29 August 2026, 11.00
Did you know that the railway viaduct on Grzegórzecka Street in Kraków was once a bridge under which the Vistula flowed? And that for centuries, Kazimierz was an island surrounded by two branches of the river? Join us for a walk in the footsteps of the Old Vistula – the former northern channel that significantly shaped this part of Kraków.
The presence of the Vistula made Grzegórzki one of the city’s most important industrial and working-class centres. It was here that numerous factories, the municipal abattoir and housing estates for workers were built. For nearly two centuries, the Old Vistula was the river’s main channel within Kraków, setting the rhythm of its inhabitants’ lives and the direction of the city’s development. During the walk, we will trace the history of changes to the Vistula’s course and its impact on Kraków’s urban development. We will talk about the beginnings of Kraków’s railway system and the development of trade and medicine.
Join us for this event as part of the Walk with Us series, during which we will explore how the Vistula has transformed Kraków.
Practical information:
- duration: approx. 90 minutes,
- participation fee: 10 zł,
- bookings are required via the MCK bookshop website,
- meeting point: 9 Blich Street (on the corner of Grzegórzecka Street), next to the railway viaduct,
- for further information, please email: warsztaty@mck.krakow.pl,
- the event will be held in Polish.
Host:
Beata Bujak-Szwaczka – a guide in Kraków and at the branches of the Museum of the City of Kraków, and an educator at the International Cultural Centre. She specialises in urban heritage and development, and has been involved in tourism and cultural education for many years. A graduate of the Academy of Physical Education in Kraków (tourism), she is an experienced coordinator and trainer, having previously been responsible, amongst other things, for the Kraków Province’s international cooperation and the organisation of high-level visits.