Krakow's Old Town

Kraków Old Town (Stare Miasto) is one of the most famous old districts in Poland today and was the center of Poland's political life from 1038 until King Sigismund III Vasa relocated his court to Warsaw in 1596. The entire medieval old town is among the first sites chosen for the UNESCO's original World Heritage List, inscribed as Cracow's Historic Centre. And with good reason. I had already been to several UNESCO World Heritage sites on the same trip, and this one still came out at the top of the list--it is spectacular.

Medieval Kraków was surrounded by a 1.9 mile (3 km) defensive wall complete with 46 towers and seven main entrances leading through them. The fortifications around the Old Town were erected over the course of two centuries. The current architectural plan of Stare Miasto – the 13th-century merchants' town – was drawn up in 1257 after the destruction of the city during the Tatar invasions of 1241 followed by raids of 1259 and repelled in 1287. The district features the centrally located Rynek Główny, or Main Square, the largest medieval town square of any European city. There is a number of historic landmarks in its vicinity, such as St. Mary's Basilica (Kościół Mariacki), Church of St. Wojciech (St. Adalbert's), Church of St. Barbara, as well as other national treasures. At the center of the plaza, surrounded by kamienice (row houses) and noble residences, stands the Renaissance cloth hall Sukiennice (currently housing gift shops, restaurants and merchant stalls--we bought fabulous fur mittens and some small souveniors in various shops and stalls there) with the National Gallery of Art upstairs. It is flanked by the Town Hall Tower (Wieża ratuszowa).

We only had one dinner on our own in Krakow, and we chose to eat at Wierzynek. It was established in 1364, and is reputed to be the oldest continuously open restaurant in the world. It was built by a king on the occasion of his daughter's wedding, and when those festivities died down, it became a restaurant. Some restaurnts do not maintain their quality over time but not so with Wierzynek--it was considered the best restaurant in Krakow by the prestigious Michelin Red Guide and mentioned in one of my son's favorite reference books, "1000 Places to See Before You Die". The atmosphere is undeniably elegant, and the food was fantastic.