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Nowa Huta

When in the late 1940s Stalin decided to 'punish' Krakow with Nowa Huta, little did he know that it would become one of the top Cracow tourist attractions, and the monument of the not-so-long-gone communism days would lure many visitors hungry for the architecture and atmosphere of Nowa Huta. Cracow's neighbor, now a part of the city, tried to endanger Krakow, both by ideology and immense pollution, but succeeded only in adding an interesting chapter to the city's fascinating history. 

Nowa Huta's Ancient Times

The first known inhabitant of today's Nowa Huta was a mammoth that ended his life in the stomachs of Krakow townspeople's ancestors some 25000 years ago. From this time on, the terrains of Nowa Huta were constantly inhabited, making it one of Poland's oldest settlements.

Then there was Wanda's Mound, the 7^th century burial place of the legendary Polish princess, who preferred death to marrying a German prince. Nowa Huta was also the place of Poland's first copper smelter, Austrians built their fortresses there in the 19^th century (Festung Krakau – the Krakow Fortress) and about that time the first Polish airport was built there.

The Communist Town of Nowa Huta

Interesting this all may be, it's not the reason that Krakow visitors come to Nowa Huta. The history they want begins about 1946, when the traditionally conservative city of Krakow votes 'against' in the referendum that the Communists organized to prove they have the support of the Polish people. The Communists couldn't underestimate the voice of Krakow, too big as a resistance point, so in an effort to kill two birds with one stone, they decided to build the new, communist city of Nowa Huta (a district of Krakow since 1951) there – first for ideological reasons, and second, because the natural resource-rich regions like Silesia were near enough.

The designs for Nowa Huta were created in an unbelievably short amount of time (supposedly the first housing estate was designed in three days), and the first buildings of the later Krakow district were erected in 1949. The first furnace of the steelworks (for the name 'Nowa Huta' identifies the purpose of the town, meaning 'New Steelworks') was finished in 1954, and the People's Theater (Teatr Ludowy) was built a year later. The pride of Communism and Krakow's ideological counterpoint was more or less complete.

Ironically, less than 15 years later Nowa Huta became one of the biggest centers of anti-communist resistance. It seems the 'perfect city' planned behind the desks of the ideological architects turned out to be hard to live in for the real people. The most important places of  Nowa Huta linked with the anti-communist opposition are certainly the great cross on Osiedle Teatralne, and the Lord's Ark church, the first one built in Nowa Huta, after long struggles with the anti-religious, communist authorities.

Tours of Nowa Huta

Today Nowa Huta is one of Krakow's most popular tourist attractions, and virtually every travel agency has something in store for those who want to experience the atmosphere of communism. The tours usually include the Plac Centralny (Central Square), the central spot of the district, with some fantastic architectural references to the baroque and renaissance epochs, then there is the former Lenin Steelworks, the Lenin Monument and sometimes a special, 'socialist treat'. Of course, the best tour of Nowa Huta can be booked via our Krakow Tours section.

Of course you might want to go to your own tour of Nowa Huta. In these cases some caution is necessary, especially at night time in the residential districts – meeting raging fans of Cracovia or Wisla isn't perhaps the way you want to end your vacation. The main areas of Nowa Huta (like the Plac Centralny) are much safer.