famous "Lady with an Ermine" by Leonardo da Vinci, and "Landscape with the Good Samaritan" by Rembrandt. We set off for another round of sightseeing to the old Jewish town, in the district of Kazimierz. Here we see St. Catherine's Church and Skalka Church - the Shrine of St. Stanislaw - Bishop and Martyr. Next door - historic synagogues: the 15th-century Old Synagogue (housing the Jewish Museum of Judaism), the 16th-century Remuh Synagogue, and the 17th-century Isaac Synagogue. Krakow is a place you will keep coming back to, each time to discover new objects of startling beauty.

Suggestions for an evening in Krakow:

• - A concert in the Philharmonic or a night at the opera.
• - A concert of Gypsy, Russian, and Jewish music in the Jewish café .
• - A concert of organ or classical music at one of the annual music festivals.
• - Dinner to the music of a folk ensemble.
• - A ride in a "dorozka" horse-drawn carriage followed by a glass of wine.