Podgorze - outside walking tour

There are many things to see that are outside (and free) in Podgorze. I decided to find them. 

First I went to one of the oldest cemeteries in Cracow, called Stary Cmentarz Podgorski ( Old Cemetery Podgorski). It is located on a hill. It is small. It looks neglected and run down. Workers were making repairs there. Important citizens of Podgorze are buried there, including former mayors, artists and partisan leaders (from underground movements during times of conflict). Some of the graves are small and simple. Others were huge (ie. former mayors). All of them were in different conditions. The bigger ones were more looked after. Here is the gate.

Here is the sign on the gate.

Here is a view from the back of the cemetery.

Many of the tombs are from the 19th century and early 20th.

Across the street is an important building in Cracow's history. You would not know it from looking at it. It is al boarded up and in disrepair. It was an old inn (Saint Benedict's) that later became an Auatrian barrack. It was recaptured by the Polish military in 1918. This was the start of Poland's fight for independence from Austria. 

From here I went to find Fort # 31 "Saint Benedict" and Saint Benedict's church. Off of Limanowskiego street as you are heading back to the Ghetto square you find a school at # 62 Limanowskiego. There is a gate by the school that opens on to a playground. As you look right you will see refurbished remains of ghetto walls. Here is a view from the far side. On the left is a wall of an old quarry. To me it seems ironic to have a playground there next to the wall. 

You walk past the wall and up the hill in a wooded area. Turn right at the top and there you see the fort. It is fenced off and well hidden by big trees. It was another Austrian fort. It supposedly had a tower at one time. It was modeled after Renaissance design. It has a retractable draw bridge in the wall. I could not see it. It is a 2 story circular construction with. A courtyard in the middle and shooting locations up top along the perimeter.

Across the way from that fort is St. Benedict's church. It is small and one of the oldest churches in Cracow. It was built on the site of a 10-11th century rotunda. You can supposedly see evidence of the rotunda inside the church. The church is only open for mass on St. Benedict's Day and the Tuesday after Easter for the Rekawki Fair. This church dates back to the 12th century. It stands on the edge of a vertical rock face, next to a quarry. Probably built by Benedictine monks.

There is a legend of a princess of Gory Lasoty (Lasota Mountains) associated with this church. I don't know the legend very well. It has to do with a princess who did not spend her money wisely. She lived in a palace next to the church. There was in reality a palace next to this site. She met up with a poor soldier who had to come up with big sums of money every day to give out to people. He would be rich if he could do this. If not,  life in Hell. On the last day when trying to collect his prize of riches he meets up with the devil and was taken to Hell. Something like that.

From there I went to the Krakus mound. It is the oldest mound in Cracow. It was a burial mound for Prince Krak, founder of Cracow, in the 7th-8th century. So says a legend. On the Tuesday after Easter this mound and surrounding area are a part of the Rekawki Fair. The view from up top is great. I could clearly see Wawel castle, Kazimierz district, Nowa Huta and the tower at Lagiewniki church. 

View from top - Wawel castle to left and Kazimierz to right.

Below the mound and across the field is a fence surrounding the former quarry called "Liban". It is a huge quarry with tall stone walls and old chimneys. Now there is a pond covering the land. This was a site of forced labor during WWII. The working conditions were like at a concentration camp. I saw the quarry from above where there is a path leading down to the newer Podgorze cemetery. 

I tried to find a statue and cemetery on the other side of the quarry (on ground level), but was not sure of the way. There is a mass grave and statue dedicated to 21 inmates killed on one night in 1944 by the German camp commander and his soldiers. They shot the inmates from a spot up high, looking down.  I did see some barracks on the property that were probably built for the set of the film Schindler's list. Scenes of the movie were set here in this quarry. 

This photo gives you an idea of how steep the walls are.

These are not usual places for tourists to visit. However if you find out about these places you can find brochures and maps. I find these out of the way places fascinating!