The first is the Dom Kultury (a place for youth to participate in music and art activities outside of school) at Fort #49 called "Krzesławice". This fort was built from 1881-1886. During this time Cracow was under Austrian rule. The Austrians built many of these defense forts all around Cracow. During WWII this fort was a collection point for intercepted reports of the activities of the German army. The Germans wrote in a code called the "Enigma code". There were 3 collection points in Poland of these reports. This fort was one of them.
The fort was not used for warfare in 1939. Between 1939-1941 the Nazis executed many Poles here. 440 to be exact. There were most likely mass graves dug here for the corpses.
Here is a photo of a memorial statute dedicated to those who perished at the fort during WWII.
To the left in the background you can see a bit of the fort.
The fort has several buildings. The front building has been restored and is now the cultural center for youth. The building behind it is still in ruins. I am not sure what the plans are for this building.
We walked behind the back building and saw small individual buildings that were on higher ground. These were places from whence they could shoot and defend the area. They were pretty much in ruins. The whole back area was grassy and meant to camouflage the fort. The fort is northeast of central Nowa Huta.
Next stop was the steelworks. This place is guarded and very much off limits to visitors. From the street you can see the sign for the steelworks and the chimneys on site. Off to both sides are administrative buildings. We got about as far as the inner courtyard before we were approached by a guard. One of those buildings is supposed to be taken over by city council offices in the near future. Then it will be more open to the public.
Here is the sign at the steelworks.
The old part of Nowa Huta is laid out like a semi-circle. The tallest buildings (apartment buildings) make up the outside of the semi-circle. They are tall in order to protect the buildings inside the semi-circle.
In our wanderings around Nowa Huta today we saw a black "trabi" (or trabant - an East German car used by the Soviets). It was obviously part of a tour (a "Crazy Guy Tour", according to a tour guide friend). There were 3 passengers (all middle age guys) in the trabi. It looked straight out a movie. Our friend said they drive you around and serve you vodka. I am speechless.
The Lord's Ark Church was built roughly between 1967-77. It was originally supposed to be built near where a cross stands, a little ways down the road closer into town. The Soviets initially agreed to church's location near the cross, then changed their mind about allowing it to be built. Eventually permission was granted, but only for a part of the planned church. So the church ended up being built in sections over the span of 10 years. The outside consists of pebbles set in concrete with a wooden ark as the roof.
Here is a close up of the pebbles.
The inside of the church consists of a chapel downstairs and the main sanctuary on street level.
Distinctive in the sanctuary are a tall sculpture of the crucified Christ (by a Cracovian sculptor) and the colorful side stained glass windows. The colored windows are relatively new. They used to be clear glass like the front windows.
A view towards the main altar. Note the outstretched Christ sculpture and the colored side windows.
Here is a view from behind the altar.
The picture below is the cross at the site of where this church was to have been built.
Now there is a small church near that cross (to the left of the cross) that was built about 10-15 years ago. The church is small because some of the original land intended for the church way back when had been sold. Now there is a school on some of that land.
Inside that semi-circle would be shorter apartment buildings, schools and doctors' offices.
In the Plac Centralny during Communist times the buildings were built to have large windowed luxury goods stores on street level and apartments for the big-wigs (Communist Party Leders) above the stores. It was all show back then. Now there are shops still on street level, but they do not carry luxury items. An apartment above the shops must cost quite a bit.
Other places worth seeing in old Nowa Huta include the "Café Stylowa" and the spot where Lenin's statute loomed over the old part of the city. The café is on Aleja Róż, on a corner of an intersection. It was a very fashionable place to eat back in the day. The best place in town. The inside is still decorated as it was 30-40 years ago, elegantly. Further down Aleja Róż, not very far, the street level dips down. That is where Lenin's statue stood. The spot is not marked, so you have to be told where to look.
Also on Aleja Róż, in the district called "Słoneczne", is a museum about the history of Nowa Huta. This small one room museum has a lot of information about various topics in Nowa Huta's history. The exhibits change. Last summer there was a different one. This year it is about the fight for independence vs. Communist rule, starting in the 1950s. The texts were all in Polish, but you can ask for a booklet with the texts in English. Many historic photos went along with the texts. After visiting the museum we were able to go out and see some of the places mentioned.
In the early 1950s there were plans drawn out to build a city hall building with a tower and a community center in the form of a rotunda. These plans were not realized. On old photos you can see the plans. The site of city hall was north of Aleja Róż in an area that looks now looks like a park. The community center was to be in the center of the "Plac Centralny".
I recommend a trip out to Nowa Huta. It is easily accessible from downtown Cracow via bus or tram (about a 30-40 minute ride). It is helpful to stop by the museum on Aleja Róż first to get maps, as I am not aware of any tourist offices.
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