Over one hundred years ago, Podgórze, one of the districts of Krakow, was a separate city. Like many other developing cities, Krakow absorbed other smaller towns throughout history. The most famous case is Kazimierz, now commonly known as the Jewish district.
Podgórze is a district full of diversity and contradictions, and that's why I like it very much. We can see representative apartments and villas next to neglected tenement houses standing right on the main streets.
Modern investments are invading peaceful, bourgeois life.
In the past, the greatest tycoons of Podgórze used to live on a hill slightly away from the most prominent streets. You can see over a hundred-year-old atmospheric villas here. This place is now called Lasota Square, but the historical name is "On the Robber" Square because the city gallows stand here in the past.
You can often come across graffiti during walks between tenement houses. Once I found paintings down a side street that seemed familiar to me. I am sure that they were painted by the same artist who decorated the walls of the abandoned silos in Kozłów (the place near Krakow, ideal for urbex fans). I was there two years ago, and I took a photo of some interesting graffitis. One of them is now my avatar on Hive.
When it comes to graffiti, there are a lot of them here - an excellent topic for another entry.
In Podgórze, we can also find traces of a sad past; in 1941 - 1943, there was a Jewish ghetto here.
You can still see fragments of the walls.
The fragment of the ghetto wall you see above is just below Lasota Hill, the rock face is often occupied by climbers. Podgórze is the most interesting district of Krakow in terms of topography - it is full of hills, steep rock cliffs, and old quarries.
On the vast, flat top of Lasota Hill, you can find the tiny church of St. Benedict and the fort belonging to the Krakow Fortress. Residents like to come here for walks.
The church stands on the edge of a steep limestone cliff. You can see the city from here with clean air (unfortunately, we often have smog).
When you look in the opposite direction, you can see Krakus Mound on the horizon, located on another hill. At its feet lies the excavation of the abandoned quarry "Liban" - urbex lovers eagerly visit it. There are old industrial buildings from the 19th century, and remains of the scenery from the Schindler's List - camp scenes were filmed there. I have already written about the mound and the quarry.
There are no spectacular monuments in Podgórze, but it is impossible to get bored here. The district is an original mixture of history, legends, and modernity. In addition, there are almost no tourists here, as in the vicinity of the Main Square or Kazimierz. It is an excellent alternative for someone who likes to wander around the less crowded corners of the city.
I'm the only author of the text and photos.