English
Krakow is one of the most beautiful cities in Eastern Europe. Its markets, its almost-medieval streets and squares full of flowers will definitively charm you. A few miles away from Krakow, you’ll want to pay a visit to The Wieliczka Salt Mine and the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau, which will surely give you goosebumps.
Photo: http://www.krakau.travel/
Short trip to Auschwitz and Birkenau
It is impossible not to think of torture, pain and death when visiting the Polish concentration camps Auschwitz and Birkenau. Upon arrival, a welcome sign that says: “Arbeit Macht Frei” meaning “Work will make you free”, will catch you off guard. Those who were forced to come to these concentration camps thought they came to work.
You will be at the greatest horror museum ever known, one of the cruelest of the Holocaust. 13 out of 30 barracks, where Jews were crowded, are still intact, as well as the gas chambers, the crematoria and the railway tracks. The smell is one of the things I remember best about this place. Auschwitz and Birkenau smell of tragedy.
The Wieliczka Salt Mine
If you travel to Poland you should pay a visit to the famous Wieliczka Salt Mine, which is located about 15 kilometers on the southeast of Krakow. You don’t want to miss this underground city located hundreds of meters underground in a whitish salt mine with a depth of 327 meters and a length of 300 kilometers. Down there you’ll find dozens of galleries, sculptures of saltpeter, an underground lake and even (although it may sound crazy) a cathedral. They call it the Underground Cathedral of Poland. This is not a place for claustrophobics.
The Mine is accessed by a huge lift going up and down all day long. You can’t visit the mine alone, you always should hire a tour guide-miner and you’ll have the chance to be guided by one who can speak English.
Kazimierz Jewish Quarter
This district of Krakow was a Jewish ghetto, which has been opening gradually over the years. There you’ll still find seven synagogues, one of which still remains open for worship.
Those who have seen the film the Schindler´s List by Spielberg, will find this district of Krakow pretty familiar, since the movie was shot there in 1993.
Since 1998, during the months of June and July, the Jewish ghetto hosts the Festival of Jewish Culture.
Wawel Hill
At the top of the hill stands the majestic Castle and the impressive Wawel Cathedral. A visit to Wawel Hill can last all morning, because there are many things to see: The Royal Castle, the Lost Wawel Archaeological Reserve, the royal tombs, the crypt, the Zygmunt Bell, the Dragon Cave and the Castle’s gardens, all of them, on the banks of the Vistula River.
Stepping into the Wawel Cathedral, you’ll see numerous bones hung, as if it was a cemetery. These bones belong to a whale, a mammoth and a rhino, which, according to legend, were taken from the river.
The Cloth Hall in Krakow’s Market Square
The Cloth Hall building in the Market Square is one of the most famous of the city, because it´s a good place to do some shopping. In this macro-market you’ll find a wide range of textile fabrics. This picturesque place was formerly a market that sold spices, wax, cure, silk and even salt from the mines of Wieliczka. The Cloth Hall reached its greatness during the Renaissance period and it is the largest medieval square in Europe.
