Opactwo Benedyktnów (the Benedictine Abbey in Tyniec) is located several miles from the center of Kraków, situated on a hill overlooking the Vistula River. Originally constructed in the 11th century, it has been rebuilt several times thereafter.
The Abbey looked like a nice half-day trip so off we went one morning. The weather was perfect. We hopped on bus 112 and arrived in the small community of Tyniec about thirty minutes later. A ten minute walk up a gently sloping hill brought us to the abbey.
As we walked through the gate we glanced at the sign. Hmmm. No dogs allowed. Not a good omen. Stephanie would not get to pet a dog this morning.
We turned the corner into the courtyard and immediately noticed a large stack of construction material on the steps of the Kościół św. Piotra i Pawła (Church of Saints Peter and Paul). It is under renovation. This is not mentioned on the website. But the church was open so we walked in and admired the scaffolding.
At the other end of the courtyard is a small museum. At this point we didn’t feel like a museum, so we skipped it. Likewise we bypassed the café and shop. We probably should have ordered a couple of coffees, but we were too focused on deciding what to do next. Unfortunately our visit to the abbey lasted all of about twenty minutes.
We walked down to the Vistula River where there are several food trucks, cafés, kayak rentals, and a boat ferrying folks to the walking trails on the other side of the river. That sounded good. Uh oh. We are out of season. At 11:00 AM on a Tuesday in early October one café was open. The food trucks were closed, the kayaks tied up, and boat ferry moored to the dock. As best we could tell the river activities are only open on the weekends at this time of year.
After returning to the bus stop we waited about ten minutes for bus and then began the 30 minute trip back to the city center. We are far enough out of Kraków that the bus only comes by every thirty or forty minutes.
While our trip to the abbey turned out to be a bust, it would be fantastic during the warm summer months. You could make a great day of visiting the abbey combined with kayaking and walking along the Vistula River.
Back in Kraków we paid a visit to Pracownia i Muzeum Witrażu, the Stained Glass Museum and Workshop. It has been in continuous operation, in a building specially designed and built for stained glass work, since 1902.
A guided tour costs 40 Zł (about $10) or you can add on a stained glass workshop lasting an hour (250 Zł, about $60), two hours (350 Zł, about $82), two days (either 2,000 Zł or 3,500 Zł, about $470! or $820!!), or even four days (6,000 Zł, about $1,408!!!). The longer and more expensive workshops involve increasing complexity in design and processes.
We chose the guided tour with a one hour workshop. Attending a workshop of this type is not something we would normally do, which is probably why we decided to do it.
The tour (ours was given in English) lasted about an hour. The first 30 minutes take place in the workshop area, detailing the steps necessary to design and create massive, elaborate stained glass windows. The next 15 minutes are spent demonstrating how intricate designs are painted onto stained glass. The final part of the tour is walking through a small museum highlighting creations from recognized stained glass masters from Kraków.
After the tour, and prior to the workshop, we had about 10 minute break in the café, where we each received a “complimentary” drink and pastry.
The actual workshop lasted close to two hours. Basically we each cut and polished one small piece of glass and then soldered it onto a second, pre-cut piece of glass. Here is what we got:
Not much, I know. It was an enjoyable afternoon, but really way, way, way too expensive. The extra $50 (over the cost of the tour alone) bought us a trip to the café plus a cheap looking souvenir.
At least if it breaks during our travels we won’t be upset.
Next time we think of doing something out of the ordinary we need to consider the cost in cans of beer. That one workshop would have otherwise paid our bar tab for a week or two.
Before leaving we picked up a brochure about stained glass in Kraków including a map to prominent pieces in town. One is found in Bazylika Franciszkanów św. Franciszka z Asyżu (Basilica of St. Francis):
Another famous Kraków artist, from the Young Poland art period (1890-1918), is Józefa Mehoffera. His former house is now a museum in the MNK group. Since we kept our tickets to the Czartoryski Museum, we got into Dom Józefa Mehoffera for free. It’s nice, basically a twenty minute stroll through a two story house filled with art pieces. An outdoor café is in the rear garden.
As an aside, the only challenge we had using our Czartoryski Museum tickets to access other MNK branches was convincing the ticket takers that we meant to be there. Each time we were politely told that the Czartoryski Museum is across town. Now we have a collection of maps with directions drawn onto them showing us how to walk to the Czartoryski Museum from various other MNK museums.
Gmach Główny is the main MNK branch in Kraków. Its permanent exhibitions are free to visit on Tuesday. Just head directly to the exhibitions, no ticket required. Otherwise, a regular admission ticket costs 32 Zł (about $7.50). The special exhibitions require the purchase of a separate ticket from the ticket office.
Keep in mind that Gmach Główny is one of three MNK branches where a ticket to the Czartoryski Museum cannot be used for admission. Plan on coming to Gmach Główny on a Tuesday if at all possible.
On the first floor, which was relatively uninteresting to us, the exhibitions include porcelain, glass, furniture, Jewish artifacts, and church objects. The second floor exhibitions are much better, notably 20th century Polish art, paintings, sculptures, and some contemporary art.
Most interesting are original, full size templates for several stained glass windows: one set designed by Stanisław Wyspiański in 1900 for the Wawel Cathedral; the second by Józefa Mehoffera for the Cathedral of St. Nicholas in Fribourg, Switzerland.
Kraków rejected Wyspiański’s proposed stained glass windows as being a bit radical for the cathedral. A century later Piotr Ostrowski fulfilled Wyspiański’s vision in the early 2000s, created the triptych stained glass windows (Casmir III the Great, Saint Stanislaus, and King Henry II the Pious), and gifted them to the city, where they are now on display in the Pavilion Wyspiański 2000.
On our last weekend in Kraków, we hiked up to the top of Kopiec Kraka (Krakus Mound), a hill just south of old town that offers sweeping views over the city. It’s quite a popular place to picnic and watch sunset. The few benches fill up early. Bring a blanket to sit on, and perhaps a cooler with a few beverages, if you plan on staying awhile.
After a month in Kraków Stephanie decided that this is her new favorite city, narrowly dethroning Rome. Kraków is safe, clean, has beautiful architecture, excellent public transportation, great parks, museums, wonderful restaurants, and more than a few beer gardens.
We agreed to return here for another visit in future, perhaps in winter. Now it is time for a new city in a new country – Praha, Czechia.
Garrett and Stephanie
P.S. Being from Memphis we couldn’t leave Kraków without seeing pomnik Elvisa Presleya (the Elvis Presley monument) and ordering a BBQ sandwich, Kraków style, from Restauracja Baster:
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Love the way the churches tower over the other buildings in the town!