Krakow (Cracow) is the second largest city of Poland, also the capital from 1038 to 1569, before they moved the capital to Warsaw.

My tour arrived in Krakow shortly before 5 p.m.. I took a brief stroll by myself in the old town (photo 1 - 25) when there was still some sunlight. Unlike most of the old towns in Europe, where the city halls are always the most prominent buildings, in Krakow, the most significant one is the Cloth Hall, which is a Renaissance monument of commerce with rows and rows of trading stalls indoors. It's said to be the oldest shopping mall in the world. The next day, the local tour guide took us to the Jewish Quarter (Kazimierz, photo 26 - 31), then a quick stop outside Schindler's Factory (32 - 36) before going uphill to the Wawel Castle (37 - 48), a traditional site of royal coronations and resting place of many national heroes. The walking tour ended at the old town. It was a fine day, and the old town which represents part of the Polish pride and culture, looked so brilliant under the sun (50 - 56).

According to the guide, contrary to Warsaw, Krakow's old town was almost undamaged during the war, and the architecture existing now is original, because the mayor opened the gate for the Germans with the hope that his town and his people could be spared. Unfortunately what happened to his inhabitants later was another tragedy. 90% of the Polish Jews, about 65,000 of them, were killed.

The Jewish Quarter was deserted after the war and out of repair. The movie Schindler's List brought international attention to this area and with some Jews moving back from Israel and the U.S., Kazimierz has been re-developed and is having a booming growth in the Jewish population in the past few years.

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