Streets squares and districts to visit Little Poland

Located in the heart of the old city, the point of convergence of all the tourist arteries, this vast quadrilateral of 200 meters on each side is one of the most beautiful squares in Europe. Dating back to 1257, it is a rare example of a preserved medieval urban layout (if we exclude the many shanties, stores, cemeteries and other facilities that were jumbled together in the square and have since been destroyed). In the summer, an incredible crowd enjoys the numerous café terraces, which compete for the spotlight, and the street animations. In winter, life goes on and the crowds gather for its superb Christmas market or the various ceremonies that punctuate the city's calendar. 47 houses now frame the square, built in the 14th and 15th centuries, they were remodeled in the mid-19th century in a neoclassical style that ensures an architectural homogeneity to the whole. Most of the buildings that encircle the square have their own history. No. 6, "the gray house", housed the first elected king of Poland, Henry of Valois. No. 7, called the Montelupi Palace, became the first post office of Poland under King Sigismund. At No. 9 the Gothic Bonerowska Palace was the home of the painter Stanislas Wispański. At no. 20 the Potocki Palace with its loggia-lined courtyard is a model of classical Krakow architecture, as is the 16th-century Pod Baranami Palace at no. 27, which today houses a cultural center.

This square is located on the other side of St. Barbara's Church and behind the Church of Our Lady. Although it is close to the main square, it is surprisingly quiet here. In the past, it was used for the trade of products that did not "smell good", mainly meat and fish. The construction of the tramway lines in 1902 marked the end of its commercial vocation. It was here that the Merkuriusz Polski, the oldest Polish newspaper, began to be printed in 1661.

The heart of Kazimierz used to be called "Jewish Square". At its center stands a circular hall built in 1900 for the ritual kosher slaughter of poultry. Today, the hall houses a multitude of kiosks selling the famous zapiekanki. Lined with a multitude of bars, cafés and restaurants, in the evening the square becomes the center of the nightlife. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, there's a small flea market that mixes trinkets and artifacts from the Second World War. Public toilets are located on the corner of Rue Estery.

This square takes its unusual name from a water reservoir called Zalewa wielka , which was used to prevent access to the fortress from the south side. Originally, the square had a square shape and was bisected by Moranda Street and surrounded by the houses of the city's rich merchants. Today, the square is occupied by a picturesque garden with a fountain in the middle, which is very popular on hot days in the Polish East. The beautiful mansions around it date from the end of the 19th century.

The Market Square is the heart of the Old Town. It is built in the shape of a square, 100 meters on each side, with two straight streets intersecting in the middle: Grodzka Street and Ratuszowa and Moranda Streets, which connect the Wielki Rynek with the other two squares, Wodny Rynek and Solny Rinek. All around the square there are beautiful bourgeois houses with richly decorated arches. They belonged to rich merchants, professors and noblemen of Zamoyski's entourage. Originally, the facades of all the houses on the square were covered with decorative parapets, which, however, were removed in the 1820s. Only the parapets on the houses in the northern part of the square were restored. These houses, called "Armenian houses", belonged to rich Armenian merchants. At No. 30 Ormiańska Street is the Wilczkowska House, which houses the Zamojskie Regional Museum. On Bartoszewiczowska Street there is the "house under the lion" at No. 26, the "house under the couple" at No. 24 and the "house under the Virgin" at No. 22. These houses are topped with attics and painted in bright colors. The portals are also worth seeing. Sculpted and richly decorated, they are often original. The Rynek is dominated by a magnificent town hall (Ratusza), built in 1651. The Rynek is a lively and busy place, so don't hesitate to venture into the arcades, access the cellars and discover its bars and restaurants.

This beautiful square takes its name, you guessed it, from salt. That's because, after the founding of the city, it was brought and stored here from the mines in and around Wieliczka. A true white mineral gold, vital for the preservation of the city-fortress' food supplies, this stock was better guarded than the city's treasury! Unfortunately, the original parapet walls and facade decorations have not been preserved, except on the house called "the rabbi's house" on the northern part of the square.

The calm, romantic and intimate atmosphere of this small pedestrian square, wedged between the Church of Our Lady and the Church of St. Barbara, contrasts with the bustle of the neighboring Rynek. Enclosed by tall buildings, it boasts exceptional acoustics: the melody of the hejnal can be heard perfectly when played in a southerly direction. In the middle stands a fountain, topped by a statue of a melancholy young man with a turban tied around his head.

The second part of the Royal Way, connecting the Rynek to Wawel, it ended at the foot of the fortifications of Okół, an ancient settlement located between the Old Town and Wawel. It is assumed that the square Św. Marii Magdaleny corresponded to the market square in Okół.

At No. 53 Grodzka Street, there is the Collegium Iuridicum, today it houses the Institute of Art History and two museums: Muszle Egzotycze is devoted to shells, Motyle Swiata to butterflies

This street leads from the Rynek to the Florian Gate, the main entrance to the city. It has always had a commercial vocation and preserves some beautiful Renaissance buildings, notably at nos. 3, 7, 9 and 26. At no. 45 is the Jama Michalika café, the most beautiful in Kraków, which in the Belle Epoque was the meeting place of the literary and artistic movement Młoda Polska (Young Poland). Its representatives created here the Zielony Balonik cabaret, the first political cabaret in Poland.

Now renamed in honor of the "Ghetto Heroes," Zgody Square was the heart of the Jewish ghetto. From here, thousands of Jews left for various camps. Today, a memorial by Cracow architects Piotr Lewicki and Kazimierz Latak stands in the center of the square, consisting of 68 empty chairs that symbolize the possessions left behind by the deportees. Each chair represents 1,000 Krakow Jews who fell victim to Nazi barbarism.

The Rynek, the historic center of Lublin, shows the traces left by the passage of time, but also the effects of human genius when it comes to restoring its heritage. It is not difficult to find in the cracked facades and faded decorations of its magnificent buildings the Lublin of yesteryear. Especially since the center was hardly touched by the ravages of war. Despite the poor state of rehabilitation, the charm of the Rynek is already intoxicating. All around, beautiful and richly decorated houses. At no. 12, the facade and windows of the Konopnic family house (1512) are decorated with sculptures in the form of masks, dragon heads and male and female bodies. The Klonowicz house at No. 2 was inhabited in the 16th century by the poet mayor of Lublin, who gave it his name. In the 18th century it was remodeled in the neoclassical style. The central square is dominated by the Royal Court, whose size is disproportionate to that of the square. Before, it was the town hall (1578).

Today it is the starting point for a tour of the Lublin Underground (Lubelskie Podzemia, from May to October visits from Tuesday to Friday at 10-12-14-16h, weekends from noon to 5pm every hour, Mondays at 10am and 2pm, 10 zl). The tour lasts about 45 minutes and the temperature varies between 7 and 12°C. The underground route is about 300 meters long and consists of corridors and 14 rooms in which, in the 16th century, goods were kept.

The central square was the heart of the city. From here, five wide avenues radiated out in the shape of a pentagon, leading to residential areas known as sectors and indicated by letters of the alphabet. It was to be surrounded by housing estates, party buildings, a theater to the south and the town hall to the north. But the project could not be fully realized, due to its staggering cost and Stalin's death in 1953, which put a stop to the architectural madness. As a result, City Hall, which was supposed to rival the Empire State Building, never saw the light of day (although the City Hall gardens do exist), and plans for an obelisk worthy of the one in Washington remained forever on the drawing board. In its place, on the adjacent Rue des Roses, stood a 7-t statue of Stalin, the subject of numerous riots during the socialist era. In reality, Nowa Huta exudes a real charm, that of the utopia of the perfect city, and a kind of melancholy towards the failed socialist dream.

If you walk from Centralny Square along Solidarności Avenue all the way to the end, you'll come to the Sendzimir steelworks (Huta im. Sendzimira, ul. Ujastek 1). The visit is forbidden to the public, but it's worth going there to see its huge sign and the steelworks' Administrative Center building. It is the best example of social realist architecture in Poland. Because of its architectural appearance, the Center is nicknamed the Vatican and the Doge's Palace.

Kanonicza Street, which runs parallel to Grodzka Street and leads to Wawel Hill, is probably the best preserved street in the Old Town and one of the most beautiful and picturesque in Krakow. Spared from the fire that destroyed much of the city in 1850, it has preserved its original medieval atmosphere.

The Długosz House (dom Jana Długosza)is located at no. 25. Jan Długosz, the first great historian of Poland and tutor of the children of King Casimir who lived there from 1450 to 1480, and its magnificent portal says "Nothing is better in man than his spirit". A bas-relief of 1480 representing the Virgin with the Child is also remarkable. Today it is the seat of the Pontifical Academy of Theology.

At No. 21 is the Dean's House(Dom Dziekański), by Santi Gucci, the architect of Sulkennice. Residence of the bishops of Krakow, the future Pope John Paul II stayed from 1963 to 1967. Its portal hides a beautiful Renaissance-style arcaded courtyard with an 18th-century statue of St. Stanislaus.

The palace ofBishop Florian of Mokrsko, at no. 18, also has a beautiful arcaded courtyard and a Renaissance portal. At No. 17 is the palace of Bishop Erazm Ciołek. The palace of Bishop Samuel Maciejowski at no. 1, built in 1531-1532, was converted into a court and prison in the early 19th century. It was used as a court and prison until 1970. The baroque portal still reads "Office of the Royal Inquisition Court".

The "wide street" is actually an old market place that was the center of commercial and religious life in Jewish Kazimierz. Bordered by synagogues (the Popper, Remuh and Old Synagogue) and 16th-18th century houses, it retains its original organic appearance. The imposing Landau House, often misidentified as the Jordan Palace, closes the square on the north side and today houses the famous Jewish bookstore Jarden.

In the center of the old town, this trapezoidal square is surrounded by beautiful Renaissance-style facades. Among the most beautiful houses are those of the Przybyla brothers, located next to each other at numbers 1 and 2. In the direction of the parish church, there is a bronze statue of a small sitting dog. Legend has it that if you stroke its nose while making a wish, it will come true. This statue represents the dog that came every day from Janowiec, on the other bank of the Vistula River, which it swam across, to be stroked.

The Rynek is the main square of Sandomierz, set on a singular slope and surrounded by beautiful bourgeois houses where Gothic and classical styles alternate. Very beautiful is the Oleśnicki house at No. 10, the former post office. In the center of the square stands a beautiful town hall, one of the most beautiful Renaissance-style town halls in Poland. Its origin is said to date back to the 13th century, and it now houses a rather interesting, though very small, Historical Museum of the city.

The old market square of the city is the heart of the district. Lined with houses dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is dominated by the church of St. Joseph, with its majestic octagonal tower of 74 meters. In the square is also the old town hall dating from the mid-nineteenth century with its richly decorated facade. This square is gradually becoming the trendy heart of Krakow, as residents migrate to this new district.

This pedestrian avenue was once lined with roses, the symbol of the socialist regime, and served as a showcase and parade ground for the communist authorities. Until 1989, a 7 t statue of Lenin stood in the middle of the avenue. In order to realize the project, the management of the steel plant deprived the employees of the thirteenth month and the quarterly bonus, and the statue became the focal point of the popular revolts. In April 1979, a bomb was even placed under the statue, without success.

This street, which runs from the Słowacki theater to the center of the Old Town (Mały Rynek), has an old-fashioned charm. Much quieter and less frequented by tourists, the stores and restaurants here are generally more luxurious. At no. 24, you'll find a former synagogue that was converted to Orthodox worship after the Second World War. The Byzantine-inspired interior decorations are well worth a visit, though only during services.