We took a bus and then a tram from Monika and Rajmund's house into the city center. I started the day at a couple of monuments. One was in hour of unknown WWII soldiers who died the other
First I saw the Monument of the Battle of Grunwald; Pomnik Grunwaldzki. It marked the 500th anniversary of the defeat of the Teutonic Order.
Next, was the Barbakan, which is very unique because there are few other structures like it. It was built in the late 1400's and was built as defensive wall. It has 130 loopholes and 3 meter thick walls.
The following picture is the Florian Gate named for St. Florian. It was built in the 1300's and is a Gothic tower built to guard against a Turkish attack.
Next there is the Juliusz Slowacki Theatre whose architecture was based on the Paris Opera House. The first movie in Poland was shown there in 1896.
The church next to the theater is the Church of the Holy Cross built between 1186 and 1207.
Traditional Polish Easter Palm:
Museum and former home of famous Polish painter Jana Matejko:
The Main Market Square Rynek Glowny measures 200 by 200 meters. It is the largest medieval square in all of Europe. It is considered by "people" as one of the greatest urban designs of this kind. Many historical events were held in this square. The large yellowish building in the center is the Cloth Hall or Sukiennice. It was the center of trade in the medieval period, but is full of vendors nowadays.
The photo above is of OBWARZANEK bread. They sell them at little stands in the city. Delicious made in Krakow.
Random City Images:
As you will notice in many of the pictures, there is a huge Church, St. Mary's. It is probably one of my top 3 favorite churches in the world that I have seen thus far...and, I'm a critical judge having seen an estimated 150+ Catholic Churches in my lifetime, including Notre Dame and St. Peter's Cathedral (neither in my top 3, btw).
Anyhow, St. Mary's does not allow photographs inside which preserves it from mass tourism but is unfortunate because you will never know its beauty unless you go there(and if you are a devout Catholic a pilgrimage to Poland is a must). The artist Wit Stwosz created his master piece here: the High Altar which attracts thousands of tourists each day.
St. Mary's Tower is also famous because a bugler plays every hour on the hour and has been for over 600 years for every one around to hear.
The Town Hall Tower, Ratusz, is also in the Main Market Square. It is all that is left of the Town Hall built in the 1300's. In front of the Tower there is a plaque honoring the place where Kosciuszko swore an Act of Insurrection in the 1790's.
Also in the Main Market Square is a small church, St. Adalbert's Church. It is the oldest building in the square and the first church to be founded in the city. St. Aldalbert was a Slav bishop who apparently preached in the church in 995A.D. before he was martyred later on. You can actually walk up to the base of the church and view the original foundation through think clear glass windows. Also, the basement is home to a museum of the square's history.
Next we visited St. Anne's Church which is another gorgeous church in the city. it is apparently one of Poland's most beautiful Baroque style churches.
We also visited the Collegium Maius which is one of the best preserved medieval university buildings in Europe.
Here is an image from inside the Dominican Church which was a church built on the former site of a pagan temple.
I also visited the Franciscan Church. Lovely as well. There was a German Choir singing everyone's fave song "Soon and Very Soon" in English. I sang along. Love that song.
The next church I visited was St. Peter and St. Paul's, which is the oldest Baroque building in Krakow. It is a super nice church; however, pictures inside are not allowed. The construction began in 1596 by a Jesuit (I love Jesuits so I had to add that fact).
Next to St. Peter and St. Paul's is yet another lovely church to visit: St. Andrew's. It is rare because it is one of the few Romanesque model churchs in this region of Poland. Construction on this church began in 1086. Notably, this church has an ornate boat pulpit and holds some of the oldest Christmas crib figures in all of Europe (I don't even really know what that means, but...ok).
Some more Krakow randoms:
Can you guess who is in that window? Yep. It is JPII again!!! He is following me everywhere in Poland.
Next I visited the Wawel, which is one of the most impressive places I think I have seen. Wawel is a castle which is the religious and patriotic inspiration home of Poland. It was the castle which held the seat of all of Poland's kings for 500 years. By the way, Krakow is known as the city of Polish kings. The castle is complete with a huge courtyard, an elaborate and beautifully constructed cathedral, enormous bell tower, and the tombs of many saints and kings.
The tomb of St. Jadwiga in Wawel is pictured below. She was a Polish KING.
Here is Saint Stanislaw:
View of Krakow from Wawel. Notice how huge St. Mary's is...
Krakow also has a couple of legends. One has to do with a princess and a virgin- eating dragon. Here is a monument of the dragon of Krakow:
This monument below is showing the relationship between human and dog. It was based on a real dog who sat with his dead owner for 4 days on the street until someone came.
The very last church we visited in the city was the Church of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Stanislaw "on the Rock." I was told that it was a favorite church of JPII. His papal necklace thinger is here and also a large piece of wood and stone that Stanislaw died on (I think).
Ok, so after that long glorious day of walking, Monika and I were picked up by Rajmund and went to get Damian from his preschool. Damian goes to a Catholic preschool in the city. Apparently the nuns there start "brainwashing" them young because he came home that day and said he was going to be a priest. Hahahaha..we'll see about that.
After dinner(which in Poland dinner is at lunch time and then they eat a supper later on which is significantly lighter than the mid-day dinner), Monika and I went to 2 monasteries, the mall, and then back to the city center to walk around at night.
The first monastery we visited was Tyniec Abbey. It is on top of a big hill right on the Wisla River. It dates back to the 11th century. Below are my photos from Tyniec:
Next we were off to the Church of the Divine Mercy in Krakow. It is a new church and very modern looking. Pope JPII did a mass here as well, hence the monument. There is also and elevator at the church which has a look out to the city (it was closed when I went...oh well). The altar of the church has a giant globe and the picture of Jesus (like below) of St. Faustina's image of him. The Divine Mercy Church is next to the monastery where St. Faustina died.
A bit about St. Faustina:
When she was 20 years old she entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Mercy. This group of sisters works to educate and help young women who need it. In the 1930's Jesus appeared to her and gave her a message that she was told to spread to the world. She described this experience and it was painted twice. The second painting became the more famous of the two and hangs over her tomb in the church in the monastery and also on the altar of the Church of the Divine Mercy next door.
"I feel certain that my mission will not come to an end upon my death, but will begin. O doubting souls, I will draw aside for you the veils of heaven to convince you of God's goodness."- St. Faustina's Diary
Next, we went to the mall to find me an amber charm. Poland is known for having tons of amber. I like amber things a lot so I bought a small amber sun charm there.
We also ate Polish ice cream, which is actually quite good. I know Italian gelato has a lot of fans out there...but don't knock the other Euro ice creams til you've tasted them. I happen to like Polish and Spanish ice cream best, and i've eaten ice cream in 12 countries so far (I know, fatty..haha). In any case, I got a scoop of cranberry and a scoop of pinacolada. YUM!
Then, Monika and I walked around Krakow main square after dark which is really lovely. We went to the book store where I purchased the Three Musketeers because I had finished the novel I brought that day and needed a new one.
And finally, we returned back to the house and I got a great night's sleep!
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