Kraków

Our route from The Wawel to the Stare Miasto (Old Town) takes us past the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, with its Baroque facade, the Church of St Andrew next to it and on to the Franciscan Church; this has amazing interior decoration which is not immediately apparent to the naked eye. We walk alongside the Bishops Palace on to the Collegium Maius, the oldest building of the Jagiellonian University (itself one of the oldest universities in Europe); it has a beautiful arcaded courtyard.

We turn right and reach the Main Market Square, one of the largest medieval squares in Europe. The Town Hall Tower is the only remaining element of the town hall buildings that used to be here; it is next to the magnificent Cloth Hall, which has been part of the city's trade since the 13th century (the rebuilt Hall now mostly sells jewellery and souvenirs). Outside the main entrance to the hall is the Adam Mickiewicz Monument, commemorating a 19th century poet. Close by is the Gothic St Mary's Basilica, an iconic site of Krakow, with a magnificent altar inside; it is also famous for the hourly trumpet call in all four directions (which we hear).

We walk up Ulice Florianska towards St Florian's Gate; this is part of the Royal Route (which we have followed - with diversions - from Wawel Hill to the Main Market Square and on to the Florian Gate); the gate was once part of medieval fortifications. We divert again to the Slovacki Theatre and its grounds before doubling back to the Barbican; this is the oldest remaining element of Krakow's defences, and one of only three such outposts still existing in Europe.

We cross over to Plac Matejki, which is dominated by the Grunwald Monument, constructed in 1910 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald.Leggi altro