Kracow

From: http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/cracow.html

Cracow

Cracow's Historic Centre holds Europe's largest marktesquare and numerous medieval buildings. Cracow was on Unesco's first World Heritage List, publicized in 1978. This city in the south east of Poland was founded in 1257. The formidable town square dates from the same year.

Until 1609 Cracow was the Polish capital, when it was moved to the more central Warsaw. This important role in Polish history is symbolized in the Royal Wawel Castle, a site of royal coronations and royal sepulchres.

Cracow also has one of the world's oldest university buildings and the Kazimierz district containing many Jewish memorial sites.

Cracow's historical centre can be easily explored on foot. It was snowing a bit when I walked around (that's why the photos look somewhat bleak). At Wawel, the Castle, I joined a tour inside the Apartments. These living quarters exhibit many Renaissance decorations and furnishings. Some Dutch china (with oriental themes), Flemish tapestries and Italian majolica chimneys. It got me thinking about the originality of many sites, and that I should stick to visiting the "originals" (Rome instead of "The Second Rome", Venice instead of "The Venice of the East", Jerusalem instead of "Polish Jerusalem").

Most impressive monument of Cracow is the 14th century Cloth Hall (Sukiennice), situated at the centre of the square. It's a huge building with a very distinctive shape: all gables wherever you look. There are little (souvenir) shops inside now. On the first floor there's a fine exhibition of large paintings by Polish artists from around 1900.

On Sunday morning I picked a walking tour from my guidebook, and went to the old Jewish neighbourhood Kazimierz. Already a considerable number of people were present at the clothes market on Plac Zydowski, although it was freezing and before 9. There are a number of synagogues in this area, all a bit more decorated on the outside than usual (perhaps to rival at least somehow the exuberant Catholic churches in Cracow). The Jewish community in Cracow has been minimalized for long, so these synagogues and the adjacent Jewish cemeteries are merely reminders from the past.

More photos can be found in the Picture Gallery