World City Guide

Further Distractions

Muzeum Archidiecezjalne (Archdiocesan Museum)
Sacral art from the Cracow Archdiocese, 13th-century paintings and Pope John Paul II’s room (he lived here twice) are among the attractions in this 14th-century canonic house. A number of the presents received by the late Polish pontiff in his role as pope from various world leaders are also on display.

Ulica Kanonicza 19-21
Tel: (012) 421 8963 or 628 8211.
Website: www.diecezja.krakow.pl (Polish only)
Opening hours: Tue-Fri 1000-1600, Sat-Sun 1000-1500.
Admission charge; concessions available.

Centrum Sztuki i Techniki Japonskiej Manggha (‘Manggha’ Centre of Japanese Art and Technology)
While its appearance may be at odds with Cracow’s many historic buildings, this centre has one of the continent’s finest collection of ancient Japanese art housed in a sleek, glass and concrete building designed by Arata Isozaki. The collection was created by Felix ‘Manggha’ Jasienski (1861-1929), who first discovered Japenese art while studying in Paris in the 1880s. He adopted the pseudonym ‘Manggha’ from a transliteration of the Japenese ‘manga’ – the title of Hokusu’s famous series of sketches. He collected throughout his life and bestowed the collection to the National Museum in 1920. However, there was no place to show it until the new museum was opened in 1994.

Ulica M Konopnickiej 26
Tel: (012) 267 2703.
Website: www.manggha.krakow.pl
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1800.
Admission charge; concessions available; free Sun.

Nowa Huta (New Town)
Although all traces of Communist rule are being systematically erased from the Old Town, those with an interest in ‘Real Socialist’ architecture can travel out of town to the model Soviet suburb of Nowa Huta. Tours are run by PTTK Association (tel: (012) 643 7905).

This ‘New Town’, with its wide boulevards, geometrically ordered streets and imposing buildings, extends from the Central Square (Plac Centralny). Yet while it characterises Communist architectural style, it also displays the Poles’ resistance to certain aspects of Communism – as can be witnessed by the Church of the Virgin Mary Queen of Poland (designed by Wojciech Peitrzyk), constructed between 1967 and 1977 in the Bienczyce Quarter.

Not everything in Nowa Huta is new. The Church of St Bartholomew (located at ulica Klasztorna, just in front of the 18th-century Cistercian Abbey), built by Maciej Maczka, dates from 1466 and is Poland’s only surviving example of a medieval wooden church. Now part of the European Culture Programme, the church houses some beautiful 14th-century wall paintings and a sculpture of Jesus. According to a local belief, hair is said to sprout from the head of the statue. The church is open 24 hours.

Also worth a visit is Centrum, the Gallery of Nowa Huta Cultural Centre, located at aleja Jana Pawla II (tel: (012) 644 2863).

Nowohuckie Centrum Kultury (Centre of Culture in Nowa Huta)
Aleja Jana Pawla II 232
Tel: (012) 644 0266.
Website: www.nh.pl or www.nck.krakow.pl