2-DAY CITY-BREAK in Cracow

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1 2-DAY CITY-BREAK in Cracow The city of Cracow in Poland. The second largest city of Poland and the country's ancient capital is sometimes spelled as Cracow in English although its correct English name is Krakow nowadays. Cracow in short. Cracow (Krakow) is the top tourist destination of Poland. The city basks in glory of its long history and it greatly treasures its reputation of the culture capital of Poland. Cracow's seven universities plus almost twenty other institutions of higher education make it the country s leading center of science and education. The city's expanding service sector is the lifeblood of local economy but varied industry and production still provide substantial proportions of jobs and wealth. Cracow is the metropolis of southern Poland and the capital city of the Malopolska Province (Wojewodztwo Malopolskie). Population of Cracow. The city has about 755,000 permanent residents and the Cracow conurbation totals some 1.5 million people. The cosmopolitan atmosphere of the city center may be somewhat misleading. Despite recent growth in the number of immigrants and expatriates, inhabitants of Cracow remain ethnically almost homogeneous and they proudly declare their Polish nationality. Geography of Cracow, Poland. Geographic coordinates of downtown Cracow are 50 04'N 19 56'E. The city lies in southern Poland on the banks of Wisla (Vistula) river. Cracow has area of square kilometers which amounts to 0.1 percent of the territory of Poland. The average elevation of Cracow is about 220 meters above sea level. There are several hills in the city of which highest, Sowiniec, rises 384 meters above sea level.

2 History of Cracow. The oldest artifacts excavated in Cracow date from the Paleolithic period (early Stone Age), some 200,000 years ago. Archeologists have established that the area was a regional center from the Neolithic period 6,000 BC. Cracow was already a thriving city circa 990 when the early rulers of Poland incorporated it into their newly created state. In 1038 Cracow gained the status of the capital of Poland. In 1257 Prince Boleslav the Shy gave the city self-government and key commercial privileges. Officially Cracow retained the title of Poland's capital to the end of the 18th century yet the political center had been transferred to Warsaw in From 1815 until 1846 Cracow with its environs enjoyed shortlived independence of sorts as a quasi-sovereign statelet called Cracow Republic to be annexed soon to the Austrian Empire. At the outset of the 20th century Cracow became the hub of the Polish national awakening and in 1918 it was the first Polish city to abolish the foreign rule. Cracow versus Krakow The original spelling of the Polish name of the city is Kraków, pronounced krakoof. The slightly anglicized version 'Krakow' has been universally adopted in modern English since the middle of the 20th century. It replaced the older, now outdated spelling Cracow which was derived from the city's Latin name 'Cracovia' or possibly from the French 'Cracovie'. Nevertheless some native speakers prefer to use the written form Cracow for some reason whereas nonnative English speakers, including Krakow-born ones, often learn the old spelling from obsolete textbooks. Plan of 2-DAY CITY-BREAK cost 200 euro per person Two days in Cracow is just right to feel the atmosphere of this beautiful city and visit two most important destinations located near Cracow - medieval Wieliczka Salt Mines (20 km from Cracow) and Auschwitz Concetration Camp Museum (70 km from Cracow). This city break will certainly be filled with activities and different kind of experience. Have a look at our suggested itinerary. ITINERARY: Day 1: Transfer from Lodz to Cracow early in the morning; Guided tour of Cracow Old Town (visiting the most important sights of Cracow, see: Basic Cracow).

3 Day 2: Auschwitz KL Museum; Wieliczka Salt Mines. transfer back to Lodz Transport by a chauffeured car, air-conditioned, English-speaking driver. Basic Cracow This tour is ideal for those who would like to see the most important sights in Krakow and to do it at their own pace, accompanied by a knowledgeable and friendly guide. Everything in the Old Town of Cracow is within walking distance so you will be able to get to all the sights on foot. The tour covers: Medieval Fortifications of Krakow (the only part that survived), a visit to St Mary's Church, featuring the most impressive work of art in Cracow - the 15th century high altar sculpted by Veit Stos (Wit Swosz), the Jagiellonian University oldest building - Collegium Maius, the Royal Road taking you via the city of Cracow up to the Wawel Hill, the former residence of Polish kings, where you will also visit the Royal Cathedral. Wieliczka Salt Mine The Wieliczka Salt Mine lies within the Cracow metropolitan area (about half an hour drive from the centre). It is often referred to as "the Underground Salt Cathedral of Poland", being one of the most outstanding attractions in the southern Poland. "The historic Salt Mine in Wieliczka is the only mining site in the world functioning continuously since the Middle Ages. Its original excavations (longitudinals, traverses, chambers, lakes, as well as minor and major shafts) are located on nine levels and extend for the total of about 300 kilometres: reaching the depth of 327 metres they

4 illustrate all the stages of mining technology development over time." The quotation comes from the justification for entering the Wieliczka Salt Mine on UNESCO List of Cultural and Natural Heritage in The Wieliczka salt mine features a 3.5-km touring route for visitors (less than 1% of the length of the mine's passages) that includes dozens of statues and an entire chapel that has been carved out of the rock salt by the miners. Even the crystals of the chandeliers are made from rock salt that has been dissolved and reconstituted to achieve a clear, glass-like appearance. At the end of the tour, there is a large 'cathedral' and reception room that can be reserved for private functions such as weddings or private parties. Also featured is a large chamber with walls carved to resemble wooden chapels built by miners in earlier centuries and an underground lake. To get down to the 64-metre level of the mine, visitors must descend a wooden stairway of 378 steps. After the threekilometer tour of the mine's corridors, chapels, statues and lake, 135 metres underground, visitors take an elevator back up to the surface. About 1.2 million people visit the Wieliczka Salt Mine annually. Over the centuries, visitors to this site have included Nicolaus Copernicus, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Alexander von Humboldt, Dmitri Mendeleyev, Bolesław Prus, Ignacy Paderewski, Robert Baden-Powell, Jacob Bronowski (who filmed segments of The Ascent of Man in the mine), Karol Wojtyła (the later Pope John Paul II), former U.S. President Bill Clinton, and many others. Cracow - 13 km Duration: ca. 4 hours

5 Auschwitz - Birkenau Auschwitz -Birkenau was the largest concentration and death camp in the Nazi-occupied Poland. This site of mass-murder and genocide is now a symbol of Holocaust, a visit to which is an important history lesson for everyone. Auschwitz is the German name for Oświęcim, the town in and around which the camps were located; it was renamed by the Germans after they invaded Poland in September Birkenau, the German translation of Brzezinka (birch tree), refers to a small Polish village nearby that was mostly destroyed by the Germans to make way for the camp. Auschwitz II-Birkenau was designated by Heinrich Himmler as the place of the "final solution of the Jewish question in Europe". From spring 1942 until the fall of 1944, transport trains delivered Jews to the camp's gas chambers from all over Nazi-occupied Europe. The camp's first commandant, Rudolf Höss, testified after the war at the Nuremberg Trials that up to three million people had died there (2.5 million exterminated, and 500,000 from disease and starvation), a figure since revised to million, around 90 percent of them Jews. Others deported to Auschwitz included 150,000 Poles, 23,000 Roma and Sinti, 15,000 Soviet prisoners of war, and tens of thousands of people of diverse nationalities. Those not killed in the gas chambers died of starvation, forced labor, lack of disease control, individual executions, and medical experiments. On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz was liberated by Soviet troops, a day commemorated around the world as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. In 1947, Poland founded a museum on the site of Auschwitz I and II, which by 1994 had seen 22 million visitors 700,000 annually pass through the iron gates crowned with the infamous motto, Arbeit macht frei ("work makes you free"). Cracow - 60 km Duration: ca. 5 hours