Krakow’s rich intellectual, spiritual and artistic life has received worldwide attention, thanks to its selection as one of the nine European Cities of Culture in 2000. This special year was overseen by the patronage of Krakow’s leading cultural residents: the film and theater director Andrzej Wajda, the poets Wislawa Szymborska and Czeslaw Milosz, and the composer Krzysztof Penderecki, who won a Grammy Award. Krakow has long been Poland’s cultural capital but the city’s broad range of culture and the appeal of Krakow’s artistic life have taken off since this year-long
arts extravaganza and now more and more events take place all around the city.
Information on cultural events and tickets are available from the Cultural Information Center, ulica sw Jana 2 (tel: (012) 421 7787; website:
www.karnet.krakow2000.pl). The center publishes a monthly magazine,
Karnet, which has listings in English and Polish. Culture information is also provided in central Krakow at
Sukiennice, Rynek Glowny 1/3 (tel: (012) 421 7706; website:
www.mcit.pl).
Music: Krakow’s musical heritage goes back to the liturgical music of the 11th-century Cathedral School. Liszt and Brahms gave concerts in Wawel Castle’s Saxon Room, Szymanowski is buried in Skalka Church and Paderewski made a bequest to the university. The Krakow Academy of Music continues to produce high-calibre musicians. The
Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra performs at the
Panstwowa Filharmonia im Szymanowskiego (Szymanowski State Philharmonic), ulica Zwierzyniecka 1 (tel: (012) 422 9477). The
Capella Cracoviensis (website:
www.capellacracoviensis.pl) choir gives special concerts in the
Sukiennice (Cloth Hall) and a number of Krakow’s churches, in addition to their performances at the Philharmonic Hall.
Opera performances by the
Opera Krakowska (tel: (012) 421 1630
or 424 4528; website: www.opera.krakow.pl) take place in the impressive
Teatr im Juliusza Slowackiego (Slowacki Theater), plac sw Ducha 1 (tel: (012) 424 4500; website:
www.slowacki.krakow.pl), which echoes the Paris Opera. A new opera house is being built in place of the
Scena Opretkowa (Operetta Stage) at ulica Lubicz 48. Construction work started in 2004, and the opening is expected to take place in 2007.
The
Music in Old Krakow festival and the
Tyniec Organ Recitals, in an 11th-century Benedictine abbey in the nearby village of Tyniec, have both been running for over a quarter of a century. Much newer, but rapidly gaining in popularity, is the annual
Easter Ludwig van Beethoven Festival, inaugurated as part of the
Krakow 2000 festival and featuring works by Beethoven and other composers. The summer
Jazz Masters Festival features local and international performers.
Theater: Krakow has a rich dramatic history - the
Aktorzy Teatru Cricot 2, ulica Kanoniczna 5 (tel: (012) 292 9290), was renowned as the place to see the works of avant-garde director Tadeusz Kantor, while the
Juliusza Slowackiego (Slowacki Theater), plac sw Ducha 1 (tel: (012) 422 4575; website: website:
www.slowacki.krakow.pl), was the venue for the premieres of Stanislaw Wyspianski’s plays. Today, both classic and avant-garde works are staged there.
The
Stary Teatr (Old Theater) (website:
www.stary-teatr.krakow.pl) is Krakow’s foremost theater company and performances are on one of three stages. The main stage is at ulica Jagiellonska 5 (tel: (012) 422 8020
or 422 4040 for bookings).
Teatr Ludowy (The People’s Theater), Osiedle Teatralne 34 (tel: (012) 680 2100; website:
www.ludowy.pl), retains its socialist name. It also retains the sparse (for some, plain ugly) interiors of Poland’s communist past, but this is where radical new plays or cutting-edge adaptations of the classics are performed. Tickets may be purchased Tuesday to Saturday 1600-1800 and 2 hours before the performance.
Dance: In addition to ballet at the
Slowacki Theater, the city is a good place to see performances during the
Krakow Ballet Meetings in November.
Film: Almost all films shown in Krakow’s cinemas are in the original language, with Polish subtitles. Krakow’s screens include
ARS, ulica sw Jana 6 (tel: (012) 421 4199; website:
www.ars.pl), a very elegant cinema just off the market square, and the
Kijow (the biggest cinema in town) behind the
Hotel Cracovia, Krasinskiego 34 (tel: (012) 422 3093). There is also a new
IMAX, aleja Pokoju 44 (tel: (012) 290 9090; website:
www.kinoimax.pl).
Pasaz, Rynek Glowny 9 (in the old commercial passage leading from the corner of Grodzka and the Rynek to ulica Stolarska) shows A-movie features a few weeks or months after their release, and
Mikro, ulica Lea 5 (tel: (012) 634 2897) is the place to go for art house movies.
Literary Notes: There are two winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature closely associated with Krakow. Firstly, the late Czeslaw Milosz, author of
The Captive Mind (1953). Secondly, the poet Wislawa Szymborska, whose literary debut began with
I Seek the World (1945), published in the supplement
Fight (Walka) of Krakow’s daily newspaper, and was followed by the runaway success
That’s What We Live For (1952) and many subsequent collections of poetry. The leading Polish science fiction writer and author of
Solaris (1961), Stanislaw Lem, studied at Krakow’s Jagiellonian University. Although it is Steven Spielberg’s film
Schindler’s List (1993) that has so dramatically raised awareness of Krakow’s former Jewish population, it was
Schindler’s Ark (which won the Booker Prize in 1982), by Thomas Kenneally, that first told the story. A good recent history of the city is Zdislaw Zygulski’s
Krakow:
An Illustrated History (2001).
To learn more about Krakow, visit
http://letters.krakow.pl
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