Origins

Before Krakow entered the arena of history as a leading political and cultural centre of Central Europe in the late Middle Ages, it had long been developing around the limestone hills towering over the Vistula valley. Although the city was not based on seven hills as was Rome (although it depends on how you count!), their importance for the future capital of Poland was comparable to the Eternal City.

Disputes between historians about who inhabited the upper Vistula valley since the Stone Age will probably never be resolved. Whether we call them the Vistulans tribe, after the famous Old Slavonic entry from the Life of Saint Methodius, or with some other term, one thing is certain: the favourable location by the then-fluvial river and its marshlands as well as the numerous limestone caves were conducive to human settlement since the dawn of time.

The most famous Polish legend, dating back to the end of the 12th century, has a dragon in one of these caves: huge, fire-breathing beast, slain on the orders of the then-ruler of the city with the help of a clever cobbler. The cobbler allegedly made the dragon eat a sheep stuffed with sulphur. The thirst caused by devouring the dummy was so strong that the monster drank all the water from the Vistula and literally exploded into pieces!

The mythical ruler who was said to have given the order to remove the dragon was called Krakus, after whom the city is named. Regardless of how it really was, and despite the meagre number of sources we have to rely on, one thing is certain: from the 9th century onwards, the Wawel Hill, under which the dragon’s den is located, became a regional centre of power. Walking around the Wawel Castle of today, you’ll easily spot relics of Romanesque and pre-Romanesque rotundas and chapels, which are some of the oldest stone buildings in the present Poland. The use of gypsum in place of mortar was unique in Europe of that time.

At the foot of the Wawel Hill, on the site of today’s Kanonicza and Grodzka Streets, a small settlement called Okół was installed, which is the oldest part of Krakow’s city centre. Nowadays it’s symbolised by the Romanesque St Andrew’s Church, whose magnificence towers over the southern part of the Old Town. The thick stone walls suggest a constant atmosphere of danger and the many invasions from which the inhabitants took shelter inside the churches. But that’s another story.

The residents of the time quickly recognised the advantages of the limestone hills surrounding old Krakow. They became the location of defensive chapels and churches, some of which – such as the tiny Church of St Benedict at Podgórze or Church of the Most Holy Salvator at the edge of St Bronisława Hill – have survived to this day with only a few changes to their construction. A walk to see both these places today is not only a journey into history, but above all it provides us with the pleasure of enjoying the views of the city combined with a break from the city noise.

However, the most peculiar reminders of the times of the purported Vistulans are the mysterious Krakus Mound at Podgórze and Wanda Mound in today’s Nowa Huta, dedicated to the legendary ruler’s daughter. The majestic, artificial hills probably originally served as burial sites, which fed the imagination of inquisitive locals for several centuries. A trip to the Krakus Mound is most especially worthwhile on the shortest night of the year, when hundreds of Cracovians welcome the sun as it rises right over Wanda’s mound. The pair of Krakow’s legendary founders meet on this day on this peculiar solar axis with the city waking up in the background. What an unforgettable view! The residents of the time quickly recognised the advantages of the limestone hills surrounding old Krakow. They became the location of defensive chapels and churches, some of which – such as the tiny Church of St Benedict at Podgórze or Church of the Most Holy Salvator at the edge of  St Bronisława Hill – have survived to this day with only a few changes to their construction. A walk to see both these places today is not only a journey into history, but above all it provides us with the pleasure of enjoying the views of the city combined with a break from the city noise.

However, the most peculiar reminders of the times of the purported Vistulans are the mysterious Krakus Mound at Podgórze and Wanda Mound in today’s Nowa Huta, dedicated to the legendary ruler’s daughter. The majestic, artificial hills probably originally served as burial sites, which fed the imagination of inquisitive locals for several centuries. A trip to the Krakus Mound is most especially worthwhile on the shortest night of the year, when hundreds of Cracovians welcome the sun as it rises right over Wanda’s mound. The pair of Krakow’s legendary founders meet on this day on this peculiar solar axis with the city waking up in the background. What an unforgettable view!

At the end of the 10th century, Krakow found itself in the sphere of influence of the Great Moravian state, from where Christianity may have reached Wawel even before the baptism of the Polans tribe. The city became the main centre of the Polish state with the reign of Casimir I the Restorer, who moved the capital from Gniezno, located in today’s Greater Poland region, which had been plundered during the Bohemian invasion.

In the following centuries, the integration of Poland, Bohemia and Hungary with ‘old’ Carolingian Europe intensified. Western civilisation in Central Europe was first propagated by Christian monks, including the Benedictines, who in 1044 settled on a beautiful limestone hill overlooking the waters of the Vistula River in Tyniec near Krakow, and have remained there ever since. In later centuries, they were joined by, among others, the Cistercians , who chose for their seat the village of Mogiła, which today lies in the Nowa Huta district. The monastery there boasts of safekeeping the relics of the Holy Cross.

The harmonious development of Krakow was brutally interrupted in the middle of the 13th century by the invasion of the Tatars, more precisely the Mongols under Genghis Khan. The time of fear and destruction is memorialised by one of the city’s symbols, the Lajkonik – a rider disguised as a Tartar who tours the city every year to collect a symbolic tribute from restaurateurs and bring good luck with a touch of his mace. Legend also links the Mongol invasion with the melody of the trumpet call, played every hour from the tower of St Mary’s Church – Krakow’s iconic church whose spires tower over the Main Market Square. The distinctive melody, sounded every day at noon by Polish Radio 1, breaks off suddenly, just as it was allegedly interrupted a long time ago, when a trumpeter warning the inhabitants against the invader was struck by a Mongol arrow.

The city that emerged from under the ruins was already the Krakow we know today. But that’s another story!

Traces of the early medieval beginnings of Krakow can be explored in the underground of the Main Market Square – a popular branch of the Krakow Museum. It is a unique multimedia exhibition resulting from archaeological research carried out on the occasion of the renovation of Krakow’s most important square at the beginning of the 21st century. There were so many artefacts found that it was decided to establish an exhibition where visitors can – literally! – see, touch and hear the city as it was in its early days. Another place worth visiting when you’re an enthusiast of the city’s most ancient history is the Archaeological Museum.