A Review on Krakow, Polandia
Kraków About this soundlisten)), written in English as Krakow and traditionally known as Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. On the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Province, the city dates back to the 7th century.Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596[6] and has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, economic, cultural and artistic life. Cited as one of Europe's most beautiful cities,its Old Town was declared the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in the world.
The city has grown from a Stone Age settlement to Poland's second-most-important city. It began as a hamlet on Wawel Hill and was reported as a busy trading centre of Central Europe in 965.With the establishment of new universities and cultural venues at the emergence of the Second Polish Republic in 1918 and throughout the 20th century, Kraków reaffirmed its role as a major national academic and artistic centre. The city has a population of about 770,000, with approximately 8 million additional people living within a 100 km (62 mi) radius of its main square.
Tourist Destinations
1. Wieliczka Salt Mine, Wieliczka
The 13th-century Wieliczka salt mine is just as important for the locals today as it was hundreds of years ago, but for a very different reason. One of the world's oldest and longest-working salt mines, it stopped commercial operations in 1996 and has since become an artistic attraction.
2. Auschwitz-Birkenau Camps, Oswiecim
The Auschwitz I and the Auschwitz II–Birkenau concentration camps are a different kind of must-see. Located about an hour west of Krakow, the camps offer a sobering look into the past.
Between 1942 and 1944, over 900,000 Jews were brought to the camps here from German-occupied countries. Political prisoners, Roma, and a number of other ethnicities were also sent here.
3. Warsaw Old Market Place, Warsaw
The oldest part of Warsaw, the Old Town Market Place dates back to the 13th century. Although 85 percent of the area was destroyed by the Nazis during World War II, it has since been restored to look exactly like it did when it was first built.
4. Malbork Castle, Malbork
This 13th-century Teutonic castle was originally built by the Teutonic Knights, a religious order that served as a crusading military unit. Although the castle started as a small fortification, it was subsequently expanded over the centuries and eventually became a massive structure. Once the largest Gothic building in Europe, Malbork castle remains the world's largest castle by land area.
5 Lazienki Park, Warsaw
Lazienki Park covers 76 hectares of the city center, making it one of Poland's largest urban parks. Lazienki started life as a baths park for a nobleman in the 17th century. Today, the Palace on the Isle is open to the public, as are the gardens around it.