Wawel Castle

Cloth Hall

Wawel Cathedral

St. Mary's Church in Rynek Glowny

Krakow was virtually untouched during WWII and as result its beautiful medieval architecture remains unscathed. Krakow has one of the largest market squares in Europe - called Rynek Glowny - and surrounding it is a labyrinth of streets, each one with a little church, each church more beautiful than the next. The renaissance Royal Castle at Wawel, the gothic St Mary's Basilica, the historical trade pavilions of the Cloth Hall, the former separate Jewish city of Kazimierz, are all places which make a visit Krakow extremely worthwhile.

The Cloth Hall, located in the centre of the square, was originally constructed c.1344 replacing the stalls in the middle of the square. It was rebuilt in the 16th Century and reconstructed in the 19th Century. Upstairs is a gallery from the National Musuem and downstairs there is a fantastic craft market.

The Town hall, sitting in front of the Cloth Hall, was demolished in 1817-1820 and all that is left is the tower and cellars. The tower now contains part of Krakows historical museum.

St. Mary’s church is a magnificent structure, standing proudly in Rynek Glowny. A bugle call is heard from the higher of the two towers at the top of the church, it is said that this is done because the watchman in the church tower saw the Tartars preparing to invade the city, he blew his trumpet to warn the people, but a Tartar bowman shot an arrow into the watchman’s throat. The tiny church of St.Wojciech is located in Rynek Glowny is one of the oldest churches in Krakow and was built on the site where St.Wojciech gave his sermons.

The Jagiellonian University was established by King Kazimierz The Great in 1364, originally there were only three faculties - Law, Medicine and Arts. It is the oldest school in the whole of Poland. The courtyard is really beautiful and whilst here you may either take a guided tour of the interior of the building, or view the many architectural surprises, even in the external guttering.
The Medieval city walls stand either side of the Florianska Gate and artists display their work here offering it for sale.

Few European cities have such a distinctly medieval architectural layout as the centre of Krakow and it forms an oval city park, a rarity in the world, which begins and ends at the Royal Castle. The Castle and Cathedral sit at the southern tip of this green area and on the banks of the Wisla River. Walking from north to south of the central area, and passing through the square, would take about a half hour. Touring at your own pace – much longer. There are about 25 Catholic churches within the ‘park area’ of the city centre, each one more beautiful than the next, each having daily Mass at different times and each reciting the Chaplet of the Divine Mercy at 3pm daily.

The train and bus stations sit at the north-east corner of the city park and adjacent is a large new shopping centre. Trams run along the outer edge of the ‘park area’ and some through the lower end past Wawel Castle and Cathedral. These trams are available from ?agiewniki at very minimal cost (approx. €2 return for the day). Theatres and municipal buildings offer the visitor their architectural beauty. Krakow is a most beautiful city!