Krakow - I discover a city I know so well.

I haven't done this for a long time.

Yesterday I had to pick up a few things near the old town in my city. I had time, the weather was great, so I decided to become a tourist in my city, just for a moment.

I invite you for a short trip around the old heart of Krakow

Although I love my city, it's difficult to look at its monuments with a fresh eye.

Well, I tried :)

I will also try to tell you some details about the history of Krakow and Poland.

Let's start at Matejko Square. You can see the barbican, but let me show you something else first.

This is a Grunwald Monument.

It was constructed in 1910 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald (Polish-Lithuanian army against Teutonic Order). In 1910 Poland didn't exist on the map of Europe, from more than a hundred years torn between three partitioners. The construction of the monument took place in secret from the Austrian partitioner.

On top of the monument, you can see Wladyslaw Jagiello. He was the Grand Duke of Lithuania and by marriage with the Polish queen, Jadwiga became the Polish king. His reign laid the foundation for the centuries-long Polish–Lithuanian union. In 1410 he defeated the Teutonic Order in a great Battle of Grunwald.

And in 1939 he was beaten by the Nazis, who were in a sense, descendants of the Teutonic Knights. :(
_{Source: public domain. By From private collection ("Ze zbiorow prywatnych") - Jan Dąbrowski (1946) Kraków pod Rządami Wroga 1939-1945, Kraków: Drukarnia Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, ss. 8 no ISBN, Domena publiczna}

Let's leave those sad times and go on.

Here is the Barbican, a fortified outpost built at the end of the 15th century, once connected to the Florian's Gate and city walls.

The Florian's Gate - now it's separated from the Barbican.

Now we're inside :)

Here you can see a preserved fragment of the defensive walls.

Floriańska Street and St. Mary's Church.

We will go there, but let's rest first. There are hundreds of charming, small backyards in the old town. Very often you can find some cafes or pubs there.

Let's get back to our route.

We're on the Main Square, let's take a look around.

The Cloth Hall and The Old Town Hall.

From the main square to the Wawel Castel, it's very close. My favorite route leads through Kanonicza street.

And here it is, Wawel Royal Castle. The buildings show marks of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, but its greatest splendor gained after the reconstruction in the first half of the 16th century.

The castle is closed, so the main road to the Wawel Hill is empty.

These are the bricks that commemorate the people who supported the renovation of Wawel after Poland regained independence:

As I mentioned in one of the previous posts, the Wawel castle for several dozen years was the main object of the so-called Krakow Fortress. It was at a time when Poland didn't exist, and Krakow was under the rule of the Austrian Empire. Already before, right after the invasion of the partitioners, the castle was looted and destroyed, then was built up with barracks and other constructions. Restoration works began only in 1905, and after regaining independence in 1918, they started at full speed. It was partly financed by society; we can read the names of these people and organizations on the bricks.

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The castle from a different perspective:

This shot was taken through the closed gate:

On the monument, the hero, Tadeusz Kościuszko. A fighter for Polish and American freedom, a friend of Thomas Jefferson and builder of American fortifications. Above all, he loved freedom and believed that everyone deserves it, regardless of origin and race.

Here are two examples of his ideals:

In 1798, after receiving an overdue payment from the US government, Kosciuszko allocated it to redemption black slaves from Thomas Jefferson and other owners. He wanted also to educate them to enable them to live as free people. However, Thomas Jefferson didn't fulfill Kosciuszko's will. The writers Gary B. Nash and Graham Russell Gao Hodges called this act a betrayal of freedom (in the book "Friends of Liberty: Thomas Jefferson, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, and Agrippa Hull").

After The Second Partition of Poland, the uprising started. Kosciuszko became its leader, among others, he planned deep social reforms. The powers against which the uprising was directed were more afraid of the potential social revolution than of independent Poland. Unfortunately, the uprising collapsed and Poland ceased to exist as a result of The Third Partition.

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Okay, enough history for today. I wasn't ready for a cool evening, so I decided to finish the walk in this place.
Of course, there is the other side of the castle, the one from the Vistula side, but I will show it to you on another occasion.

On the way back, I passed a cute pair:

And finally - the last look at the castle from the road to the tram stop.

I hope to show you something else from the old city soon, I felt like it!

Thank you for your attention :)

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I am the only author of the text and all photos except for the archival photo that has been assigned.

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