Trips Holiday » Basilica http://www.tripsholiday.com Just another travel site Wed, 30 Mar 2011 06:08:45 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Old and fascinating Krakow http://www.tripsholiday.com/europe/old-and-fascinating-krakow.html http://www.tripsholiday.com/europe/old-and-fascinating-krakow.html#comments Wed, 30 Mar 2011 06:07:46 +0000 admin http://www.tripsholiday.com/?p=43 Krakow – a main tourist attraction in Poland is preferred by visitors for its architecture and also the lovely atmosphere. The town gathers many architectural masterpieces which have survived after the World War II.

The city is crossed by The Royal Road, also known as The Coronation Route, which passes some of the most outstanding historic monuments of Krakow. The entire Old Town, Krakow’s Historic Centre, is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here you can find the Main Square (Rynek Glowny). Covering a surface of 200 x 200m, the Main Square is considered the largest medieval town square in Europe. Right in the centre of the square you can see the Cloth hall (Sukiennice), and in its upper floor the National Museum’s Gallery of Polish Art. The Cloth Hall is joined by the Town Hall Tower. The square includes another Krakow’s defining buildings – St. Mary’s Basilica (Bazylika Mariacka), which uniqueness is given by the two towers of different scales. In its vicinity you will also find the small Church of St. Wojciech (St. Adalbert’s).

On the way of the Royal Road you can also visit the Florian’s Church (were the road actually starts), the Florian Gate, the Czartoryski Museum ( the museum’s collection includes one of Da Vinci’s most famous paintings – “The Lady with an Ermine”), and the Barbican of Krakow. The road finally escorts us up to Grodzka street at Wawel Hill, which offers a beautiful view over Vistula River. Wawel Hill is a Polish historical and cultural center, and comprises Wawel Royal Castle – the former seat of Polish royalty, where you can find exquisite art treasures, and the Wawel Cathedral, also a churchyard for some of most famous Polish king’s along with their families. Among the Cathedral’s attractions is the massive Zygmunt Bell, one of the worlds largest.

Another must see in Krakow is Kazimierz, a former Hebrew district which has not less than seven synagogues. In the neighborhood there are two of the most beautiful Gothic churches in Poland, Corpus Christi and St. Catherine’s.

Nearby Krakow, only 12 km away, you can visit the 700 year old – Salina Wielicza. The Salt Mine is one of the largest in the world; it has 300 galleries situated on nine floors. Inside the galleries you can admire the beauty of prayer shrines and exquisite sculptures in salt.

The history passionate cannot miss the opportunity of visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum. The Nazi terrifying death camp is situated 60 km from Krakow, and it is a complex of concentration and extermination camps of Nazi Germany. Here you can also see the horrible Nazi crematoria and shower rooms where the detainees were gassed.

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