Today the world marks Holocaust Remembrance Day, the anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp by the Soviet Red Army in 1945.
Some ten days prior to the liberation of Auschwitz, 58,000 inmates were marched away because the Nazis did not want them to fall alive into the hands of the liberators; instead, they had to go on what has become known as the Death Marches. Over half of them would die as a result. They left behind the ashes and bones of over a million human beings, more than 900,000 of them Jews, most of whom died by gassing, and some 7000 sick and dying inmates, including Jewish and Roma children on whom the German doctors had performed murderous medical experiments.
Having visited Auschwitz in a few years back today is even more poignant for me.
This sign is the first thing you pass when you enter the facility.
The Holocaust, which established the standard for absolute evil, is the universal heritage of all civilized people. The Holocaust profoundly affected countries in which Nazi crimes were perpetrated, but also had universal implications and consequences in many other parts of the world. As genocide and atrocity crimes keep occurring across several regions, this has never been so relevant.
Three years ago we were in Krakow, Poland for an opportunity to retrace Paul's roots. Even though Krakow was not a city I knew much about, we enjoyed our stay so much that I would definitely return.
A year ago Paul and I had arrived in Krakow. We had a great time visit visiting the area of Poland where Paul's family is from. It was a mix of history - good and horrific (we spent a day at Auschwitz), art, and fabulous food.
Today is our last day in this wonderful city. To think that the only reason I came here was because Paul's grandmother was born here. It was never on a list of places I wanted to go, yet through that trick of birth here we are. After a week it is safe to say that Krakow has captured a place on my 'top places I've been to' list.
Today was a day to catch up on a few things I had wanted to do but hadn't got around to doing.
We shopped, we toured, we walked, we are, we drank, and now we are resting.
In the Rynek Główny we were able to hear the famous Krakow bugler one last time:
We toured St Mary's Cathedral. After Tartar raids in the 13th century left the original church in a heap of ruins, St. Mary’s was rebuilt in Gothic style on the existing foundations and consecrated in 1320. In the early 15th century the towers took the iconic form they have today, when the northern tower was raised to 80m high and made into a watchtower for the city. It is from here that the hejnał mariacki - the city's famous bugle call - is played every hour on the hour. One of the city's most enduring traditions, the tune ironically breaks off mid-melody in honour of the mythical trumpeter who was shot in the neck while belatedly warning the city of Mongol invaders; don't miss it.
No matter how many times you see them - the altarpiece, stained glass windows of the nave, and the blue, starred ceiling on St. Mary's will take your breath away. The magnificent wooden altarpiece was the principal work of 15th century German artist Veit Stoss (aka Wit Stwosz) for 12 painstaking years, and depicts the Virgin Mary’s Quietus among the apostles; note, however, that gradual conservation work on the altar is currently underway (projected to last until 2020), and not all elements may be on display during your visit. Surrounding the altar are polychrome paintings by Polish masters Matejko, Mehoffer and Wyspiański done in the late 19th century.
We also visited St Barbara's Church, located in behind the cathedral where the old cemetery used to be. While St. Mary's traditionally served Kraków's wealthy German community during the middle ages, the more low-key St. Barbara's attracted the local Polish population. The highlight is a Gothic 15th century sculpture found just inside the entrance, and a neo-Gothic sculpture depicting the garden of Gethsemane. In fact, St Barbara's church is said to be build from the materials left over after the construction of St Mary's.
St Barbara's church is well know for a small stone pieta from the early 1500s.
We were a bit hungry at this point so we went to a well-known Krakow restaurant U Babci Maliny (translates to raspberry grandmother). You go in, order at the open window kitchen, and when your food is ready they call you up to get it.
The food was amazing! We shared a bowl of chicken soup (perfect for our colds), Paul had pierogies made with broad beans and bacon, and I had a Krakow Kutlet (pork, pounded thin, stuffed with cabbage, mushrooms, sausage, and cheese). All of this, plus two bottles of water, came to about $ 23 Canadian.
YUM
This was just what we needed for the long walk to the Wawel to see the castle. when we were there earlier in the week the castle had closed. I made sure to check the opening times before we headed out and we were successful this time. We toured the state rooms and also took a guided tour of the apartments.
Wawel’s prominence as a centre of political power predates the building of the first Cathedral on the site in 1000AD. Evidence shows that Wawel Hill was being used as a fortified castle before Poland’s first ruler, Mieszko I (circa 962-992) chose Wawel as one of his official residences. The first Polish king crowned in Wawel Cathedral was the teenage Władysław the Short (1306-1333) on January 20, 1319, beginning a tradition that would see a further 35 royal rulers crowned there up until the 17th century. All of these rulers used the Castle as a residence, and all of them added their own architectural details to the building. The moving of the capital to Warsaw in 1596 and Poland’s subsequent decline and partitioning saw the Royal Castle fall into a state of disrepair.
The occupying Austrians used it as a military hospital and even went so far as to demolish several buildings including a number of churches on the site. The 20th century saw the Castle change hands on a number of occasions, with the huge ongoing renovation works that continue to this day being halted for a number of reasons, most famously when the Castle was used as the headquarters of the Nazi Governor General, Hans Frank, during the German occupation of WWII.
Today’s Castle complex is a beguiling muddle of styles including Medieval, Romanesque, Renaissance, Gothic and Baroque. The inner courtyard with its delightful colonnades is a true architectural masterpiece, and the treasures contained within do much to contribute to Kraków’s rightful status as a truly world-class city.
Those tapestries represent the most complete collection of 1500 tapestries in Europe. Interestingly they have a Canadian connection. They, along with many other Polish national treasures, were spirited away to Canada as the Nazis invaded Poland. They spent the war in safety and were returned intact years later.
We left the castle at 4:30 and made our way back to the apartment.
Tonight is an 'eat and drink the stuff from the refrigerator' evening - we head to Berlin tomorrow.
Located 14km southeast of Kraków, Wieliczka is famous for its deep salt mine. It’s an eerie world of pits and chambers, and everything within its depths has been carved by hand from salt blocks.
Wieliczka is the oldest salt mine in the world. It was established in the 13th century, but already people were using the salt from the site 6,000 years ago. Salt deposits in the mine come from over 13 million years ago.
The mine has a labyrinth of tunnels, about 300km distributed over nine levels, the deepest being 327m underground. A section of the mine, some 22 chambers connected by galleries, from 64m to 135m below ground, is open to the public by guided tour, and it’s a fascinating trip. During the two hour tour you see less than 0.2 % of the mine.
The mine is renowned for the preservative qualities of its microclimate, as well as for its health-giving properties. An underground sanatorium has been established at a depth of 135m, where chronic allergic diseases are treated by overnight stays.
Wieliczka Salt Mine is also one of the most important religious places in Poland. Throughout the years miners here carved figurines of saints, hoping that they will protect them from harm. The main attraction of the mine is the chamber of St Kinga, which is made entirely out of salt.
The mine has been on the UNESCO Heritage Site since 1978.
The salt-hewn formations include chapels with altarpieces and figures, while others are adorned with statues and monuments – and there are even underground lakes. The showpiece is the ornamented Chapel of St Kinga (Kaplica Św Kingi), which is actually a fair-sized church measuring 54m by 18m, and 12m high. Every single element here, from chandeliers to altarpieces, is of salt. It took over 30 years (1895) for one man and then his brother to complete this underground temple, and about 20,000 tonnes of rock salt had to be removed. Other highlights are the salt lake in the Erazm Barącz Chamber, whose water contains 320g of salt per litre, and the 36m-high Stanisław Staszic Chamber.
Our tour guide told us all about the history of the mine and about the work of the first miners. At the beginning their job was so dangerous that many lost their lives in the narrow corridors of the mine. They not only crashed the thick salt walls, but had to get rid of methane, which would gather over the pavements. To do so miners would crawl into small spaces with a fire torch and burn out the gas. Quite often it led to explosions and accidents. You can see a demonstration of it during your tour.
The guide also introduced us to some mining customs and traditions. In Poland miners are appreciated not only for their hard work, but for their fight against communism in the 60s. The Day of the Miner, known in Poland as Barbórka, is celebrated all over Poland.
The most beautiful room in the whole mine is the St Kinga’s chamber, where everything is made out of salt and the floor itself is a one big piece of this material. The chamber was created only by 3 people and it took 63 years to complete.
I found the mine to be an amazing place. The chambers are beautifully decorated, hiding fascinating stories about the history of the place and history of Poland. One of the disadvantages is the number of visitors. It seemed like the guide was rushing through the site and often I couldn’t catch what he said because of the surrounding noise. I wish we had had more time to enjoy this wonderful place.
The Auschwitz concentration/extermination camp complex is, arguably, the twentieth century’s most pervasive symbol of human suffering, and of the depths of human cruelty. To say visiting Auschwitz was a challenge would be an understatement.
When we realized how close it was to Krakow we felt we had to go. We didn't want to go but felt obligated to do so as fellow humans on this orb called earth.
It was a tough day.
No matter what you have read or what you have heard . . . nothing prepares you for what you see at the camps or the words you will hear out of the mouth your guide. That we live in such a world where sentences such as these have to be formed and uttered! I have never been among so many people in such somber moods, quietly wiping tears from their eyes as we all walked from spot to spot.
From this first enclosed area we crossed the railway towards the prison blocks, passing under the infamous metal banner that reads, ‘ARBEIT MACHT FREI’. Translating to English as ‘Work sets you free’, this slogan featured at a number of Nazi concentration camps.
Beyond the sign we entered the prison camp proper, where a series of brick buildings were arranged in rows around a central pathway. Wooden watchtowers looked down on the thoroughfare from either end, while double barriers of electrified barbed wire separated the compounds from one another. Rudimentary gallows had been erected to one side of the path for executions.
Many of these buildings are now open to the public, containing museum-style exhibitions detailing different aspects of prison life. One building was dedicated to the stories of Belgian inmates, another to the Hungarians.
The cruelty of the SS spiralled to new levels on 3rd September 1941, when deputy camp commandant SS-Hauptsturmführer Fritzsch conducted a lethal experiment in the basement of Block 11.
A total of 600 Soviet prisoners-of-war and 200 Poles were sealed in a large chamber, and gassed with the cyanide-based pesticide Zyklon-B – formerly used for killing the lice which thrived in the rags worn by inmates.
The experiment was deemed a ‘success’, and a bunker on the site was subsequently converted into a gas chamber. Operating between 1941 and 42, a total of 60,000 inmates were exterminated in this bare, subterranean cell. An adjacent room was fitted with a series of ovens, and served as a crematorium.
On entering the bunker, a sign asked visitors to maintain a respectful silence. It needn’t have bothered, though – there was simply no fitting comment which could have been made in response to these barren chambers, the adjacent ovens.
If a tour of the Auschwitz I Concentration Camp had been moving however, then words fail to describe the clinical detachment apparent in the design of the next site; the purpose-built mass extermination facility known as Auschwitz II-Birkenau.
Walking the path of the train tracks it was easy to see how the camp would have functioned. Trains passed the checkpoint at the main building to pull up alongside platforms, where their cargo of humans would be unloaded. Under the view of numerous watchtowers, inmates would be sorted according to worth before being herded – like cattle – through a series of gates and holding pens. A number of low buildings provided storage space… after looking inside these bleak huts lined with wooden shelves, I can’t quite bring myself to call them ‘accommodation’.
At the back of the Birkenau site, one finds the remains of the gas chambers. The first gassing took place here in 1942, at a converted farmhouse; the building was gutted, its windows bricked up, and the interior converted into four large rooms which were designed to look like showers.
I refuse to share the gruesome details we heard today nor will I share pictures of personal things taken from the prisoners.I am sure I will remember them for years. Although a visit to Auschwitz is far from a comfortable experience, it is nevertheless an important one; as it is crucial that the events of the Holocaust are not forgotten.
Our day was divided into two parts, the first involved packing up our stuff and heading from the hotel to the apartment we had rented around the corner. After breakfast we decided to walk to the apartment just to see where it was. It really was just around the corner - about a 5 minute walk. Unfortunately the walk was over deep cobblestones which isn't the best bet for old, out of shape, tourists with luggage.
We decided to call a cap from the short trek, promising to tip well.
I don't think he cared about the tip because he gave me the cash back and drove off in a huff.
Oh well.
The cleaning staff checked us into the apartment. Once we had dragged the luggage up we left them to clean and we headed off for the Wawel.
The Wawel, perched on top of the hill of the same name immediately south of the Old Town, is by far the most important collection of buildings in Poland. A symbol of national pride, hope, self-rule and not least of all fierce patriotism, Wawel offers a uniquely Polish version of the British Buckingham Palace and Westminster Abbey rolled into one. A gorgeous assortment of predominantly Romanesque, Renaissance and Gothic architecture dating from around the 14th century onward, Wawel is the crown jewel of Kraków's architectural treasures and at the top of most lists of things to visit in Krakow.
We discovered that the castle had closed for the day - it closes at noon on Mondays although I have yet to find a guidebook which confirms this. LOL
Of well, with the apartment about 5 minutes away we can visit again.
We took our time visiting the Cathedral. The scene of the crowning of almost every Polish king and queen throughout history, the current Wawel Cathedral is the third to be built on the site. The current building was consecrated in 1364 and built on the orders of Poland’s first king to be crowned at Wawel, Władysław the Short (aka. Władysław the Elbow-high, 1306-1333). Considered the most important single building in Poland, Wawel’s extraordinary Cathedral contains much that is original, although many glorious additions have been made over the centuries.
Visually not as stunning as that of its cousin St. Mary’s on the Rynek, the interior of Wawel Cathedral more than makes up for its visual shortcomings thanks to the sheer amount of history packed inside. At its centre is the imposing tomb of the former Bishop of Kraków, St. Stanisław (1030-1079), a suitably grand monument dedicated to the controversial cleric after whom the Cathedral is dedicated. Boasting 18 chapels, all of them ostentatious, of particular interest is the 15th-century Chapel of the Holy Cross, found to the right as you enter and featuring some wonderful Russian murals as well as Veit Stoss’ 1492 marble sarcophagus to Kazimierz IV.
After the Cathedral we went and visited the castle courtyard which was impressive enough to make us really want to come back to see what was hidden away on the other side of those walls.
We had two choices for heading back to the apartment - back the way we came or down the Dragon's Den. As legend would have it, the craggy chambers beneath Wawel were once home to Smok Wawelski, or the Wawel Dragon, a particularly nasty creature who liked nothing more than to gorge himself on sheep and local maidens. Story goes that as the village ran out of virgins, the King promised the hand of his only daughter to the hero who could vanquish the vile beast. Wave upon wave of brave knights fell beneath the dragon's fiery breath before a poor cobbler named Krak tricked Smok into eating a sheep stuffed full of sulphur, which instantly ignited inside his gullet. With an unquenchable thirst the dragon went and drank half the river before his distended belly exploded and the town was freed of his wrath. Krak married the princess, of course, became king, built his castle on the dragon's lair and the people built a city around it named 'Kraków' after their saviour king.
His cave became a famous tavern and brothel during medieval times and today functions as a seasonal tourist trap luring families into its dripping, less than awe-inspiring confines throughout the tourist season. It was a wise move on our part to save this for last since the route through the caves leads you down a steep, vertical descending staircase (not even slightly handicap/baby stroller accessible) inside the castle courtyard to be later deposited outside the complex on the riverbank below, right in front of Smok's sculpted bronze likeness unveiled in 1972 to a design by the local artist Bronisław Chromy.
We were getting peckish so we decided to join the sun worshipers eating lunch on the top of a large boat moored along the edge of the Vistula. The service sucked but the views were stunning, the weather beautiful, and the company great so who could complain?
The cleaners were gone when we got back to the apartment. Not sure if it was the sun, the walking, the jet-lag, the colds, of the drinks with lunch but we were exhausted!
Naps were called for.
After we got up we went to a nearby grocery store to get some things for the apartment (mostly junk food by the looks of things) and settled in for the night.