TRAVEL
BLOC PARTY
After an often fraught history, Poland is now enjoying some well-earned boom time. Robin McKelvie takes a look at Kraków’s ample charms
M any former Eastern Bloc cities have in recent years been touted as the ‘New Prague’. On the evidence, the Polish city of Kraków has the strongest chance of replicating the Czech capital’s tourist success. There’s the pretty, chocolate-box medieval core, its wallet-pleasing nightlife and restaurant scenes, not to mention its role as Poland’s cultural heart. Swirl in direct budget flights from Scotland and Poland’s second largest city conjures up a compelling weekend break.
Things have not always been so rosy for Kraków, which endured a vicious Nazi occupation during World War II, with the horrors of Auschwitz lingering just a few short miles away. The Communist era brought attempts to undermine the city’s all-important Catholic faith (Kraków was the home city of Pope John Paul II) and the suppression of Polish culture and language. It was fitting then that Poland, through Solidarity, was at the vanguard of bringing down Communism.
Any anachronistic images of scarcity and privations are quickly brushed aside today, though, by a vibrant cosmopolitan city that brims with slick shops, cool cafes, eclectic restaurants and bustling bars. Kraków has undergone an impressive renaissance in recent years, propelled both by tourism and the burgeoning student community. The focus is firmly around the medieval Market Square, or Rynek Glówny, one of Europe’s great public spaces. In the Jewish quarter, a flurry of ornate churches and the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Wawel Castle
Rynek Glówny remains the
hub of Kraków life
complex offers visitors plenty to fill a weekend or even longer.
The ‘Royal Way’ connects Rynek Glówny to Wawel, taking in a sweep of architecture in what is one of Europe’s best preserved historic cities. A guided tour is the best way to get around the maze of Wawel, with its voluminous cathedral, Royal Chambers, Treasury and various exhibitions. For centuries, Polish kings were crowned here and the local luminary Nicolaus Copernicus once trammelled the halls musing on the great mysteries of life. Wawel exudes a palpable sense of history and breadth of culture and it takes at least a whole day to even scratch the surface. One ‘attraction’ that is not always on the mainstream tourist circuit (but should be) is Oscar Schindler’s old factory (fabrykaschindlera.pl). For years it sat uncomfortably abandoned, the local authorities not sure what to do with what was both a reminder of Nazi cruelty, but also a symbol of hope. It has now been brilliantly converted into a state-of-the-art museum that delves into the horrors experienced by the local Jews under Nazi occupation.
Rynek Glówny, though, remains the hub of Kraków life. As the sun comes down, first time visitors should take a ringside seat in one of the myriad pavement cafes and just watch the posse of designer-clad locals, whizzing cyclists, horses and carts towing tourists and the street entertainers strutting in medieval garb. Drink prices may be inflated here, but they will still be less than half what you would pay at home. ➙
18 Apr–16 May 2013 THE LIST 27