4 days between Krakow, Auschwitz and the mines of Wieliczka
If you ask me “what is the city that most surprised you, of which you know less and more've visited with distrust”, answer without doubt Krakow!
It Prague, I visited in 2003, and Budapest visitatata in Christmas 2014, are now “fashionable” in Italian, we know very little of the other cities that make up the triptych of the three jewels of Central Europe, or Krakow, Poland's second city.
So, after deciding you want to plant a flag in Poland, I wondered: “what to visit in Krakow and surroundings?”
Fortuitously, IL Old Town (UNESCO heritage, like that of Naples) escaped to bombing Nazis, and arrived to our days in very good condition.
some, Great credit must be given to the avalanche of EU funds (of which Poland is the main user) used to give a “decided accelerated” to Country, towards full integration in the European Community: roads and buildings in the center are a polished, in a way that the historical centers of Naples and Rome can only dream, the police turn 24 ore su 24, either on foot or by car, including pedestrian areas and parks.
The same central station (Main Railway Station), which is around the corner from the old town, was heavily restored, and is integrated in a modern shopping center (Krakow Gallery)… pure fiction, for the inhabitants of the old People's Republic of Poland!
In summer the city flourishes, and you can watch many outdoor events in many places for pedestrians, as you can see in this video that I shot at Rynek Główny, while being a small little show of a dance school, the gazebo of the restaurants were teeming with customers, and had just completed a stage of the cycling tour of Poland:
Which, Instead, I shot a video while walking on the spectacular Ulica Floriańska:
ll cost of living, thanks to the excellent Euro / Zloty (4 zl = 1 EUR, according to the rates of half 2014) and really low for us Italians, and both transport (the city has a spectacular tram network) that the food (recommend the street food like donuts calls bagels, ravioli called Eastern Dumplings, ending with Polish version of goulash) will not be your main expense items.
For example, wanting to try a restaurant of medium-high level, place in the center, as the Kogel could, caverete sees with 15 eur each for a generous plate of goulash, water, beer, a dessert.
From Krakow, Also, you can do two interesting outings, the half-day one o'clock: The Salt mines of Wieliczka, UNESCO heritage, and the concentration camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau.
I remember when I was impressed, child, I saw a service of Alberto Angela who spoke of these “mysterious” salt mines in Poland, e mi promise, receiving the poi, to visit them: Well, so it was. 🙂
It is mines which really was extracted salt for almost half a millennium, Up to 1996. The Poles, people extremely Catholic, used the salt to create real sculptures mainly religious theme. They carved in an entire salt cathedral, a replica of l’Last Supper, and Pope John Paul II!
The cathedral inside the salt mines of Wieliczka.
You can reach Wieliczka train with just over one euro, how to write in the details at the end of post, but the ticket costs about 20 eur to person. I recommend warmly to bring a jacket because, if out, while doing row, the heat can be hellish, temperatures within the mine can be half, and fall as we are into the bowels of the Earth.
As for the concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, become a memorial to remember forever the bestiality of which is guilty man, I prefer not to talk, because it is a very special experience and subjective, never as in this case, the words are of little use.
The infamous entrance of Birkenau.
I recommend, however, to join a group that makes a guided tour in Italian or English (affordable to checkout), cost of about 10eur.
If you plan to visit in the summer, equip yourself with thermos with liters and liters of water, because the temperature it can reach 40 ° and, especially during the visits in the barracks or in buildings, can be very heavy, especially for elderly people.
I could also talk in detail of the visit to factory of Oskar Schindler (from which the eponymous film), former Jewish ghetto, the Barbacane, the beautiful painting by Leonardo in Wawel Castle, imposing Basilica of Santa Maria but… this I can find out for you. 🙂
I would just like to say a word on a lightning visit sui generis, shared with a Roman couple met on the tram in the suburbs: Nowa Huta.
Cos'è Nowa Huta? In short, a neighborhood built around a huge steelworks, Stalin planned to table, in the 50s. It was built as controaltare to the old city of Krakow, considered too “Aristocratic”.
The massive presence of workers belonging to Solidarnosc inside the steelworks, and their struggle to build a church (Arka Pana) in the neighborhood, are one of several attacks on the communist power that, shortly, will begin to falter, then collapse.
Unfortunately, I have a few photos, taken with the phone, this district, because it is a place not wrought by tourists, with its “rules”, plagued by serious problems of crime and unemployment, still struggling to find its place in the modern Krakow. Shortly male, you can look for at will in Google.
I recommend a quick visit to this district, to discover something that goes beyond the usual tourist routes.
Regarding Tickets for the visit to Auschwitz, museums, and other excursions, I preferred buy online, skipping traffic jams.
We come to’my travel itinerary, as text and Google Map, complete with a brief description of the places.
The photo Krakow and Salt mines are in my gallery, A this address. Those of Auschwitz are, Instead, A this other address.
1DAY (old town – pins verdi) – arrival in the morning
- Barbacane (Kraków Barbican) Defensive walls and (Hours 10.30am-5pm. 8PLN for 6PLN studenti. Fortification connected to the city walls, was once the gateway to the old town. Gothic, was built around 1498, and is now the best preserved outpost of Europe. in estate, day, they staged exhibitions illustrating life in the Middle Ages.)
- Florian’s Gate (Brama Florianska) (One of the most famous Gothic towers in Poland, was built in the 14th century, to defend against attacks of the Turks, and is connected to the Barbican. In the '400, there were other 16 towers like that of San Floriano, become 33 in the '500 and then 47. The south façade is adorned with a bas-relief of St. Florian, dating back to the '700.)
- Ul. Floriańska (main street of the medieval heart of the city, built after the invasion of the Tatars 1241. Linking the port with the main square S.Floriano, Main Market)
- Basilica of Santa Maria (Timetable visit 11.30-18. 10PLN for 5PLN studenti. Gothic church of the 14th century., is famous for its wooden altar by Veit Stoss, which is the largest Gothic altar in the world, built in the late '500. hourly, a signal called HEJNAL mariacki, is played from the highest tower of the church, and commemorates the killing of a bugler, in the 13th century., was killed as he gave the alarm, during the Mongol invasion. to date, 2014, the tower is closed for construction)
- Square – Main Market (Krakow's main square and the largest medieval square in Europe, is great well 200mt side, was conceived in the second half of the '200, to house the city market, after the destruction caused by the Mongol invasion. Was also used as a place of execution of prisoners imprisoned in the town hall, as well as a place for royal ceremonies. During the Nazi occupation, was called Adolf-Hitler-Platz)
- Cloth Hall (Cloth) (Renaissance, is one of the symbols of the city. It was a meeting point for merchants of all nationalities, that imported and exported spices salt, lead and tissues. It, to date, The ground floor is home to stalls, The upper floor houses a museum)
- Town Hall Tower (Town Hall Tower in Krakow) (Costo 7PLN of studenti 5PLN. And 'the only remaining part of the old town hall, demolished in 1820 to enlarge the square. Inside were housed convicts, and there was a torture chamber. A randomized Gothic, and was built in the late 13th century. The top floor is open, and serves as a belvedere. The entrance is adorned by two stone lions dating top 800.
- College Maio (Dating back to the 15th century., in neo-Gothic, is the oldest building of the Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland. Here he studied Copernicus. Inside is the Globus Jagellonicus, the oldest globe showing the Americas)
- Kanonicza Street (The "Via the Clergy", near Wawel Castle. In this way he lived the then bishop of the city Karol Wojtyla, and lived here always the main personalities of the local clergy)
- Wawel Royal Castle (Ticket office hours 9 am-6.45pm but the main performances close to the 5pm. Free Mondays. For centuries it has been the seat of Polish kings. It was built in the second half of the '300, at the behest of Casimir III the Great, and consists of several buildings overlooking the courtyard. Later it was expanded, with the construction of two towers. It is the site of the most important historical and cultural interest in Poland. What to visit: – Crown treasury and armoury: PLN11 PLN18 about studenti – Royal Private Apartments: PLN19 PLN25 about studenti – Lady with an Ermine by Leonardo: PLN10 about PLN8 studenti)
- Wawel Cathedral (Wawel Cathedral) (Hours 9 am-5pm. Free entrance to the church, but the museum, the royal tombs and the bell Sigismund costing PLN12 or PLN7 for students. Dating back to the 11th century., was the place of coronation of Polish kings, and is a sanctuary for all Poles. The current cathedral is Gothic, dating back to the 1400, as the first of 1200 and the second of 1300 were destroyed. It has been the traditional place of burial of Polish monarchs. The chapel of Sigismund, '500, is considered the best example of Renaissance outside Italy, and houses the tomb of King Sigismund I and II. Which, in 1946, Karol Wojtyla took vows and celebrated the first mass.)
- The dragon of Wawel (Wawel Dragon) (The legend of the twelfth century. wants the bad dragon lived in the cave that connects the Wawel Hill and the River Vistula, and came out out to destroy the city and kill citizens. King Krakus, founder of the city, promised to marry his daughter to anyone who killed the dragon. An apprentice named Skuba tricked the dragon and assetò. The latter drank the water from across the river, to bursting and disintegrate. From 1970, here is a metal sculpture, Bronislaw Chromy opera, seven-headed dragon. Every few minutes, flames erupting from the mouth, to the delight of tourists.)
- Church of SS. Peter and Paul (Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul) (Baroque church built between 1597 and 1619 for the Jesuits, and is the work of Italian architects
- Planty Park (surrounding the old city, Old Town, instead of the medieval walls existed until the beginning of '800)
2DAY (Auschwitz e Nowa Huta – pins viola)
- Auschwitz-Birkenau (Guided tours, in English every 30 minutes, and the Italian 10:30, 12 and 13:30, take place from 10am to 3pm, and last ca. 4 hours. Include a visit to both camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau. Cost 40PLN, or up to 30PLN 26 age. A free shuttle bus every 15 minutes the visitors move from field to field)
Buy tickets Krakow-Auschwitz on the website lajkonikbus.pl cost of 13.3PLN / 3.36EUR - Departure 9:05 bus station Glowny MDA G2 - Back 16:30 outside the museum of Auschwitz. get 15 minutes before. - Nowa Huta – Central Square – Monument of Solidarity (Solidarity Monument “Be faithful, Go”) (The central square of the district of Nowa Huta, a real satellite city planned to table by the Soviets, whose heart is the giant steel, which bore the name of Lenin. It is one of only two planned cities built by the Soviets ... the other is Magnitogorsk, over 2000km further east. At the center of this square, Present Day, there is a monument dedicated to Solidarnosc but, at the time of the Iron Curtain, There was the typical statue of Lenin. Evaluate whether to eat in the near restaurant / milk bar Stilowa, just to the north of the square, whose decor dates back to the times of Communism) (Da il prendi Glowny station tram 4 verso Wzgorza Krzeslawikie fino and Central Square R.Regana them - 1 ticket PLN 3,80)
- Nowa Huta – Ujastek 1 – The Soviet-era steel Sendzimir (The administrative center of the steel, built at the beginning of the 50s, melee Renaissance elements to other typical of socialist realism. It was named after Vladimir Lenin)
- Back in the center taking the tram 4, this time towards Bronowice Male. Get off at Basztowa LOT, two steps from the Barbican and the old town . ticket PLN 3,80
3DAY (Wieliczka and district of Kazimierz – Yellow pins)
- Wieliczka Salt Mine (A few kilometers south of the city, is this mine from which it is extracted salt from the 13th century, and up to 2007. The miners, after hard work, remained in hundreds of meters deep to carve the "statues" in the salt, and three chapels and a cathedral. Spreader is making a tour of 3.5km, only with a local guide. It costs PLN79 or PLN64 for students. in estate, the English tour departs every 30min, while that in Italian is to 9:45, all 13:10 and to 15:45. The tour lasts 3 hours, and you have to wait a few minutes before it can come with the guide. Da Krakow Glowny, Take the Train Regio33303 9:09-9:34 o Regio43411 10:31-10:55 fino a market-Kop Wieliczka. or, the Galleria Krakowska, Take the bus 304 fino a Wieliczka Church.
For the return, Train Regio34418 15:14-15:39 o Regio34420 16:30-16:55, or the bus 304 towards the city center.
The one-way trips cost PLN4 (tariffa city agglomeration / Zone II). For the train, you must buy a ticket for quell'orario specific and valid in the next two hours, otherwise the standard ticket, which costs PLN5.30) - Old Synagogue (Sunday open 9 am-5pm. Ticket 9PLN. Free Mondays. Singagoga It is the oldest still existing in Poland. in 1794 General Kosciuszko spoke from this place, asking the support of the people, to throw off the yoke Prussian and Russian. A plaque at the entrance commemorates this time. The singagoga was built in the first half of the '400, only to be rebuilt in 1570. Was devastated and plundered by the Nazis, and used as a warehouse. in 1943, 30 prisoners were shot in the face of its walls. Now it has become a museum that focuses on the Jews of Krakow) (Buy ticket transport lasting 24h strefa I II agglomeration from PLN20. Da Wieliczka Church prendi il bus 204 to Borek Falecki or 304 verso Zworzec Glowny. Go down to Bieżanowska and changes with tram 24 the 50 directed towards the city center, and get off at Miodowa)
- High Synagogue (Dating back to the '500, a synagogue was operating until the times of Nazism, when it was sacked and destroyed. It's called "high" because, one time, was the highest synagogue in Krakow.)
- Remuh Cemetery (It is the old Jewish cemetery in the city, active since 1535 and closed in 1800. During Nazism, the cemetery was destroyed and the tombstones used as flooring. It was then restored after the war)
- Kazimierz – Jewish Quarter (From the 14th to the 19th century. was an independent town, south of the old city of Krakow, and bisected by a branch of the river Vistula. Historically was inhabited by Jews, until the Nazis forced them to move a little further south, in the ghetto of Podgorze. The film Schindler's List was filmed almost entirely here, although few facts took place actually in Kazimierz)
4DAY (Jewish ghetto Podgorze – pins rossi) – starting in the afternoon
- Heroes Square ghetto (Ghetto Heroes Square) (During the Nazi occupation, this was the place from which Jews were leaving for the deportations. Now it has become a memorial, consisting of 70 chairs bronze, representing the assets of which prisoners were stripped. On the South side, angle ul. Lviv, There is a commemorative plaque) (Get the Tram 3 verso New Bieżanów, fino a Ghetto Heroes Square. Leaves every 7min and it takes 10min)
- factory of Oskar Schindler (Schindler's Factory. The Historical Museum of the City of Kraków) (Free Mondays - Summer hours 10 am-4pm. It is the old factory of metal objects, and was opened by 3 Jewish entrepreneurs. After the Nazi invasion, obviously, were deprived of the factory, and Oskar Shindler, member of the Nazi party, took in management. As is well known, used it as a "screen" to save the lives of over a thousand Jews, otherwise destined for slaughter)
- Eagle Pharmacy – Pharmacy Museum of the Jewish ghetto (Free Mondays – 10am-2pm. Museum opened in 2013, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the liquidation of the Jews of the ghetto. The owner of the pharmacy, Tadeusz Pankiewicz, testified, and then wrote in a book, the horrors of the deportations. He can to alleviate the suffering of the residents of the ghetto.
- Departure to the airport. From Central Station depart bus 208 (every hour :25) and 902 (every hour from 22 all 5) that put us 40 minutes and cost 4PLN. From there part of the free shuttle to :15 and :45 for Terminal 2 – Domestic. or go on foot for 500m. IL 208 and 292 start at ul. Bosacka 18, E-1, pause 'East Central Railway Station', in the lower level of the bus station, just east of the railway station.
ITINERARIO IN FORMATO GOOGLE MAPS: link
From there, I left for Warsaw. In definitiva, visiste one of the most amazing in Europe, I can only consigliarvela, before Poland, that already proceeds by leaps and bounds, changes too.