Today I went on seven hours worth of walking tours with three women from Australia. The first tour was of royal Krakow while the second tour was based around the old Jewish ghetto. With seven hours of information to sift through it would be impossible to write a complete post but some highlights are below.
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| The Basilica of St. Mary |
This 13th century church is located on Main Market Square, the center of Krakow. Every hour a trumpet plays a brief song in each direction, continuing a tradition from medieval times. Many did not have clocks so the trumpet was the way to know another hour had passed. Today it is a mere formality but all businesses on the square must legally turn off their music when the trumpet sounds.
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| Old Town Hall |
Above is the tower from the Old Town Hall, which was initially constructed in the 14th century. The tower is the only remaining piece and today functions as a museum.
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| JP2 in the window |
When John Paul II used to come back to Poland he would always stay in the room in this picture. Since his death an image of him has been placed in the window and the room is largely unused. John Paul II was the only Polish pope in the last 500 years and he is still a great source of Polish pride.
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| Resting place of kings |
The crypt above houses the remains of many Polish kings. Lech Kaczynski (the Polish President who died in the recent plane crash) has joined other Polish rulers and is now buried within. His resting place is part of Wawel Castle, one of the most famous landmarks in Krakow.
The fire-breathing dragon at Waweł Castle spits fire every five minutes. It was built because it is a character of a Polish legend and I have included it because anything that breathes fire deserves a place in this blog.
And now onto the depressing old Jewish ghetto. Before WWII there were 65,000 Jews living in Krakow. 62,000 of them died in The Holocaust and today there are only 97 Jews living in the area. However the area is not abandoned as cheap developers snatched up the land, renovated the buildings and have turned the place into the most modern district of of Krakow.
Above is the monument to The Holocaust. It is located on what is believed to be the oldest Jewish cemetery. (Apparently I have been spelling cemetery wrong my whole life. Thank you mom for telling me it is not spelled cemetary.)
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| Ghetto Heroes Square |
The chairs in Ghetto Heroes Square are all that cover this awful stretch of land. Jewish people were gathered here by Nazi officers and promised a better life if they followed them onto the trains. They were of course sent straight to the gas chambers. Nazi officers also held contests here where they would challenge crippled people to see who could run to a finish line the fastest. Once they got to the finish line, which was out of sight of the other people, they were all shot and killed.
Above is a plaque on the outside of the factory of Oskar Schindler, which has been turned into a museum. This is of course the same Schindler from Schindlers List and the movie was actually shot in the factory.
Between WWII and 50 years of communism you would think that Krakow would be an extremely depressing place. I actually like the city and appreciate how it is willing to display some of its ugly history. As George Santaya said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."
Scott
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