Krakow: Dragon Bones & Poland's Golden City

Lina: Inside a cathedral in Krakow, there are actual dragon bones on display — or so the legend goes.

Ralf: And it also turns out its historic center is so impressive that it was one of the very first World Heritage Sites, back in 1978.

Lina: Get ready for legends, dark history, and essential travel tips. Let's go to this golden city right after the intro.

Lina: Welcome to World Heritage Rookies, the podcast where we explore UNESCO World Heritage Sites one episode at a time. We are Lina

Ralf: and Ralf, and we will travel alongside you to some of the most stunning sites our world has to offer.

Lina: Each week, we dive into the history, fun facts, and reasons why World Heritage Sites matter for humanity, sharing our own discoveries and travel tips along the way.

Ralf: So, let's dive in and learn about some World Heritage together.

Ralf: Welcome everybody to episode 10 of World Heritage Rookies. If it's the first time you're listening to us, a very warm welcome. This is a podcast where we talk about World Heritage Sites. And, yeah, we're your hosts. My name is Ralf.

Lina: And my name is Lina. And if you are coming back from one of our earliest episodes, welcome back. That means that we are not only being entertaining, but also, I hope, informative.

Ralf: I hope we're both entertaining and informative, or at least one of them, yes.

Lina: So, today's episode, it's on me. It's about the city of Krakow, the second largest and oldest city in Poland. So, quite an exciting episode, I'm pretty sure. And, yeah, anything else before we start?

Ralf: Only that I'm very looking forward to it. Sitting here with a nice cup of tea, and then just curious about learning. But, for example, I did not know that it's the second oldest city in Poland. So, I already learned something just from the introduction you provided.

Lina: Ta-da! No, but, yeah, of course. And there is going to be a lot of information in this episode, so probably it's going to be one of the largest. I hope no. But if it is, I'm sorry, it's too long.

Ralf: I don't think if you apologize for this — I have the feeling that I have a tendency to make our episodes anyway longer because I talk a lot. So, it's only fair if you also have a longer episode then actually.

Lina: Yeah, at least one longest episode. But, yes, my husband talks a lot, so I also apologize for that in advance.

Ralf: Hey, we just said before, if people are coming back, it cannot be that bad. If you're all just new listeners, then we know it might be because I'm talking too much, but if you're coming back, thank you.

Lina: Exactly. So, as always, before starting, Ralf, do you know anything about Krakow?

Ralf: I know a few things about Krakow, but for sure not going into detail. So, I know, obviously, it is, until today, one of the most important cities you have in Poland. I know it is by many considered one of the most beautiful cities in Poland because of all of its historical aspects. I know that it is also quite close to some other World Heritage Sites — we talked, for example, about the Royal Salt Mines, which I think are not that far away from Krakow. And, yeah, I know it has been really relevant throughout all of its history for Poland, and that's why I assume there is going to be a huge amount of information you will be able to share today, right?

Lina: Well, I hope — I mean, it is not the full information, so we always try to give this disclaimer in our research, so always take everything with a grain of salt and do your own research, especially when you are visiting. But, yeah, indeed. So, exactly, I'm just adventuring on it.

Lina: The city of Krakow dates all the way back to the 7th century. Nevertheless, there is already known to have been a settlement in these lands from the 4th century. Actually, the first historical record where Krakow actually appears is in a travel chronicle from 966 CE — so, 1,100 years ago. Shortly after the first records of the city itself appear, it was known that it was incorporated into the Piast dynasty, who had ties to Bohemia.

Lina: A little bit of information about the Piasts — the House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland, and they ruled from around 960 until 1370. Unfortunately, they lost their power after the death of King Casimir III the Great.

Ralf: Do you know if this house — or this family — is still around? Did you encounter anything during your research for this topic?

Lina: Actually, this was one of the big questions I couldn't find in other sources, apart from Wikipedia — though the Piast dynasty was actually well known. They had a really big territory.

Ralf: It's very interesting, like, in modern times, sometimes to recreate the steps that royalty or nobility took, and how it changed over the time. That's the reason why I'm asking, because I find it very often fascinating — where are the powers of previous times now?

Lina: Exactly, and I think that, for instance, you may be more aware of it, but there are a lot of royal families here, also in Bavaria, that come from the dynasties of the Bavarian Empire.

Ralf: Yeah, there are a lot of successors, or, like, the families of the Bavarian Kings, still around. So this is, then, yeah, where I think also — like I mentioned — awareness might sometimes peek in.

Lina: Yeah, yeah, for sure. So the Piast family still lives on as a family — an ordinary, unremarkable family — in Poland. But, yeah, they're definitely not in power or known as royalty anymore.

Lina: For centuries, coming back a little bit to the topic, Krakow reigned supreme and was the capital of the whole of Poland from 1038 to 1596. This, of course, marked the city as the Golden City, let's say to say, especially during the Renaissance, when a lot of influence from Italy arrived in the 15th century and made the city prettier than it was even before. The city is so pretty, actually, that the famous astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus even studied at Krakow University. Krakow University was founded in 1364 by Casimir III the Great — the one I mentioned before — and is today the second-oldest university in the whole of Central Europe, after Charles University in Prague.

Ralf: Oh, really? I did not know that Prague has the oldest university in Europe.

Lina: Exactly. So it is the oldest university, so if you ever visit Prague, you have to go also to the university — it's also really pretty. I don't know if you have visited, but it's beautiful. Being a capital city, the city thrived under the dynasty, and, well, it was the capital of the Kingdom of Poland, and it attracted many markets and different guilds, including business guilds, science, and art guilds, making it one of the most powerful cities of the whole of Europe around the 15th century. Of course, and it is true for everything.

Lina: Not everything shines forever. And, unfortunately, Krakow suffered a major setback when the king, King Sigismund III, moved the government from Krakow to Warsaw in 1596.

Ralf: Do you know by chance what the reason was for moving the capital? Is this mentioned somewhere?

Lina: Actually, no, I am not really sure, but it is true — when I was doing the research, King Sigismund III is not well known to be one of the best kings. So sometimes, and I think that this could be the situation, though I'm not really sure, it's that, you know, these kings are like, "I'm tired of Krakow, let's move it somewhere else." So it was not really an economical, or political, or maybe a society-driven decision. It was more like one of the ideas of the king.

Ralf: I think there's something, perhaps, that we can try to find out afterwards — and put it in our companion post that we will put on our Instagram for this episode, @worldheritagerookies.

Lina: The confirmation — though I did try to research about it, because I knew this was going to be one of your questions, but I didn't find a resolute solution. So we will try to actually check, once again, to see if I found the reason why Sigismund III decided to move the capital from Krakow to Warsaw.

Ralf: Yeah, but I think it's a common theme that we see, especially when you talk about the importance of cities. I mean, we had this in previous episodes — when we were talking, in our second episode, about the city of Quito, how its importance rose because, at that time, the Incan rulers really appreciated it, or when we were talking about Aachen Cathedral and how the fate of Aachen was really connected to Charlemagne. And here's the opposite, in a way — Krakow lost a bit of its importance and power because of the decision of the rulers. So, common theme throughout the history of a lot of cities.

Lina: And actually, when you say that this really impacted negatively, that was actually true, because afterwards the city was left without its major protection. Of course, with the king, it moved the army, and so on.

Lina: So, unfortunately, the decline was hastened a lot by several wars, including the siege and capture of the city by the Swedish invasion in 1655. So, of course, it made it more susceptible to this kind of attacks.

Ralf: 1655 — so this was then really in the context shortly after the...

Lina: ...60 years after the king moved the capital.

Ralf: And it was in the context, then, of the Thirty Years' War, I assume.

Lina: Exactly.

Ralf: Shortly after that, yeah.

Lina: Well, the city still survived, and eventually became caught up in the partitions of Poland in the late 18th century, falling under Austrian rule and the Habsburg Empire, as we know. This partitioning happened all around Europe, and especially Central Europe, including Austria, Germany, Poland, and the Hungarian Empire.

Lina: Then, in 1802, German became the town's official language, and it took over most of the culture of the Austrians and the Habsburg Empire, so by this time, especially, the cultural influence of the Habsburg way of living really became well known in the city. After that, of course, we all know by history it came the Napoleonic Wars, and Napoleon failed, we all know the history, and in 1815 the Congress of Vienna restored the pre-war boundaries of the city, and it created the partially independent and neutral Free City of Krakow. So, basically, what happened, after Napoleon left the political decision of how everything polical was structured, Krakow got a lot of recognition as a city, and it basically became an independent city in the whole of Europe.

Ralf: That's also definitely an achievement, because this is just given to places that are significant enough by themselves that they can stand out — so this is showcasing what important status Krakow has throughout its whole history within Europe, to be recognized as an independent, free city.

Lina: Exactly, and I think that it's really interesting to see what other cities got this recognition from the Congress of Vienna, but it definitely helped Krakow to boom, let's say to say.

Lina: Then, from this point on, Krakow became known as the Polish Athens or the Polish Mecca, which was a crucial center of Polish culture and national Polish symbolism, so it became the cultural city of Poland. Sadly, of course, this is when the hiccup comes — the 20th century came, and with it, immense hardship. We all know the Nazi German forces entered Krakow in September 1939, and the city became the capital of the General Government, the Nazi administration in Poland, under Hans Frank. During this time, the occupation took a heavy toll on the cultural heritage, and in an infamous act called Sonderaktion Krakau, in 1939, 184 professors and academics were arrested and sent to the concentration camps of Sachsenhausen and Dachau. Sorry, my German is actually — it could be better.

Ralf: Well, no, — the pronunciation was, in my opinion, pretty good, but, yeah, Sachsenhausen, Dachau — they were actually among the earliest concentration camps. Obviously, because of the atrocities committed there in such huge numbers, Auschwitz is, by today, far more well known, but I think it's also important here to note that there were, obviously, concentration camps before Auschwitz.

Lina: That was, like, the earliest, experimental concentration camps.

Lina: So, a lot of people don't know, but before the formation of the ghettos — and Krakow had one of the biggest ghettos in the whole of Europe — the district actually motivated Jews to leave the city early on in the war. So, as soon as the Nazis entered the city, a lot of the national government encouraged Jews to leave as soon as possible. Unfortunately, we all know that by 1941, the Jewish population was moved to Krakow's ghetto, and there were murders in the major concentration camps around the city, like Płaszów and Auschwitz, which we all know is really, really close by.

Lina: Well, we all know, of course, that the war eventually ended, and despite the darkness, Krakow regrew and rebounded, and in 1978, the city's archbishop —

Ralf: Archbishop,

Lina: Archbishop, I'm sorry, for my English, once again — Karol Wojtyła became the Pope known as Pope John Paul II.

Ralf: I did not know he was from Krakow, I have to admit — I mean, I obviously knew he was Polish, but I did not know he was from Krakow.

Lina: And he was also the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years.

Ralf: Italian Pope?

Lina: Yes, he was the only non-Italian Pope.

Ralf: Ah, non-Italian, sorry.

Lina: After 455 years.

Lina: And, yeah, basically that is the finalization of the whole story. Today, Krakow stands proud, and its population is four times more than before World War II, so it has been growing immensely, and I will give you a little bit more details about that growth in the 21st century. But, yeah, that's basically the historical part of the city of Krakow.

Ralf: A lot of different influence factors over the years — so, having survived — this is perhaps the wrong term, apart from, obviously, some of the darker areas, but having witnessed so many changes in governments, ruling parties, and influences, and then, yeah, actually having survived such an atrocity as the invasion of the Nazis in the 20th century, and being now still considered — I think it's still considered one of the, not just prettiest cities of Poland, but I hear a lot of people say they consider Krakow one of the prettiest and most impressive cities within all of Europe — this is, as you said, a really great example of coming back after such hardship.

Lina: I mean, I said that in the last episode we were talking about the Wieliczka Salt Mines — I do, I do agree that Krakow totally impressed me. It's so beautiful, it's a really pretty city. Well, I also think that it had a little bit of luck through the years, because we know many cities were destroyed through the whole conflict of medieval Europe. But Krakow stands, and stands until today, proud, as I mentioned. So, quite an interesting thing.

Lina: Well, some fun facts about Krakow — of course, from the Middle Ages, it was a powerhouse of commerce. Krakow's economic strength wasn't just about the location, but during the 15th century — which I mentioned before was known as the Golden Age — Krakow was a major international trade center. It imported exotic goods coming from Asia, like spices, silk, leather, and wax, while also exporting some local goods, like, for instance, textiles, lead, salt from the nearby salt mines, and other products from the local area. And today, it's actually still a real powerhouse of economic importance — Krakow is also today one of the major cities for IT, or IT offshoring, hosting centers of major multinational companies, like IBM, General Electric, Motorola, and Sabre Holdings.

Lina: So, hanging from the Sigismund Tower of Wawel Cathedral, the Royal Sigismund Bell, cast in 1520, is the heaviest bell, with nearly 13 tons, or about 28,000 pounds.

Lina: It requires 12 people to actually make it sound, and its sound is strictly reserved for special occasions, like national holidays, or the election of a new pope. That's the only time you can actually hear this noise.

Ralf: The election of a new pope in general, or, like, an election of a pope who is from Poland?

Lina: No, that is in general — any new pope, they will sound the bell.

Ralf: So, it's a Catholic church, then, for sure, is it?

Lina: For sure. I mean, Krakow is Catholic. I mean, we're talking about Central Europe still — it's not only... Catholic is Roman Catholic.

Lina: It is also known as the Polish Louvre. So, the Wawel Royal Castle is actually today an art museum, and it's not only a royal home today, but it hosts every year — last year, for instance, it hosted 3.1 million visitors — and that makes it the most visited art museum in the whole country, and the 17th most-visited art museum in the whole world. So, it is huge, and it is really important in Krakow.

Ralf: Also interesting, because I have the feeling when you talk about huge art museums, you would not typically think about Krakow when you ask, like, I don't know, on the street, what is the most-visited art museum? Like, a lot of people will obviously name the Louvre, but I do not think a lot of people will have Krakow on mind.

Lina: Probably not, but it's also really important that we remind that they were part of the Habsburg Empire, and we know that Austrians tend to collect art and different kinds of specific art — not only paint art, but also sculptures and so on — and they were here, and, of course, they left a lot of things. So please have in mind — this is just a little bit of a hiccup before we go into the travel part — you need to go to the National Museum of Art at the Wawel Royal Castle.

Ralf: I assume there are also still a lot of other cool museums in Krakow.

Lina: Oh, for sure.

Ralf: From the description, it sounds like it's a city with a majority of cool museums to visit.

Lina: It is true. And I will mention some of them afterwards, for sure. As a last interesting fact, of course, there are a lot of movies surrounding the Jewish ghetto of Krakow — some of them portrayed, for instance, in the famous film Schindler's List. But something interesting I found as well is that the film director Roman Polanski actually survived the Krakow ghetto. So he is one of the survivors, and became a director. How cool.

Ralf: Very famous director also, yes.

Lina: Yes. So, that's from the Fun Facts — now we go to some interesting stories of the city of Krakow. Krakow is, of course, a really old city, as I mentioned at the beginning, and there is a lot of buried—

Ralf: Buried?

Lina: Buried stories in the streets. And some of them are really well known, even in the historical part of the city.

Lina: One of them is the Wawel Dragon — the name in Polish is Smok Wawelski, but I'm really sorry if I mispronounce it. The city has a mythical founder called Krakus. The legend says Krakus built a town above a cave occupied by a terrible dragon, the Smok Wawelski dragon. Many knights tried unsuccessfully to defeat this dragon by force, but, of course, the clever Krakus tried another method — he chose brains over strength. He fed the dragon a poisoned lamb, which, of course, ultimately killed the monster without using force. To this day, the legend is commemorated on the lower slopes of Wawel Hill by the river, where you can see a modern fire-breathing metal statue of a dragon in front of the cave known as the Dragon's Den. So this is still a place that exists in the middle of the city.

Ralf: So the founder, or the legendary founder of the city, was a dragon slayer.

Lina: Exactly. Well, not a dragon slayer — he never slayed any dragon. He poisoned a dragon.

Ralf: Well, if it gets the job done, like you said, the outcome is what counts.

Lina: So, yes, Krakus — I mean, sometimes it is important to choose brains over strength and brute force.

Ralf: Because, especially as you described it, apparently before, everybody who tried to kill the dragon was not really successful.

Lina: Exactly. Something really interesting is that inside Wawel Cathedral, you can actually see dragon bones on display, and they are like, "Okay, this is the dragon bones of the dragon that Krakus killed."

Ralf: Okay, now I have a question, because last time I checked, dragons were not real. Do we know what kind of bones these are, then?

Lina: Of course, so I knew this was going to be one of your questions, and I checked, and it's more likely to be mammoth bones.

Ralf: Oh, really?

Lina: Yes.

Ralf: Okay, because, yeah, I assume they have to be big.

Lina: And it's interesting, of course, to continue the mystery and the story — there has not been formal research on these bones, because, of course, most people, and people in science, would be like, "No, this is a kind of dinosaur, or mammoth, as it is probably the case."

Ralf: Or perhaps we just did not yet discover the existence of dragons in the past.

Lina: Maybe — I mean, we don't know. But, the description of a dragon can be many, so maybe, I mean, we don't know.

Lina: That's story number one, and now we go to story number two, called "The Secret History Under the Square." It is true that under the city — the central city of Krakow — there is an underground, and this underground is called the Rynek Underground. It's an archaeological site, four meters beneath the famous main market square. You can access it today through the Historical Museum, and visitors are advised to book tickets in advance — even if you go to the Historical Museum itself, you have to get the tickets for the underground separately, and there is a daily visitor limit, so I really recommend booking in advance. This underground reveals details about the life of around 700 years ago. Among the excavated medieval remains, you can find merchant stalls, small artifacts like necklaces and knives, and also, inside the underground museum, spooky stories about Polish folklore and the Polish dead, and so on. The museum showcases the remnants of the population from the 11th century, and also a cemetery featuring original vampire-prevention burials.

Ralf: Oh, so — for my understanding, so it's basically a museum inside a museum, right? In, like, a historical excavation site, okay? And, okay — ancient vampire burials, so, like, actual graves where people took measures to prevent the dead from coming back as vampires?

Lina: Exactly. In Polish folklore, vampires were actually believed to rise after death. To prevent this — and to prevent suspected vampires from coming back to life — they were sometimes identified by witch hands, by red hair, or, sometimes, having more teeth than they're supposed to, but we all know today that this is just a normal physical condition. They were buried in fetal positions, and their hands were tied, and the head was cut off of their body and put at their feet. This was supposed — the idea was that this slowed them down after reanimation, because they couldn't find their head.

Lina: And these living cemeteries are still showing this kind of burial today. So, it's really an interesting place, and this is one of the must-sees in Krakow.

Ralf: I find, in general, the belief of vampirism, and what people in the Middle Ages took as preventive measures against the deceased coming back as undead creatures, a super fascinating topic. I did, in the past, for one of my projects, some research which was also coming to the background about vampirism, and, of course, by now, you know, mostly the modern vampires you associate with are mostly also Romania or Transylvania, but I think this is a very important highlight you mentioned there, because the whole belief in undeath, or unholy afterlife, has been really prevalent in multiple European cultures throughout the centuries, and this is really an emphasis on how this has shaped, especially, medieval life for a very long time. I think I also remember — I wasn't sure if it was related to vampires, or in general — that in some places they would put little bells on the graves, in order to make a sound when the suspected — I don't know if it was a vampire or a zombie — but, like, to warn people around. So, I find such anecdotes super cool, always.

Lina: It is true, and it is really interesting that we can find these remains today, and we understand now what were the traditions behind this type of burial — because, as I mentioned, they were tied up, their heads were cut off, and they placed their heads somewhere else, so they could not find them when they rose — so they would come back a little bit later, I guess, they would take more time, let's say to say. Yep, this is kind of the stories of Krakow, so it's highly recommended that you visit this underground museum.

Ralf: I have to ask, because, so far, there is no story about the devil trying to help build a church, because I have the feeling that nearly every Catholic, or very Christian place, has a story about that.

Lina: No, and this one is about the dragon — remember, the bones of the dragon are in the main cathedral of the city.

Ralf: In case anybody is listening from Krakow and you know a story about how the devil might be related to building a church, let us know. This is something that I always like — I'm now looking out for it when it comes to stories of special medieval Christian places.

Lina: Let us know also on our Instagram account, @worldheritagerookies.

Ralf: Subtle marketing, again, as usual.

Lina: So, this is about Krakow's majestic history and a little bit of interesting information.

Lina: Now we go to the next part — one of the ones we're always more interested in — why it's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Krakow's history isn't just, of course, about tourism, but it's also considered an outstanding value for humanity. And in 1978, it was granted UNESCO World Heritage Site status. So, Ralf, how many criteria do you think were necessary for the city of Krakow to become a World Heritage Site?

Ralf: I'm starting to dislike this section, because you're always right and I'm wrong. Taking a guess from what you described, I would say it meets three criteria.

Lina: Three criteria? That's wrong.

Ralf: I should not be surprised anymore, but, keeping the traditions of this podcast up.

Lina: So, it only meets one, which is criteria number four: historic example. So, the city of Krakow is an outstanding example of architecture or design from an important period in history, especially the Golden Age of the 15th century. The UNESCO inscription covers three key historical areas that illustrate Krakow's history, especially in the Middle Ages. The first one is the medieval old town of Krakow, which has the largest market square, the Rynek Główny, in Europe. The second one is the Wawel Hill Complex, which includes Wawel Cathedral and Wawel Royal Castle. Of course, these two complexes pretty much express — are the symbol of — Polish statehood, of royal Poland, and, of course, it is a place that holds a lot of royal coronations and funerals, and it shows what it means to be part of Polish culture in regards to architectural style.

Lina: This castle, if you go to visit it — and it's something that also struck me before — has a combination of a medieval style, also it comes with Renaissance. I cannot say that word.

Ralf: It's difficult. Renaissance.

Lina: Renaissance structure and architecture

Ralf: You know why it's a difficult word for us? It's French.

Lina: Yeah I'm sorry to the French people. And it also has baroque structures. So, it is a mix, and when you see it, you will see the mix really clearly, because it is a castle that was, of course, like many other castles, put together through time, and it expanded through time — so, in a new era, it took on a new style, art style and with it a new architectural building. And, finally, the last place that confirms the UNESCO World Heritage Site is the town of Kazimierz. It's the former medieval town, which now comprises many of the Jewish memorial sites, and also reflects how Catholics and Jews lived through medieval times. Also, I mean, not directly included in the Heritage site, but part of it is the Romanesque St. Andrew's Church, the Gothic St. Mary's Basilica, and the Renaissance Wawel Castle with its Sigismund Chapel. Of course, there is also one that is baroque, which is St. Anne's Church. So, that's why it's a World Heritage Site.

Ralf: A lot of churches also to visit.

Lina: Yes, and I'm sorry, again, if I mispronounce some of them, and there are styles that correspond to each. So, that's it. What do you think?

Lina: I found it really striking that it was just one, to be honest.

Ralf: Yeah, I think it always depends a little bit on how you define the criteria. I mean, you can always try to make similar topics stand for multiple criteria, but I've also found that the number of criteria does not necessarily indicate how impressive or important something is. You could assume more criteria also make something more impressive, but I think this is also something important to notice — UNESCO doesn't, by itself, say, okay, one World Heritage Site is "better," in quotation marks, than any other, depending on the criteria it's meeting. So, it is surprising, considering what you mentioned about the historical importance of Krakow, but I don't think it takes anything away from the importance and the beauty of the town.

Lina: Yeah, 100 percent — it's just that there is also a lot of architectural difference and specifities, so I thought that maybe criteria three would also befit the city. So, yeah — basically, that's why it's a World Heritage site, it has never actually been in danger, because it's a really well-protected zone. It is one of the most visited places in the whole of Poland, so we can just imagine how much is invested every year in actually its preservation — so it has a really good status as a city in itself, so actually holding many travelers is not a problem since the very beginning. Even before it was considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site. So, yeah.

Ralf: I think you describe here — well, luck is the wrong term, but it has the privilege at the moment that it is both economically well-off, because, as you mentioned, it is now home to a lot of technological and development companies, so this brings business, and will make sure the city has money — and, at the same time, it's historically important, ensuring tourism. So, this is, in my opinion, a very good combination that places like this have to ensure they are preserved over time, because, at the same time, it is fit for modern challenges, and it's creating work, and it's creating business, but you also have a real incentive, and the money, to preserve your historical status.

Lina: Also, let's not forget that the heritage site is the center of Krakow, so it's not all of Krakow — so, of course, if you're staying out of the center, you will see a more modern city, but the preservation of the historical center is well done, and you will not see something that's like a huge building in the middle of the center of the city, probably ever. So, this is something I really appreciate, especially for the governments that take these decisions to actually focus on preservation.

Lina: So, that's it — now we go to the part about what to do if you want to visit. So, of course, as—

Ralf: Go.

Lina: Let's go. So, for Krakow, as any other European city, let me tell you, you need to walk. And this is sometimes shocking for people, which I don't understand why, but if you come to Europe, you don't come to Europe to move around by car or public transportation — you go to walk. Because, especially in the centers of the medieval European cities, this is the charm of it. And the historic center of Krakow is no different — it's actually really easily explored on foot. You can hit all the highlights, including St. Mary's Basilica and the Wawel Complex, within walking distance. So, it is really normal that people recommend you stay close to the center, or in the center. Actually, this is probably the only thing that I didn't like when I visited Krakow — I stayed in a hostel that was pretty much one street from the main square, but it was not the best hostel. I don't remember its name, I don't think it exists anymore. But, I mean, stay in the center, just do more research than what I did.

Lina: Get up high for an amazing view — it is really recommended by a lot of travel bloggers that you need to see the panoramic views, and for that, there are some options. One of them is to climb the Town Hall Tower. Or, alternatively, also Wawel Hill. That's options one and two, and if you want to do a little bit more work, you can also climb the Sandomierska Tower, which only costs four złoty and requires around 137 steps. That's a great recommendation to actually see the city from up there, which is really highly recommended because it's a really pretty city from the top.

Lina: Also explore Kazimierz, the historic Jewish quarter — which is called Kazimierz, I'm sorry if I mispronounce it again. It's a highly recommended place, and you must do it during your stay in Krakow. It has a really unique ambience, they have some of the best food places in the whole city, and it has a really good nightlife, so now it's more of a cultural part of the city. Of course, in the city of Krakow, you can also find modern shopping malls, but the zone of Kazimierz has one of the most special squares, where you can find more local food, and also see a little bit more of a typical town of the medieval ages.

Lina: As I mentioned before, you need to book the Rynek Underground Museum — there are a lot of options to buy tickets, but, as I mentioned before, there is a limited number of visitors per day, so it is especially recommended to book the tickets online. You can do it through the Polish site, visitkrakow.pl, or directly on the museum website. Again, it's called the Rynek Underground Museum.

Ralf: Remind me afterwards — if there's a direct link to the booking on the website, I could also put it in the show notes, so that perhaps our listeners can make it easier. Yeah, then I'll put it in there afterwards.

Lina: So, yes, it's recommended. I didn't find exactly how far in advance, but I would not expect it to be more than three months — so maybe one month before your arrival, try to get these tickets.

Ralf: That's also something you learn when you want to visit certain World Heritage Sites — you would be surprised how many of them really take extensive pre-booking in time, so that's a very good recommendation to keep in mind, in my opinion, yeah, definitely.

Lina: And also, I mean, in terms of time, coming from a person that already visited Krakow and enjoyed the hell out of it, sorry. I would say three—

Ralf: I love it, it's a scientific description. How much, on a scale of one to ten, do you rate Krakow? I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Lina: It was amazing, to be honest. And I would say that three to four days — two to four days — is a really good amount of time to visit the whole historical part, enjoy the food, have a really nice drink, maybe go out at night to dance. The hill, especially at night — well, at the time I went, it's probably changed since then — but you can really go to an open bar at night, have really nice music, and Krakow's nightlife is really interesting, so please enjoy it. It's a really safe city, so you have absolutely no problem to stroll at night, or visit some of the local bars.

Ralf: Since I again have to admit that I have not been — Poland is, from my side, at least, unfortunately, very under-traveled — what was your favorite part of visiting Krakow, from all of the things that you described? What do you think you enjoyed the most?

Lina: It's really hard to say, but definitely the historical center — the strolls during the day through the historical center. I did some tours, some of these free guided tours, which I also recommend, because they give you a really good insight into the city and the historical part of the city. I think that was really adorable, and it is really nice to go through the buildings and see the changes in architectural styles. You go, like, now you're in a Gothic cathedral, and after that you are in a Renaissance-driven cathedral, and it's really funny how close they are to each other, and how many styles and architectural changes you can find between one or two streets. So that's definitely a must — this is the thing that I like the most.

Ralf: So it was not one particular building or one particular site — it was the whole ensemble and the experience of the historical city.

Lina: Wawel, if we're talking about one specific place — the Wawel Castle. It's absolutely beautiful, and I have so many photos of it, I think I probably overdid it a little bit, but it was really nice.

Ralf: I think this is one of the pictures we have on our pin wall, right?

Lina: Yes.

Ralf: Remember, this is like you sitting in front of the castle — is this the place?

Lina: Yes, that's the castle.

Ralf: That is also a really adorable picture, yeah. So, it was just a perfect combination, I assume, right?

Lina: Hint hint to the husband's comment.

Ralf: I'm not forced to say this — I'm doing this out of my own volition, and because I love my wife really a lot, and not because I'm forced to say this.

Lina: Please do a signal if you need to be saved.

Ralf: That's really helpful in a podcast, right, when nobody can see it.

Lina: Like a safe word, maybe. But, of course, you need to also plan in advance other kinds of things that you can do around Krakow. Most of the people visit Krakow because of what is around it, and you have to not forget about it. Krakow, of course, has a lot of World Heritage Sites around — we know about the salt mines, we already talked about them, so they are around 15 kilometers away from the city and really easily reached by bus and trains.

Ralf: So, if you want to hear more information specifically about the salt mines — Lina also has visited them, and we have covered them in one of the previous episodes. I have to admit, I do not know by heart now which number it has been, but you can find it, obviously, in our overview.

Lina: I can tell you, it's episode... oh.

Ralf: You see? You cannot tell us here. But I am struggling so far that it's also, like, with past episodes, to keep track of it. But, yeah, if you want to learn more about the salt mines and their history, Lina has covered that also extensively and shared her own travel experiences.

Lina: We will probably also link the episode down below, so just check it out for the moment that we are talking about this.

Ralf: Again, trying to cover previous episodes. All right, so the salt mines, and what else?

Lina: Of course, I mean, most of the people visit Krakow, or stay in Krakow, to visit Auschwitz and Birkenau — the concentration camps are around 70 kilometers away, and it is really easily accessible by train or also by bus. I visited with a private tour, so I can also recommend that — it was not a private tour, it was a group tour, where they drove us there with a bus and gave us lunch. So, it was really easy to plan that as well. If you want to do it, that requires one day, a full day — the salt mines require one day, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camps require a minimum of one day. You know, Auschwitz is really big, but normally you always go first to Birkenau, which is the historical museum part, let's say — and then you go to Auschwitz in the afternoon. They are a little bit far away. So, normally what tours do — and that happened to me — you go to Birkenau, you visit the museum part, and then you have a little bit of a stop for lunch, and then you continue to Auschwitz. Of course, if you do it privately, you can also do it the other way around, to avoid crowds.

Ralf: Yeah, I think we will probably go into more details about this in a future episode, because Auschwitz-Birkenau is also a World Heritage Site — this is for sure, we're going to cover it in one episode in the future.

Lina: More details, and how to get there. And finally, you can also visit — oh my goodness, the name is a little bit hard — Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, which is an important pilgrimage site, about 40 kilometers south of the city, and is well visited by a lot of Catholic communities.

Lina: So, yeah, there you have it — a taste of history, a taste of legends, vampires, dragons, and all that makes up the city of Krakow. It is a Central European marvel, and you need to visit it. And I think that, like the message from the Salt Mines episode also announced, you need to visit Poland. It's an amazing place, it is unbelievable — a bit overlooked by many visitors and tourists, but I love Poland, and I can visit it every time.

Ralf: I have the feeling that it has gained, in the past years, a lot more recognition as a place to visit compared to the more, I would say, traditional places you want to visit in Europe, and I think this is really cool, because, as you mentioned, it has been for a very long time sort of underappreciated. I do not know what it tells about me that, like, probably the thing that I'm most excited to go to is the dragon's bones right now. So, like, from the first thing, I was like, I want to see those dragon bones — what does it tell about me?

Lina: I do find Krakow so interesting, and, of course, in the future we also probably — but Warsaw is also a World Heritage Site.

Ralf: Yes, it is, yeah.

Lina: So, we will do the contrast, because it is a really different city — it has a completely different architectural style and historical part. So, it was quite shocking, also, going, because I went from Krakow to Warsaw after, like, one or two stops, and it is a completely different environment, and I found that so interesting — in the same country, having such two different major cities.

Ralf: Yeah, that's what I heard from many people also, that they were fascinated by the contrast between those two major cities. But, yeah, I'm very curious about visiting both, so I'm also very looking forward to the future episodes on Warsaw, to learn about it more. But, yeah, I think I will have to be a little patient until then.

Lina: Until then?

Ralf: Until then, yeah. So, the next episode is not gonna be Warsaw — I can already sort of spoil that. Because next time it will be again my turn — I will return with you all again to Africa, to talk about a World Heritage Site that is, I think, the first World Heritage Site we're gonna talk about that is celebrating, sort of, one of the horrible things. Well, celebrating is the wrong term, but it's remembering one of the horrible things of human history. So, I think it will be a very interesting episode also to listen to, and to learn that a World Heritage Site might not just be about celebrating beauty, but also remembering the sad hardships, yeah.

Lina: So, until then—

Ralf: Thank you, everyone. Take care.

Lina: Thank you so much.

Ralf: Bye-bye.

Lina: Goodbye.