Essays and galleries :: Krakow, Poland. June 19-20, 2003.

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Krakow, Poland. June 19-20, 2003.

During the Corpus Christi religious holiday I went to Krakow to see the city and famous Corpus Christi procession. It was my first trip to this old polish metropoly (it was capital of the country in the Middle Ages). Polish people still call this place “our second capital”. Indeed, this city is a center of Polish culture. Most famous theaters and historical buildings are there. Moreover, the best polish University and Medical Academy are also situated in this place. The Pope John Paul the Second and famous polish writer Stanislaw Lem (you might have seen "Solaris" movie based on his novel) were born here. Nicholas Copernicus (polish spelling: Mikolaj Kopernik), medieval astronomer and creator of the modern heliocentric model of our solar system, lived and worked in Krakow too. That is why they call Krakow “the Heart of Poland”.

The entire Old Town is very interesting, but Wawel Castle and Old Market Square are definitely the most important places you should to visit if you are in Krakow. It is very nice to sitting in some café in the center of the city, among flowers and children feeding the doves, drinking something, just relaxing and observing people passing by.

Wieliczka was another interesting place I have visited that time. It is small town, situated near the Krakow. It became famous because of its Salt Mine, which is more than 700 years old. If you have ever read the book “The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien and ask yourself, what Moria might have looked like, just go to Wieliczka’s Salt Mine. There are plenty of galleries, halls, bridges, grottos, lakes and even functioning underground church. I have never seen something like this before and I was really impressed by this place. If you are interested, you can read more about it on Salt Mine’s official home page (in English). You also can read my story about journey here (in Russian).