Krakow’s central square in the evening. A statue is in the center of the photograph and a small shopping area is behind it.
It isn’t easy to say what makes Poland, Poland. For me, the best way to describe the country is through detailing Krakow’s central square as I sit there. The streets at the center of Krakow are lined with what almost looks like cobblestone, and, being from a country with few such roads, I noticed them immediately for the unevenness it produced in my walk. Many of the stones are gray, speckled, and rectangular. But in the very center of the square, the stones are worn, chipped, and dark red. They seem to have been walked over for many, many years. These old stones surround a statue that rises in gray tiers and holds several figures draped in a metal that has been aged green. The buildings around the square are painted in various vibrant colors: pink, yellow, red, and green among others. Many of the top edges of building facades rise and fall in old looking architecture. Many of the facades’ peaks hold the vestiges of older times, supporting what look like golden urns, gargoyle heads, and winged creatures. The deep history of the place seems to show itself at every corner.
The old architecture found on the top of the facades of buildings. Here, objects resembling urns and a winged creature can be seen.
Now, I can hear the voices of a choir singing from across the square. The choristers are robed in white, and a simple, wooden cross stands behind them. A sprawling cathedral rises high behind their stage. Its face is brick and the windows appear Gothic. A golden flag or cross caps every pinnacle on the structure. A sign hanging above an entrance reads “Prayer Only” and it seems to be an attempt to prohibit wandering tourists from entering impiously. Across the square from the church, on the front wall of a restaurant, a large painting of the Virgin with Child guards the entrance. Just today, while walking to this spot in the square, I saw several nuns, monks, and priests, walking toward the concert I hear now. In the bazaar-like structure near the square’s monument, many of the items for purchase are paintings and carvings of Jesus, Mary, various other Christian figures, and crosses. The country’s Catholicism is plainly visible in the square.
The cathedral in the right corner of the central square. Choristers are on the stage in front of the church. The concert has just begun and the crowd is growing steadily.
I have heard many languages sitting on this bench as conversing people pass by. Much of the writing around the square, such as on signs, menus, and in shops, is in multiple languages. English is prominent among them. The songs I have heard playing from radios have often been in English. Restaurants promoting food from different places are on the square: Italian, American, and Mexican. Yesterday, I was looking at tea cups at a shop on the square. I was hoping to find one with Polish writing to take home, and I took one up to the counter to ask what language it was in: French. Neither of us knew what it said. And the people have been very nice to me. They do not seem to mind trying to speak English and have usually been very helpful. Diversity seems to be accepted in Poland, even enjoyed. Yet, I have noticed an almost indescribable pride among the people for their nation. Much still remains distinctly Polish around the square. Most of the many, many restaurants around me seem to promote their traditional Polish food. And yes, I am sure they are accommodating tourists eager to get their fill of Polish cuisine. But it seems like more than that in regards to the food, and in regards to everything else. To leave the square briefly, the Polish guide we had at the Schindler Museum and the museum itself seemed to reflect this situation. The guide pointed to two particular
The painting of the Virgin Mary with Child hanging above the door to a restaurant on the central square.
pictures as we walked into one room of the museum filled with photographs. The prewar photographs of two black children hung on the wall among many other faces, an example of Poland’s prewar diversity, and an example of why Poles should be proud of Poland.
This lively square in the center of Krakow shows much, I think, about Poland. It reveals its long history and tradition, its vibrancy and its color. It shows it religious roots. It brings out its diversity and acceptance. And it reveals its beauty. I have seen and heard its beauty this evening. The square, though darkening, is animated with happy, talkative people. The Madonna and Child is still visible in the glow of the restaurant’s firelights below. And the piano behind me has stopped playing, for now, to give way to the Alleluia that spills proudly and piously from the crowd and the choir beneath the crosses of the church across the square.