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8
Theme Routes Through Krakow
Krakow’s
municipality has devised eight special walks for tourists,
each linking the city’s places of interest connected with
one particular theme. These are as follows:
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The
Royal Route
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The
University Route
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In
the Footsteps of John Paul II
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Jewish
Heritage Route
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Saint
Stanislaw Route
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The
Route of Krakow Saints
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Podgorze
Historical Route
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Nowa
Huta Route
Even
as they are rather poorly marked, may be demanding, and often
omit Krakow’s premier landmarks,
the various municipality-promoted sightseeing itineraries
are an interesting option for ambitious visitors to the city.
And the city hall has produced lots of free maps and pamphlets
– available in tourist offices, hotels,
museums, etc. – to
advertise the thematic tours of Krakow.
The
Royal Route
Krakow’s
tourist staple, the walk recreates the city’s Royal Road
that used to lead the kings and other historical notables from
the city’s main gate to the Wawel Royal
Castle.
Starting
point – St. Florian’s church (Kosciol Sw. Floriana), 1
Warszawska street at Kurniki street.
Itinerary:
St. Florian’s Church, Plac Matejki square, Barbican and
Brama Florianska Gate at Planty
gardens, Florianska street,
Rynek Glowny central square, Grodzka street, Kanonicza
street, the
Wawel Royal Castle.
Saint
Stanislaw Route
The
walk commemorating Krakow’s 11th-cetury bishop-martyr and
one of the city’s patron saints links the impressive
landmarks of the Christian part of the Kazimierz historic
district.
Starting
point – the Wawel Cathedral on the
Wawel Hill.
Itinerary:
the Wawel Cathedral, St. Bernard's Church at Stradomska
street, Bernardynska street, Wisla embankment, Skalka
sanctuary, Skaleczna street, St Catherine's church,
Augustianska street, Skawinska street, Krakowska street,
Trynitarska street, Bonifraterska street, Plac Wolnica
square.
Jewish
Heritage Route
The
walk through Krakow’s former Jewish quarter in the Kazimierz
historic district runs by its all seven synagogues.
Starting
point at the corner of Krakowska and Meiselsa streets.
Itinerary:
Meiselsa street, Center for Jewish
Culture, back to Bozego
Ciala street, Miodowa street, Estery street, Warszauera
street, Kupa street, Izaaka street, Jakuba street, Jozefa
street, Szeroka street, New Jewish Cemetery at 55 Miodowa
street.
The
Route of Krakow Saints
More
a list of places with relation to the many Krakow saints than
a viable sightseeing route. It takes at least two days to see
them all.
Starting
point – the Wawel Cathedral on the
Wawel Hill.
Itinerary:
the Wawel Cathedral, church of the convent of the Sisters of
St Felix of Cantalice at Smolensk street, St. Anne's church at
11 Sw. Anny street, St. Mark's church at 10 Sw. Marka street,
St. Florian's church at 1 Warszawska street, basilica of the
Holiest Heart of Jesus at 26 Kopernika street, basilica of the
Virgin Mary’s at the central square, church of Holy Trinity
(Dominican) at 12 Stolarska street, St. Francis’ church
(Franciskan)
at 2 Franciszkanska street, Bernardine church at 2
Bernardynska street, Corpus Christi church at 26 Bozego Ciala
street, St. Catherine's church at 7 Augustianska street, the
Skalka sanctuary at Skaleczna street, Ecce Homo sanctuary at 10
Woronicza street, the church of the Premonstratensian convent
at 88 Kosciuszki street, the Lagiewniki Sanctuary of Divine
Mercy at 3 Siostry Faustyny street.
The
University Route
This
walk links Old Town’s sites connected one way or another
with Krakow’s 600-year-plus university traditions.
Starting
point – St. Florian’s church (Kosciol Sw. Floriana), 1
Warszawska street at Kurniki street.
Itinerary:
St. Florian’s church, Florianska street, Sw. Marka street,
Plac Szczepanski square, the Planty garden
ring, St Anne's
church, Sw. Anny street, Collegium Maius, Jagiellonska street,
Collegium Novum, the Planty garden ring, Poselska street,
Senacka street, Grodzka street, Wawel
Hill.
The
route connects Krakow places related to the late pope,
scattered around the entire city. Given distances one needs
some means of transport, public or private, to see them all.
Starting
point – Bishops Palace, 3 Franciszkanska street at Planty
gardens.
Itinerary:
Bishops Palace, Franciscan church at 2 Franciszkanska street,
the Planty garden ring, Archbishop Metropolitan Seminary at 8
Podzamcze street, Dom Dziekanski building at 21 Kanonicza
street (Archdiocese Museum), Wawel Cathedral on the
Wawel Hill, Skalka
sanctuary, house of Jan Tyranowski at 11 Rozana
street, church of St Stanislaw Kostka at Konfederacka
street,.house at 12 Szwedzka street, house at 10 Tyniecka
street, the Papal Stone on the Blonia
common, John Paul II’s
monument in the Park Jordana, Collegium Novum at 24 Golebia
24, basilica of the Virgin Mary’s, St. Florian’s church at
1 Warszawska street, John Paul II’s monument in Park
Strzelecki at Lubicz street, grave of Karol Wojtyla's parents
at the Rakowicki Cemetery, John Paul II Hospital at 80
Pradnicka street, church of St Jadwiga the Queen of Poland at
60 Lokietka street, church of the Mother of God the Queen of
Poland ‘Arka Pana’ (‘the Ark of the Lord')
at 1 Obroncow Krzyza street in the Bienczyce district, St
Maksymilian Maria Kolbe's church in Mistrzejowice, quarries in
Zakrzowek, chapel at the junction of Ruczaj, Pychowicka, and
Kamieniarska streets, the site of former Solvay Soda Works at
Zakopianska 62 (currently the Solvay Centre for Contemporary
Art and Zakopianka shopping center), the
Lagiewniki Sanctuary of Divine Mercy
at 3 Siostry Faustyny street, John Paul II
International Airport.
Podgorze
Historical Route
The
walk links the leading places of interest of Krakow’s
Podgorze district on the right bank of Wisla river.
Starting
point – Most Pilsudskiego bridge.
Itinerary:
Most Pilsudskiego bridge, Jozefinska street, Plac Bohaterow
Getta square, Lwowska street, Limanowskiego street, Rynek
Podgorski square, Park Bednarskiego, Wzgorze Lasoty hill, St.
Benedict's church, Stawarza street, Podgorze’s old cemetery,
Kopiec Krakusa mound, the site of the former Nazi
concentration camp of Plaszow.
Nowa
Huta Route
The
tour of the leading places of interest of Krakow’s
easternmost Nowa Huta sprawling district notorious for its
communist architecture and industrial landscape. Given
distances one needs some means of transport. Starting point
– building of the former Administrative Center of the Lenin
Steelworks (now Mittal Steel).
Itinerary:
building of the former Administrative Center the Lenin
Steelworks, Solidarnosci street, Wankowicza street, Dworek
Matejki manor house in Krzeslawice, recreational area by the
Dlubnia River, Osiedle Willowe housing estate, the Mogila
Cistercian Abbey and the wooden church of St. Bartholomew,
Szpital Zeromskiego hospital, os. Na Skarpie housing estate,
Plac Centralny square, Aleja Roz street, Przyjazni street,
Ludzmierska street, Obroncow Krzyza street, church of the
Mother of God the Queen of Poland ‘Ark of the Lord’
in Bienczyce.
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Krakow
tours
and day trips
Touring
the city and the Malopolska region.
Suggested
itineraries in Krakow
Walk
the Royal Road
in Krakow
Stroll
Round the Grand Square of Krakow
Stroll
through Krakow's Kazimierz District
In the footsteps of
Pope John Paul II
Getting
around Krakow
How to move
about the city making good use of its transport system.
Travel
to Krakow
Over
7,000,000 visitors turn up in Krakow every year. Many arrive by air,
but most of them take advantage of the fact that Krakow lies at a major
European road and rail junction.
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