Krakow, Czestochowa, Auschwitz before the visit of Pope Francis
Krakow, the city of kings
Krakow is one of the most visited towns in Poland. Every year around 9 to 10 million tourists come here. The historic urban-architectural complex of Krakow which was shaped throughout almost thousand years belongs to the most important historical sites in Europe. The royal castle in Wawel hill, the seat of the kings of Poland in the past, is one of the largest defence structures of this kind in the world. Wawel is a place of burial of many famous Poles. There are 20 churches in the capital of Malopolska region with tombs of nine saints, seven blessed ones and eight candidates to be elevated to the altars. Kazimierz, a district of Krakow set up by king Casimir the Great in 1335., is a real magnet for tourists. In 15th century a Jewish town was created in Kazimierz which existed until the World War II.
Jasna Gora is without a shadow of a doubt the most popular Polish pilgrimage destination. It is the biggest Polish shrine. In 2015 it was visited by 3.7 m pilgrims, 122,000 of whom arrived on foot. The origin of the second European centre of Marian worship following Lourdes is not related to any apparitions. In 1382 Prince Vladislaus of Opole discovered and brought from Hungary to the local monastery the Friars of St. Paul the Hermit and a miraculous image of Our Lady, whose authorship is traditionally ascribed to St. Luke. The tradition of foot pilgrimages to Czestochowa harks back to the 15th c. Back then the pilgrims set out from Krakow. One of the earliest pilgrim routes is also the one starting in Warsaw. Varsovians have walked the route since 1711, irrespective of the historical and political context; pilgrims came to Jasna Gora even during the Warsaw Uprising. Foot pilgrimages to Jasna Gora take from a few up to 20 days.
Auschwitz - a symbol of genocide
Auschwitz is a symbol of genocide and martyrdom. Until of January 1945 about 1.1 million women, men and children died, 90 percent of them were Jewish.
