The Top Things to Do in Krakow 2020

The Auschwitz concentration camp was established in April 1940 in the prewar Polish army barracks on the outskirts of Oświęcim. Originally intended for Polish political prisoners, the camp was 'repurposed ' as a dedicated center for the genocide of the Jews of Europe. For this purpose, the much larger camp at Birkenau (Brzezinka), also referred to as Auschwitz II, was built 2km west of the original site in 1941 and 1942, and another in Monowitz, several kilometers to the west. It is now estimated that this death factory eliminated some 1.6 million people of 27 nationalities, including 1.1 million Jews, 150,000 Poles and 23,000 Roma.Auschwitz was only partially destroyed by the fleeing Nazis, and many of the original brick buildings stand to this day as a bleak testament to the camp's history. Some 13 of the 30 surviving prison blocks now house museum exhibitions, either general or dedicated to victims from particular countries or races that lost citizens at Auschwitz.

Just outside Kraków, some 9 miles (14km) southeast of the city centre, Wieliczka is famous for its ultra-deep Salt Mine, which has been in continuous operation for 700 years. It's an eerie world of pits and chambers and everything has been carved by hand from salt blocks. The Wieliczka Salt Mine was included on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1978. The mine is renowned for the preservative qualities of its micro climate, as well as for its health-giving properties. An underground sanatorium has been established at a depth of 440 feet (135m), where chronic allergic diseases are treated by overnight stays.

Oskar Schindler was a wealthy German Nazi who employed hundreds of Jews in his Krakow enamel factory, which ultimately led to many saved lives. Schindler’s part in all this is immortalized in the Steven Spielberg film Schindler’s List.Since June 2010, Schindler’s old factory has housed a highly emotive, interactive and visually stunning permanent exhibition on the Nazi occupation of Krakow. The horrors of the regime are showcased, from the early days of uneasy truce between Poles and Germans to the ultimate mass genocide of Jews and Poles alike in concentration camps such as Auschwitz-Birkenau. The multimedia and intense 3-D diorama displays in the “Krakow Under Nazi Occupation 1939-1945” exhibit harshly bring to reality the repeated atrocities, the liquidation of 3,000 Jews from the Podgorzé ghetto in 1943 and the final days of the war.

Kazimierz - or Jewish District - was for a long time an independent town with its own municipal charter and laws. Its colorful history was determined by its mixed Jewish-Polish population, and though the ethnic structure is now wholly different, the architecture gives a good picture of its past, with clearly distinguishable sectors of what were Christian and Jewish quarters. The suburb is home to many important tourist sights, including churches, synagogues and museums. The western part of Kazimierz was traditionally Catholic, and although many Jews settled here from the early 19th century until WWII - for example, the main Jewish hospital was on ul Skawińska - the quarter preserves much of its original character, complete with its churches. A tiny area of about 300m by 300m northeast of Corpus Christi Church, the Jewish sector of Kazimierz became, over the centuries, a centre of Jewish culture equal to no other in the country.

The Tatra Mountains are the highest part of the Carpathian range and Poland's southernmost border. Today they are shared with Slovakia, but in the past it was Hungary and the dreaded Ottoman empire who frequently threatened to invade Poland. The mountains cover 300 sq miles (785 sq km) but three-quarters of this is in Slovakia. The Polish part was declared a national park in 1955. The dramatic mountains are perfect for hiking in summer and skiing in winter. For skiers there is a cable car and chair lift on Kasprowy Wierch Peak; for hikers, around 155 miles (250 km) of trails ranging from easy to difficult. There are wild flowers, animals and views galore. And if you don't see any of the shy mountain animals, then find them stuffed in the Tatra Museum where they can't run and hide! There are also caves, six of which are open to the public in the Koscieliska valley. These were once home to wild mountain bandits. And of course there are lakes, the most famous of which is Morskie Oko.

The political and cultural centre of Poland until the end of the 16th century, Wawel Royal Castle, also known as Zamek Wawelski is, like Wawel Cathedral, the very symbol of Poland's national identity. The original, rather small residence of the Zamek Wawelski was built in the early 11th century by King Bolesław Chrobry beside t he chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary (known as the Rotunda of SS Felix and Adauctus). King Kazimierz Wielki turned it into a formidable Gothic castle, but when it burned down in 1499, King Zygmunt Stary commissioned a new residence. Within 30 years a splendid Renaissance palace, designed by Italian architects, was in place. Despite further extensions and alterations, the 3-store Renaissance structure, complete with a courtyard arcaded on three sides, has been preserved to this day. Repeatedly sacked and vandalized by the Swedish and Prussian armies, the castle was occupied after the Third Partition by the Austrians.

Measuring 650 ft x 650 ft (200m by 200m), Kraków's Rynek Główny is the largest medieval town square in Europe and one of the finest urban designs of its kind. It s layout, based on that of a castrum (Roman military camp), was drawn up in 1257 and has been retained to this day, though the buildings have changed substantially over the centuries. Most of them now look neoclassical, but don't let the façades confuse you - the basic structures are much older, as can be seen by their doorways, architectural details and interiors. Here you will find the Cloth Hall (the world's oldest shopping mall at 700 years), the 13th century Gothic Town Hall Tower, the magnificent 14th century Gothic Basilica of the Virgin Mary, and the small church of St Adalbert, some of which dates back to the 11th century.

Mt Gubalowka is a mountain above the town of Zakopane in southern Poland. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the region, offering amazing views of the Tatras Mountains and a variety of outdoor activities throughout the year. The best way to reach the top is by the funicular that will take you up from Zakopane in just three and a half minutes. First opened in 1938, it was rebuilt in 2001 and now carries up to 2,000 passengers per hour. Mt Gubalowka has a popular ski resort with about three kilometers of ski runs open from early December to early April. In addition to the funicular, skiers can take a two-person chair lift, T-Bar or rope tow up the mountain. When the ski season ends, a summer toboggan run opens, as do biking and walking trails. There is also a restaurant serving traditional meals, cold beer and hot tea year-round on an outdoor terrace.

The Bonerowski Palace is a luxury hotel in the heart of Krakow’s Old Town. Dating back to the 13th century, it was then significantly renovated in the 19th century, at which time the entire building was raised up to three floors and a new staircase was added. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the building has many remarkable features, including a 70-foot-long chandelier in the lobby (the longest in Europe), a Gothic pillar on the first floor and a 17th-century polychrome on the second floor. It was opened as a hotel in 2007 and has been named the best luxury hotel in Poland. The palace is perfectly situated to explore Krakow as it is within walking distance of a number of important attractions, including the Czartoryski Museum, the Collegium Maius building of Jagiellion University, the Dominican Church, the Franciscan Church and the Barbakan fortress.

Chocolow is a tiny village sitting on the border with Slovakia in southern Poland with a great view of the surrounding Tatras Mountains. Dating back to the 16th century, the village has long been home to the indigenous Goral people and today represents the most complete survival of a traditional Goral village. As such, it has the feeling of an open air museum, with one main street lined with traditional wooden houses. The houses are protected by the Tatra Museum in nearby Zakopane and cannot be altered. They are also kept in pristine condition, with annual cleaning and polishes. The home at #24 is said to have been made entirely from a single tree, and the home at #75 features a small museum about the 1846 uprising in Chocholow against Austrian rule. The only non-wooden building in town is St. Hyacinth’s Church, a stone Gothic church that was built to replace a wooden one in the 19th century.

The focal building of Krakow’s fanciful Main Square (Rynek Główny), the Cloth Hall has stood in the same spot in various forms for about 800 years but was originally built to house the local textile traders. From its humble beginnings as a small open-air market, the Renaissance-style hall is now 354 feet (108 meters) long and hosts Krakow’s biggest and best souvenir market, with stalls on the ground floor selling painted eggs, amber jewelry, wooden puppets and organic goods. The hall is gloriously floodlit by night. On the first floor of the Cloth Hall is the charming, revamped Gallery of 19-Century Polish Art (Galeria Sztuki Polskiej XIX wieku w Sukiennicach). It reopened in 2010 after an extensive facelift, and its artwork hangs in elegant Renaissance salons. The highlights are the two massive satirical works by Polish nationalist artist Jan Matejko.

The Sanctuary of Divine Mercy is a church located on the outskirts of Krakow, Poland. The church was consecrated in 1891 and dedicated to St. Joseph. It was originally built as part of the convent of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. This church is home to the tomb of St. Faustina, a nun who saw a vision of Jesus in 1931. It is said that when he appeared to her, he instructed her to commission an image of him along with the quote, “Jesus, I trust Thee.” This image, painted by Adolf Hyła, has spread in the form of copies and reproductions throughout the world. St. Faustina rests in a white marble coffin below the original image of the Merciful Jesus along with other relics. It is a popular place for pilgrimages for Catholics from around the country and even from other parts of the world. Attached to the church is a tower that provides spectacular views of the city.

The lop-sided towers of the majestic St Mary’s Basilica dominate the northeast corner of Krakow’s lively central square, the Rynek Główny. A church has graced this spot since medieval times, but this incarnation was built of red-brick in Gothic style and consecrated in 1320 after the original was destroyed by invading Tartars in the 13th century. The northern tower was raised to 263 feet (80 meters) and became the city’s watchtower. The interior is handsomely decorated with a star-spangled blue ceiling, heavy Gothic ornamentation and stained-glass windows that shaft sunlight into patterns in the floor. The showpiece is the magnificent carved altar, constructed with wood by the German craftsman Veit Stoss in 1489; it took him 12 long years to finish his creation, which measures 47 feet (13 meters) across and is carved with 200 biblical figures. The altar is opened daily at 11:50 a.m. to reveal gilded scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary.

Originally opened in 1895 by Jan Michalik, this cave (also known as Jama Michalik) is one of the most famous cafes in Poland. Referred to as a cave because of the lack of windows, it has looked very much the same for the last hundred years and is one of Krakow’s best examples of art nouveau décor. The eclectic interior is a result of Michalik’s policy prior to World War I to accept payment in kind from his customers, many of whom were artists who chose to pay with their art work. The café is also known as the birthplace of the Young Poland artistic movement and the Zielony Balonik (Green Balloon) cabaret, which became a model for other literary cabarets throughout Poland. For decades a popular haunt of Polish artists, politicians and professors from the nearby Jagiellion University, Michalik’s Cave continues to be frequented by popular writers, artists and academics today. It is also quite popular with tourists, many of whom come in groups for dinner and a folklore show.

In March 1941, thousands of Krakow’s Jews were forcibly moved and incarcerated within the Podgórze ghetto south of Kazimierz. Plac Zgody, a large square in the heart of the ghetto, was the departure point during World War II for Jews boarding trains to Paszów, Auschwitz and various other camps. It has since been renamed Ghetto Heroes Square in honor of the Jewish deportees. Today the entire square serves as a memorial to the Krakow Jews. Designed by local architects Piotr Lewicki and Kazimierz Latak, the memorial comprises 70 empty chairs placed at regular intervals throughout the open space — a chilling reminder of the furniture, luggage and other personal belongings that littered the square after the final deportations and razing of the ghetto in 1942 and 1943.

The cobblestone Main Square (Rynek Główny) of Krakow Old Town is Central Europe’s largest and has been the center of the city’s social, religious and political life since the Middle Ages. Today it still serves as Krakow’s modern pulse, dominated by the splendid Renaissance arcades of the Sukiennce (Cloth Hall), the lop-sided St Mary Basilica and an endless supply of cafés and bars. From the square, Krakow’s complex medieval alleyways peel off in all directions and work as the focus of most visits. The district contains Baroque churches by the handful, a gorgeous ensemble of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture, as well as about 25 museums covering subjects as diverse as Japanese manga, photography and stained glass. The standout historical collections are found in the many branches of the National Museum and in the Rynek Underground below the Cloth Hall.

Wawel Cathedral - or Katedra Wawelska - has witnessed most of the coronations, funerals and entombments of Poland's monarchs and strongmen over the centuries, and wandering around the grandiose funerary monuments and royal sarcophagi is like a fast-forward tour through Polish history. The cathedral is both an extraordinary artistic achievement and Poland's spiritual sanctuary. The building you see is the third church on this site, consecrated in 1364. The original cathedral was founded sometime after the turn of the first millennium by King Bolesław Chrobry and was replaced with a larger Romanesque construction around 1140. When it burned down in 1305, only the Crypt of St Leonard survived. The present-day Katedra Wawelska is basically a Gothic structure but chapels in different styles were built around it later. Before you enter, note the massive iron door and, hanging on a chain to the left, huge prehistoric animal bones.

In 1499 Krakow was a wealthy city under constant threat of attack, especially from the rampaging Ottomans. So they made themselves into a fortress. The Great Barbican is both the principal entry point to the city and a massive seven turreted point of defense. These days it looks like a fairytale city gate, back then it was either a massive relief to reach it with your wagons intact, or a deterrent to your planned attack on the city. The actual gate to the city was St Florian's gate, linked to the Barbican by a covered passageway. But the Barbican and the series of moats and walls which lead away from it, ringing the city, were the first point of entry to Krakow in the Middle Ages. Today, you still enter the Old Town of the city through the impressive Barbican.

Tucked away behind the flying buttresses of St Mary’s Basilica, the Maly Rynek is the baby brother of Krakow’s landmark Rynek Główny, just as beautiful but without the constant crowds. The oblong square is lined with townhouses painted in muted greens, yellows and reds, some with Baroque embellishments dating from the 17th century. The brick-red apse of the Church of St Barbara backs on to the piazza; with its origins in the early 14th century, it was Krakow’s Jesuit church for centuries and its interior has a mix of Gothic and Baroque architecture, several rare icons and an mournful sculpture depicting Christ in the Garden at Gethsemane.

Built during the fifteenth century blending German and Bohemian Gothic architectural styles, the Old Synagogue (Stara Synagoga) is the oldest surviving synagogue in Poland. The structure was rebuilt in 1570 by Italian architect Mateo Gucci, who added a Renaissance aesthetic, and was subsequently renovated several times throughout the early twentieth century. During World War II, Germans took over the building and used it as a warehouse, during which time the furnishings and the ceiling were destroyed. Today, the reconstructed synagogue houses a Jewish history and culture museum; the collection includes Jewish ceremonial items, Ark curtains, Torah adornments and holiday costumes and craft items, as well as a permanent exhibit on family and private life.

Sitting in the foothills of the rugged Carpathian Mountains southwest of Krakow, the town of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska grew up to accommodate pilgrims who flocked to the red-roofed and copper-domed complex of religious buildings that still dominates life there to this day. Built in the 17th century, the ornate Baroque Sanctuary of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska provided Catholics with a substitute Chapel of the Holy Cross in Jerusalem, which at that time was under Turkish rule and firmly off limits to Christians; it incorporates the Franciscan Bernardini Monastery alongside 42 chapels and churches all beautifully sited on pathways among woodland and symbolizing the Stations of the Cross at Calvary.