Europe Trip 2025 - Kraków

I've been to Kraków (population 804 thousand) many times, starting with school trips to the Wawel Castle and short visits with family. This was the first time I had time to explore Kraków on my own. Not much time, but it was a new experience for me. So, how was it? Hmm... First impression is that Kraków is unique, because it was not destroyed in WW2. The buildings that look old, are actually old. I was able to have a photo in exactly the same place where my grandfather from Lviv had a photo taken on a trip to Kraków, about 100 years ago, and the buildings are all there:

2025

1930s

Kraków is both beautiful and ugly, depending where you look:

Beautiful

Ugly

Beautiful - the Wawel Castle - the seat of the Polish kings when Kraków was a capital of Poland,
and also the seat of Hans Frank - the criminal German governor of part of occupied Poland,
which was administratively part of Greater Germany at this time,
not Poland, as the Holocaust distorting Yad Vashem posted recently on X:

Dodge Ram will make any place ugly.

Beautiful - Sukiennice cloth hall.

Ugly

Beautiful - Planty - a park created in place of the old town walls.
Also, a great path for riding a bike. 

Ugly - the dirt and graffiti on the electrical box.
In Gold Coast, these boxes are art installations.

Beautiful - still working historic tram.

Ugly

Beautiful - an old street with trees and outdoor dining.
Ugly - too much space given to cars - the equivalent of 3 car lanes.

Beautiful - the old main train station with a pedestrian plaza in front of it.

The same main train station building from the other side,
with a local train departing, and trams running underneath.

The new main train station is inside a shopping mall.
Functional, but still awkward, like a post office in a butcher's shop.

At least the shopping centre is trying to provide what the city doesn't: a bit of bike parking.
Undercover, secured, and bigger would be even better. 

Old brewery restored as hotels and apartments. I love these projects.

Beautiful, I think. Intriguing definitely.

Ugly - it wouldn't cost much to fix this.

A new tram - always beautiful.

Beautiful - a tram depot from 1882, now a museum.

Beautiful, but peculiar, is this a Kraków thing?
This park belongs to Pauline Fathers, but is open to the public during the day.

A few photos from the Jewish Kazimierz district:

Jan Karski bench.

Restaurant

Prayer house