Nowa Huta: A Walking Tour of Kraków's Ideal Communist City
Tour explores Kraków’s communist past in Nowa Huta, the model socialist district: visit Centralny Square, walk along the Avenue of Roses, see the site where the Lenin statue was attacked, and discover the ‘Ark of the Lord’ church and the Nowa Huta Cross. Along the way, we trace postwar urban planning, workers’ protests, and the rise of Solidarity.
+1
Basic Information
Total time
2h 30m
Language
English, Spanish, Polish (check the calendar for availability)
Price
„Pay what you wish” tours do not have a fixed price. It is up to you to evaluate your guide’s work and reward it. Some people give 10€, others 50€ depending on their satisfaction and abilities.
Meeting point
The middle of the Central Square (Plac Centralny) Nearest public transport: Plac Centralny im. R. Reagana 04 tram stop; Plac Centralny im. R. Reagana 03 tram stop
Additional info
☂︎ This tour is organised by Walkative Krakow guides. Look for the guide with the yellow umbrella.
♿️ Tour suitable for people with reduced mobility and strollers
❗Our tours run no matter the weather. High or low temperatures, rain or snow is not a reason for us to cancel our tours. We are always here for you. The only reason for cancellations are extreme weather conditions (like heavy storms…), guide's sudden sickness or no minimum number of people (5) to run the tour, but we will always let you know using the data you provided during registration for the tour.Booking rules
Booking is obligatory. Our pay as you wish tours are designed for individual travellers and small groups. We don’t accept parties of more than 7 people on them. If you travel in a party of 8 or more (school groups, bigger groups of friends etc.), please choose a paid option of 18€ per person or book a Private Tour. For more information on the latter, please contact us.
About the tour
Those were the days when Kraków’s veins were running with coal and steel and the glorious, royal past of the city didn’t matter anymore. The world was on the eve of the Cold War and Nowa Huta, the communist district of Kraków, was built to fight and resist it.
Visit with us Nowa Huta, one of the two still existing ideal communist cities in the world, and get a chance to learn about the representative part of Nowa Huta – monumental Central Square and the Avenue of Roses, and enter the ‘Ark of Lord’ church, a symbol of spiritual resistance of Catholic workers against the communist party will.
An ideal communist city, monumental and grand, was built in a country that had just started to raise itself from the rubble of World War II. But, for the Communist Party, the costs of its construction were meaningless. Tangible proof of communist power was the only thing that mattered.
This ideal city, where religion was replaced with communist propaganda, was supposed to be inhabited by ideal communist citizens: Homo Sovieticus. A new and better type of people, obedient, brainwashed and entirely devoted to the system. They were to replace the old chaotic, stubborn, free-willed and creative Homo Sapiens. But, nothing lasts forever. Eventually, the creatures turned against their masters. The people of Nowa Huta revolted and fought for freedom.
Join us and we will tell you the story of a heroic struggle of Polish workers, initiators of great strikes and protests that eventually started the fall of a Communist Block, and the beginnings of the biggest social movement of all times – Solidarity. All this takes place in the surroundings of one of the best examples of an ideal communist city, which today, surprisingly, has so much to offer.
Highlights
- 1
Ideal Communist City
Discover Nowa Huta, one of the world's few ideal communist cities, built after WWII.
- 2
Central Square
The monumental heart of the district, a prime example of socialist realist urban planning.
- 3
Avenue of Roses
The district's representative boulevard, where a massive statue of Vladimir Lenin once stood.
- 4
The Nowa Huta Cross
Learn about the famous cross that became the focus of a fierce fight for religious freedom.
- 5
Solidarity Movement
Hear about the workers' revolt that helped spark the fall of the entire Communist Bloc.
6Ark of Lord Church
A modernist masterpiece and a powerful symbol of spiritual resistance against the atheist communist regime.
Map
The middle of the Central Square (Plac Centralny) Nearest public transport: Plac Centralny im. R. Reagana 04 tram stop; Plac Centralny im. R. Reagana 03 tram stop
