More from Kazimierz

As I wandered around the Kazimierz district in Cracow I noticed a few things that I had not seen before. Here is a shot of the Remuh Cemetery from the side (through a fence). It is one of the oldest Jewish cemeteries in Cracow.

A "key hole" shot.

Another thing I noticed was an old building with Hebrew inscriptions on the front. When I got closer, I could see this sign.

It was a place for studies of the Talmud for adult members of the Jewish community. The group that organized these studies was formed in 1810. I am not sure when the building was first erected. The sign mentions a fire in 1773 that destroyed the building. It was renovated in the first half of the 19th century. Later renovations were in 1912. This building is located at #42 ul. Jozefa.

On Wawrzynca street in Kazimierz I first noticed this building that looked newly renovated as compared to older surrounding buildings. It was formerly an electric power plant.

In 1908 this place became an independent electric power facility for Cracow. In 1976 it ceased production of electricity there. Currently there are administrative offices for a business in this building.

A little further down sw. Wawrzynca street (#15) is a complex of buildings that were part of an old tram depot dating from 1882. It is now a museum called the Museum of Municipal Engineering (inzynierii miejskiej). The museum covers the history of transportation in Cracow, the electrification and sewerage of Cracow, the history of telecommunication, the history of the Polish car and motorcycle industry, the history of printing in Cracow from the 15th to the 20th century and trams on sw. Wawrzynca street.

Unfortunately the museum was closed when I went by. I seem to remember seeing some of the exhibits here many years ago. Here is a photo of the museum. Note the tram tracks.

Across the street at #12 is an old tram depot, now renovated and not looking that old. In it is a restaurant/bar. Here it is.

The Cracow Industrial Heritage Route is shown on a map outside the museum. It includes places like the electric power plant, old bridges and retaining walls for the Wisla river. 

Also included in this outdoor photo exhibit by the museum were old pictures of Cracow's bridges and river embankments. Here is a photo of an old bridge for trains. 

There was once a wooden bridge at this site. In 1863 this bridge was built out of bricks and stone pillars. It was built by the Karl Ludwig Railway Company on the train line from Cracow to Lvov. 

Notice how the Wisla river is underneath the bridge. Between 1878 and 1880 the river was filled in with sand so the bridge was over dry land. It still is like that today. This bridge is located near Dietla and Grzegorzecki streets. 

The pictures that intrigued me the most were those of the walls built along the Wisla river. They were built to protect Cracow and Podgorze from floods. The walls were built between 1907 and 1913 by engineer Roman Ingarden. A canal was planned along the Dunaj, Odra, Wisla and Dniestr rivers so big boats could come through with their loads of wares. When WWI broke out, the canal idea was abandoned. The retaining walls were built from the Rudawa river near the Norbertanek cloister to the train station Cracow-Grzegorki (no longer exists, but close to current Galeria Kazimierz shopping mall).

The walls were built on both sides of the river. 

The construction of the walls was thus that there was a low wall built by the river bank and a high wall built further away from the river bank. In between the walls were train tracks and a ramp for goods to be transported to higher ground. The ships unloaded their goods over the lower wall onto trains or trucks. Here is a picture of the higher wall being built around 1910.

Notice the train tracks.

Here is a photo of the high wall and railway tracks. The lower wall is way off to the left by the river bank. It is not possible to see it here.

I decided to go walking along the Wisla near the Pilsudski bridge to see if I could still see those old retaining walls. Well they are there still, along with the ramps. The train tracks have been replaced with pavement for walkers and cyclists. You cannot see the lower wall on this photo. It is way down by the bank of the river.

Here is a sign on the high wall confirming I had found the right place.

To me this is the really interesting part about Cracow - finding these nuggets of information that encourage me to explore and learn about the history of this amazing city. The fact that I can actually go and see what I was reading about is wonderful.