Rynek Glowny Krakow

Rynek Glowny, Krakow: The Square That Kept Its Medieval Shape

Krakow’s Main Market Square (Rynek Glowny) is the largest medieval square in Europe at 200 by 200 metres. It has been the commercial and civic centre of the city since the 13th century. Most of what you see around it – the Cloth Hall, the tower of the demolished Town Hall, St. Mary’s Basilica on the corner – dates from the 14th and 15th centuries in its original form, though much of it has been rebuilt or restored since then. Krakow was largely undamaged during World War II, which is one reason the historic centre survived intact while Warsaw was largely destroyed.

The square is busy year-round: tourist-facing cafes and restaurants with outdoor seating in summer, a Christmas market in December, flower stalls and horse-drawn carriages throughout the season, and the regular movement of locals cutting across on their way to somewhere else.

The Cloth Hall (Sukiennice)

The Cloth Hall at the centre of the square is a Gothic structure built in the 14th century and extended in Renaissance style in the 16th. It was the main international cloth trading centre for the region. The ground floor now contains souvenir shops selling the same amber jewellery, wooden chess sets, and lacework you will find in any Polish city. The first floor holds the National Museum’s collection of 19th-century Polish painting, including Jan Matejko’s large historical canvases depicting key moments in Polish history. The gallery is chronically under-visited because most people skip the stairs. Admission is around 20 PLN.

St. Mary’s Basilica

The Gothic basilica on the east side of the square has two towers of deliberately different heights (the city bought the taller one from the builders in the 14th century and used it as a watchtower). Every hour on the hour, a trumpeter plays the Hejnal Mariacki from the top of the taller tower in four directions; the melody stops mid-phrase, a tradition commemorating a trumpeter killed by an arrow in the throat during a 13th-century Mongol attack. The basilica interior has a medieval altarpiece by Veit Stoss, carved in limewood between 1477 and 1489, 13 metres tall, depicting the Dormition of the Virgin. It is the largest Gothic altarpiece in the world. Admission to the basilica interior is 10 PLN.

Wawel Castle and Cathedral

A 10-minute walk south from Rynek Glowny along Grodzka Street reaches the Wawel Hill complex: the former royal castle (now a national museum) and the Wawel Cathedral where Polish kings were crowned and most are buried. The castle holds collections of Renaissance tapestries, armour, and applied arts across several exhibitions requiring separate tickets. The cathedral is free to enter; specific chapels and the royal tombs in the crypt require tickets. Allow 3-4 hours for the full Wawel complex.

The dragon’s den (Smocza Jama) below the Wawel hill is a limestone cave accessible via a staircase at the base of the hill. The cave has a 13th-century legend about a dragon and a bronze sculpture of one that breathes fire every few minutes. The cave entrance costs a few PLN.

Kazimierz

Kazimierz, the former Jewish quarter 1.5 kilometres south of the main square, was the centre of Krakow’s Jewish community from the late 15th century until World War II. The quarter’s synagogues, the Jewish cemetery (Remuh), and the pre-war urban fabric of the neighbourhood were preserved because the German administration used the area for administrative purposes rather than destroying it. The Schindler Factory (the actual factory from Spielberg’s film, now a museum about Nazi occupation) is at the edge of Kazimierz.

The neighbourhood has become a centre for bars, restaurants, and street art. The combination of the authentic historical fabric and the current nightlife and cafe culture is specific to Kazimierz and different from the tourism of Rynek Glowny.

Eating

Krakow is cheap by Western European standards. A full sit-down meal with beer at a restaurant in the square typically runs 60-90 PLN (approximately 14-20 euros). Milk bars (Bar Mleczny) are government-subsidised canteens that serve cheap traditional Polish food: borscht, pierogi, bigos, cabbage rolls. Milk Bar Tomasza on Tomasza Street is clean, reliable, and serves a full meal for under 30 PLN.

Zapiekanka is the Krakow street food: a half-baguette toasted with toppings. Plac Nowy in Kazimierz has circular rows of small kiosks selling it from about 10 PLN. It is the correct late-night food after Kazimierz bars.

Getting to Krakow: trains from Warsaw take 2.5-3 hours, from Vienna 6-7 hours. The central station (Krakow Glowny) is immediately adjacent to the old town.