Krakow - the city of kings!
There are no former capitals. . . even though Warsaw is now the main city of Poland, but royal blood flows in Krakow!
On a wonderful Sunday afternoon, clouds were gathering over the city, which gave the landscape an even more majestic look. The "Palazzo de forte" (castle-palace) Wawel, in which many royal families managed to live over the centuries, towered over the Vistula, and it seemed that he had descended from the pages of a fairy tale book. On the embankment, the Dragon spewed fire, as befits a decent dragon. The daredevil was found, and he defeated the dragon with the help of cunning and chemistry, mixing the sulfuric breath of the dragon with water, only the guy refused the reward - instead he wished that he would be made boots from dragon skin : )
In Wawel, you can spend more than one hour, and even the whole day, but it is literally crowded with tourists (we were able to calmly walk here only in the evening). In addition to the Wawel Castle, the city has enough of all kinds of churches and churches of different eras and architectural styles, such as the Baroque Peter and Paul Church overlooking Mary Magdalene Square, whose facade is decorated with sculptures of 12 apostles, and the Church of St. Andrew (Klarisok Monastery) - one of the oldest churches in the city , which stood in this place for almost a millennium. Nearby are the lesser-known, though no less interesting, churches of St. Martin and St. Joseph, the majestic Church of the Holy Trinity (also called the Dominican Church), the Church of the Franciscans.
And only now we find ourselves in the heart of Krakow - on the Market Square, surrounded by many picturesque buildings, literally each of which has its own history, inseparable from the history of the square and the city. The Market Square is one of the most extensive squares in Europe, and the first building that catches your eye when you enter it is the two-towered St. Mary's Church, through the window of the higher signal tower of which every hour a gilded trumpet protrudes, from which the sounds of heinal begin to pour, but every time the trumpeter does not play the melody to the end. If you believe another legend prevailing in Krakow, then in the 14th century, the then "colleague" of this trumpeter was the first to notice a horde of enemies approaching the city, warned the townspeople with a heinal, but did not have time to finish it - a Tatar arrow pierced his throat.
Another prominent structure of the square is a large 70-meter tower - all that remains of the medieval town hall after lightning struck the top in the early 17th century and everything burned to the ground. And the tower itself barely survived - after that unpleasant incident, it tilted dangerously and, in order to save it from falling, the tower was strengthened on the western side, and the sharp Gothic spire was replaced with a baroque dome. What was left of the town hall was dismantled in the 19th century, and the tower still stands, tilted by 55 cm... The longest, 100-meter building of the Market Square is the Sukiennice trading hall (Cloth Rows). The second floor was occupied by halls for various receptions and balls, later the Gallery of Polish Painting also appeared there. Today, the first floor of the Cloth Hall is occupied by souvenir shops, and the second floor is occupied by the National Museum dedicated to Polish national painting and sculpture.
It was getting dark, and we wandered into Kazimierz, a historical district in Krakow, in the past, a separate city, in the north-eastern part of which Jews lived from the 16th century until the Second World War. Kazimierz is part of the Old Town, a World Heritage Site. Currently, there are no clear boundaries between Kazimierz and the Old Town of Krakow. The monuments of Kazimierz, along with the rest of the Old Town, are listed as a World Heritage Site. Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List" was filmed on its streets.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, for many, Krakow is the starting point for further travel to Europe... I will not hide it, initially for us it was just a point on the map before more important discoveries. But the city exceeded our expectations. He is beautiful! Krakow takes you into his arms and does not want to let go, gives you delicious coffee, makes you dizzy from carriage rides, lulls you to sleep with the calm flow of the Vistula near the walls of the ancient Wawel... Krakow truly was, is and will remain a city with a royal heart.
p. s. and some practical advice. The city is well prepared for tourists. Tourist information is available at numerous information points where you can take a map and get other necessary information.
There is a great variety of hotels, hostels, restaurants and catering establishments.
Public transport is well developed. The ticket price depends on the time of travel (regardless of the types of transport and transfers).
Currency - zloty. Pay attention to the presence of a commission for currency exchange (sometimes it is included without warning).
