krakow

Krakow is the third largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland, with a population of 756,267 in 2008

Krakow is situated 800 km (500 miles) east of German's Frankfurt, 750 km west of Ukraine's Kiev, 950 km from Florence in Italy and 980 km from Goteborg in Sweden.

Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish scientific, cultural and artistic life. As the former national capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, with a history encompassing over a thousand years, the city remains the spiritual heart of Poland. It is a major attraction for local and international tourists, attracting seven million visitors annually. Famous landmarks include the Main Market Square with St. Mary's Basilica and the Sukiennice Cloth Hall, the Wawel Castle, the National Art Museum, the Zygmunt Bell at the Wawel Cathedral, and the medieval St Florian's Gate with the Barbican along the Royal Coronation Route. In 1978 the UNESCO added Cracow's Historic Centre, which includes the Old Town, Kazimierz and the Wawel Castle to the list of World Heritage Sites.

Wawel Royal Castle

Home to three dynasties of Poland's monarchs. Its stately halls and exquisite chambers are filled with priceless art, best period furniture and rare ancient objects. The collection of the 16th-century monumental Flemish tapestries is matchless.

Basilica of the Virgin Mary's
The immense Gothic church, Krakow's principal temple since the 13th century, shelters the world's greatest Gothic sculpture among its many excellent works of art.

The Wieliczka Salt Mine
Millions of visitors, the crowned heads and such celebrities as Goethe and Sarah Bernhardt among them, have enthused over that subterranean world of labyrinthine passages, giant caverns, underground lakes and chapels with sculptures in the crystalline salt and rich ornamentation carved in the salt rock. The last 900 years, when the Wieliczka Salt Mine has been worked, produced 200 kilometers of passages as well as 2,040 caverns of varied size.

Transport

Public transport is based around a fairly dense network of tramway and bus lines operated by a municipal company, supplemented by a number of private minibus operators. Local trains connect some of the suburbs. The bulk of the city’s historic area has been turned into a pedestrian zone with rickshaws and horse buggies; however, the tramlines run within a three-block radius.Rail connections are available to most Polish cities. Trains to Warsaw depart every hour. International destinations include Berlin, Budapest, Prague, Hamburg, Lvov, Kiev, and Odessa (Jun-Sept). The main railway station is located just outside the Old Town District and is well served by public transport.

Kraków airport, (John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice, is located km ( mi) west of the city. Direct trains cover the route between Kraków Główny train station and the airport in 15 minutes. The annual capacity of the airport is estimated at 1.3 million passengers, however in 2006 more than 2.3 million people used the airport, giving Kraków Airport 15% of all air passenger traffic in Poland. The passenger terminal is undergoing extension, and is being adapted to meet the requirements of the Schengen Treaty.

Hotels

Cracow is fast joining the other major capitals of Europe in the range of accommodation it offers visitors, but you have to be prepared to search around for the best bargains. There are a few really exclusive Krakow hotels, and plenty of choice for those seeking cheap accommodation. Things are set to change rapidly with Cracow and Poland entering the mainstream, so visit as early as you can for the most rewarding time in this extraordinary city. For a comprehensive guide of great Krakow hostels and hotels in Krakow, search through our directories.

Food

Krakow cuisine

Traditional Polish cuisine flows from the melting pot of diverse influences as befits country at the world crossroads, inhabited by traveled and novelty-happy entrepreneurs, merchants, soldiers and worldly gentry. In the metropolitan Krakow considerable contingents of immigrant Germans, Italians, Jews, Hungarians, Scotsmen, Czechs, Austrians, etc. also left their mark on the city’s menu over ages. Yet, in fact, sophisticated chefs at the royal court and the courts of Poland’s fabulously rich and many magnates seemed the true trendsetters, while Polish lesser nobility, famed in Europe for their love of lavish parties with plenty of best food and drink, followed suit. Anyway, medieval German influences, 16th-century Italian imports, 17th-century Oriental fads, 18th-century French vogues–all are traceable in contemporary Krakow cuisine. In the 19th c Krakow belonged to the Austrian Empire, thus heavy Vienna sways. And the last half-century’s massive influx from the countryside popularized folk cooking.

Traditional Polish cuisine at its best features abundance of domestic herbs and exotic spices. As hunting was the Polish favorite pastime, game dishes proved overly popular. The same wild mushrooms. Freshwater fish and crayfish used to supersede seafood in landlocked Krakow.

Restaurants

Good restaurants and various other eateries that offer quality food are found throughout the city. Yet Krakow’s historical Old Town central district seems virtually stuffed with establishments catering to all kinds of diners. Here, within easy walking distance, one discovers hundreds of restaurants, cafes, bistros, grills, pizzerias, salad bars, etc. They are lodged in every available space of the area’s old palatial residences and stately burgher houses–upstairs, downstairs, and most willingly in those vast ancient cellars. No doubt, the exquisite and picturesque period interiors are a premium. And from springtime through autumn the restaurant tables take up the streets of the mostly pedestrian precinct.

Krakow Restaurant

Traditions

Krakow gastronomy has a long and glorious tradition that dates back to the famously lavish medieval and Renaissance feasts and the Baroque extravaganzas of Polish gentry gourmets. And the city’s famed restaurants of the past two centuries are fondly remembered. Yet the recent decade has brought about a genuine restaurant explosion owing to the hectic efforts of aspiring restaurateurs, native as well as immigrants.

Trends in Krakow's Restaurants

Currently a creative adaptation of the old Polish cuisine seems still in vogue. Also a revival of the local folk cookery goes on. On the other hand Far East foods, once exotic, appear staples nowadays. At the same time Krakow restaurant patrons occur enamored of fine French and Italian cuisine more than ever before.

Magdalena Bartnicka i Nala Martonik