The United States is a very young country. Compared to any country in Europe, USA has very little history. But even with the history it does have, there are very few places where you can see it with your own eyes. Everywhere you look, there are new homes, modern office buildings and skyscrapers. If a building is 100 years old, it is considered to be very old.
Not so in Poland!
Many Polish cities have well-preserved “old towns,” with buildings that are hundreds of years old. In Cracow, the Collegium Maius on the Jagellonian University campus dates back to the 15th century and the Church of St. Adalbert on the main square, dates back to the 11th century!
The old town isn’t some faraway place that you might visit on vacation, like the Gettysburg Battlefield or Mount Rushmore. People live, work and have fun in the old town on a daily basis. The nicest clubs and restaurants are invariably located there.
Uprising museum in Warsaw
Poland is also home to some of the finest museums. Museums in USA may be housed in architecturally modern buildings, but the contents are still from an older era. While most exhibits are interesting, they’re often not very engaging because the displays are usually set up in visually constraining roped-off rectangular glass cases.
In Poland, there are several new interactive museums. Great museum in Schindler’s Factory and the Underground Square in Cracow as well as the Warsaw Uprising Museum in Warsaw.
In Schindler’s Factory each room is a completely different experience. One moment you’re in a train station with the sound of trains and soldiers talking. The next, you’re in a large hall dedicated to the Nazi regime, complete with a swastika-tiled floor. Later, you walk into someone’s kitchen, a half-cut ham sitting on the counter.
In each of these areas there are things to interact with, including videos and computers. There is so much additional information to learn and things to explore, it’s simply not possible to take it all in in a single visit.
History is alive in Poland!
When walking the streets of the old town or visiting one of Poland’s fantastic museums, you get the impression that all of Poland’s history, both great and terrible, has only just occurred.
What are your favorite historical places in Poland?
Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)
