Exploring Krakow and the Pierogi (Dumpling) Festival

August 2010

I admit:  I love being a tourist and having the freedom to spend a day enjoying and exploring a new place in our fascinating world.  And I can't think of a more delightful place to do that than Krakow (or Cracow), Poland.  While Warsaw is the modern capital of Poland, I have heard Krakow referred to as its heart.  It certainly is a fun and exciting place to be on a summer day.

They have found Stone Age remnants on Wawel Hill, and a hamlet was known to exist there since the 9th century AD.  But it was in its conquest by the Mongols in 1241 that Krakow became legendary.  They say a watchman in a tower sounded his trumpet to warn the town of the invaders, but  a Tartar arrow pierced his throat and cut short his warning.  This haunting melody known as the "henjal mariacki" was historically played in four directions to tell people of the opening and closing time for the city gates as well as for emergencies.  Today the short melody with its mid-note stop is played on the hour (during the daylight) by a trumpeter high in the Mariacki (St. Mary's) Basilica tower, after which the trumpeter waves his hand out the window to the crowds that gather below.  While there's not any historical reference to a slain trumpeter in the invasion, the legend at  least attempts to explain why the tune ends abruptly. The children's Newberry Award winner, The Trumpeter of Krakow, piqued my young curiosity about Krakow years ago and did much to popularize (and embellish) the legend.

Unfortunately, it wasn't only the Mongols who coveted Krakow.  The city was claimed by the Teutonic Knights, Russians, Swedes, Austrian Habsburgs, Nazis, and communists.  Fortunately, despite the conquests, much of the medieval and renaissance Old Town remains for us today.  The Mariacki Bascilica sits on one side of Market Square, the largest medieval market square in Europe.  The basilica was started in the 13th century and is renown not just for its towers, but for the extraordinary carved altar piece created by Veit Stoss in the 15th century.   Massive gilded doors cover the largest Gothic altar piece in Europe which is only available for viewing a short time each day or for special services.

In the center of Market Square is the remaining tower of the old Town Hall and the Clothier's Hall with its long gallery of stalls where medieval and renaissance vendors sold their wares.  Today it is tourists who bargain for a good deal on souvenirs.  The square is surrounded by fashionable houses and restaurants and is crowded with artists, musicians, flower vendors, street entertainers, horse-drawn carriages, outdoor cafes where you can just enjoy the scene and, of course, other tourists.  I had a delicious light supper at the cafe of the Wierzynek Restaurant that has been serving food there since 1364 (Europe's oldest continuous restaurant--be assured that the food and menu have been updated).

I had actually started my day with a  walking tour  of  the Kazimierz district and Old Town.  We visited the old Jewish quarter where still stands the Old Synagogue, built in  the 15th century, that now serves as a museum.  Around the square, there were other old Jewish businesses and houses as well as the Remuh Synagogue and Cemetery.  I understand this area was used in the filming of Schindler's List --being just across the Vistula  River from the Podgorze district where the ghetto was established and Oskar Schindler had his factory.



I had  chosen to stay at the Qubus Hotel, in the Podgorze district, not only because of  the good price for a river view room, but also so I could do an early morning walk through the area.  After visiting Auschwitz, it was comforting to be reminded of people like Oskar Schindler and Tadeuszwicz Pankie, who ran the Pharmacy under the Eagle and smuggled news and medicines to the nearby ghetto.

Down the street from my hotel was the touching memorial,  Plac Zgody -- a plaza of empty bronze chairs to remind one of the ghetto victims.  The Qubus Hotel had a modern jazzy flair (popular in today's Poland) and scrumptious food.  It was on the pick-up route for tours and only  a 15 minute direct walk across the pedestrian-friendly bridge to the the Old Town (and a safe, inexpensive taxi ride back at night), so it worked well for me.  I also tried the cheap trolley into the town, but, with my poor Polish,  I missed my stop  and had to backtrack.

I ascended Wawel Hill to the castle where Polish kings ruled for 500 years and the cathedral where they were crowned and often buried.  The cathedral contains numerous ornate royal tombs as well as the relics of  St. Stanislaw (Polish bishop murdered by the king in 1079).   In the early 16th century, Sigismund (Zygmunt) I, the Old, (he had to have been young sometime) brought architects from Italy to make the old gothic castle into the latest-styled  Renaissance palace which is what we see today.  Despite fires, neglect, and invasions, we still catch a glimpse of its magnificence through the frescoes in the courtyard and the interior wooden carvings, especially the ceiling of the Hall of Deputies with its 30 individually carved and painted faces staring down at you.

My favorite pieces were the magnificent woven tapestries commissioned by King Sigismund II Augustus (1520-1572).  It is a story all its own of how they have reassembled 136 of these tapestries--ranging in size from massive wall coverings to smaller bench and windowsill covers.  I found the 19 massive Biblical tapestries unusual in both content (the stories of Adam and Eve, Noah, and the Tower of Babel) and detail/expressiveness.  Contrary to a popular Irish pub song about why we have no unicorns, the tapestries show not only unicorns entering Noah's ark, but fiery flying dragons.  Other tapestries showed unusual animals from Africa, the dodo bird, and the little-known llama and turkey from the New World.  They were among the most interesting and beautiful tapestries I have seen.

Speaking of dragons, I caught just a glimpse of the metal, fire-breathing monument to Smok at the base of the hill, just in front of the Dragon's Den cave under Wawel Castle.  According to this legend, a nasty dragon that liked to consume beautiful young maidens lived in the cave during King Krak's reign.  To save the people of Krakow and preserve his daughter, Wanda, he offered her hand to the one who could slay the dragon.  Many died trying, but finally a young cobbler came up with a scheme to trick the dragon into eating a sheepskin filled with sulphur which made him so thirsty he drank the whole river and burst. Wanda and the cobbler lived happily ever after, so they say.  I didn't take time to go through the damp cave to the Vistula River.

Leaving Wawel Hill, I wandered through winding streets with houses from the 13th-15th centuries with Latin inscriptions above windows and popular tromp-d'oeil designs (painted to look like 3 dimensional stone).

I loved the old brick courtyard and late-gothic cloisters of the Jagiellonian University (founded in the 14th Century) where not only Copernius, but, more recently, Karol Josef Wojtyla (who became Pope John Paul II) were educated.  There are many tributes to Pope John Paul II in Krakow, as he had served as the Archbishop of Krakow from 1964-1978 before he was elected the first Polish pope.   A stroll the other direction from Market Square on Florianska Street along the Royal Route led past interesting characters and places to the reconstructed Florian Gate and the  Planty--park greens surrounding the Old Town where the defensive walls once stood.

An unexpected pleasure was finding myself in Krakow during its Pierogi Festival.  The Maly Rynik Square just off of Market Square was filled with booths preparing and selling their versions of this yummy classic Polish dumpling, filled with meat, cheese, vegetables, jam, fruits or whatever.  I chose to sample a variety (all good) while enjoying the polka music and entertainment on stage.  I will remember Krakow as a city of music.  I passed classical musicians playing in the streets, enjoyed the lively tunes at the festival and from accordion groups around town, and then chose to spend my last evening with a Chopin piano concert.

Although Chopin is usually associated with Warsaw, it was the year of his 200th birthday, and all of Poland was celebrating.  In an intimate upstairs salon of the  Wierzynek Restaurant,  I spent some of the final hours of  my month-long journey through Eastern Europe filled by the intense, rich music of Chopin.  But now I am back to where my blog of this journey began.  (see sidebar  PL Krakow: Searching for a Shake)
Next post will be  Peru:  Crossing the Andes

Click below for slideshow:
Krakow

Music:  Polish Radio Polka Band, Jam Polka, More Polish Polkas
More information:  http://www.krakow-info.com/