Natalia Nowakowska on History Extra ‘History’s Greatest Cities’ podcast

Sculpture of the legendary Wawel dragon, Dragon’s Den, Krakow.

Professor Natalia Nowakowska has recorded a historical guide to visiting Kraków, for the History Extra ‘History’s Greatest Cities’ podcast.

In conversation with journalist and travel writer Paul Bloomfield, Professor Nowakowska explores Kraków’s history from its early medieval origins as a hill fort of the Wislanie tribe, to its modern role as a touchstone for Polish heritage, identity, memory and nostalgia.

The podcast focuses on five sites which each capture a key moment in Krakow’s history – the ‘Dragon’s Den’ cave under the castle hill, connected to the city’s mythological founder Krak; the subterranean remnants of the city’s medieval trading wealth under the current Market Square; the spectacular Italian Renaissance King Sigismund chapel; the 16th century Old Synagogue in the historic Jewish quarter of Kazimierz; and the 1890s’ cabaret-café ‘Michael’s Cave’, in which cultural and nation-building movements key to the forging of modern Poland were incubated. Professor Nowakowska argues that Krakow has a self-consciously fairy-tale air, as one of Europe’s most evocative historic cities.

The podcast is available from 24th March.

This podcast is part of season four of ‘History’s Greatest Cities’, a series of travel guides to world cities by historians, which has run since 2023.

Links

https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/historys-greatest-cities/id1660929072

https://open.spotify.com/show/7kR7XIZSaPndYToRFOuvHy

https://www.historyextra.com/podcast-series/historys-greatest-cities-podcast-series/