Walk with us: In the Footsteps of Nowa Huta’s First Residents

11 July 2026, 11.00

What were the living conditions of Nowa Huta’s first residents? How did the place they arrived in 1949 change because of them, and to what extent did their everyday lives fit in with the vision of the “ideal city”? Join us on a walk in the footsteps of the fascinating stories, places and people who shaped Nowa Huta and its history.

The walk “In the Footsteps of Nowa Huta’s First Residents” is a story about the people who arrived in 1949 on the fertile loess fields near Kraków to build a completely new world from scratch. It is the story of workers, migrants from neighbouring regions and former villagers, whose lives were forever transformed by the emerging city.

The route presents Nowa Huta as an ambitious urban planning project and a social experiment, in which architecture was intended to meet the needs of the residents and shape their everyday lives. It explores the vision of the “ideal city”, the living conditions of Nowa Huta’s first residents, and the tension between propaganda and reality. It is a story of people’s experiences and the social changes that shaped this unique place.

Part of the “Walk with Us” series.

Practical information:

• duration: approx. 90 minutes,

• participation fee: 10 zł,

• bookings must be made via the MCK bookshop website (bookings open from 6 July 2026),

• meeting point: Solidarity Monument in Nowa Huta (Ronald Reagan Central Square),

• further information is available by email: warsztaty@mck.krakow.pl.
  
  

Led by:

Dominik Wrześniak – historian and art critic, museum educator collaborating with the ICC, formerly associated with the ICC. He has extensive experience in conducting guided tours for organised groups and school groups, as well as leading a variety of themed workshops for children. A Master’s student at the Institute of Art History, Jagiellonian University, his research focuses primarily on 20th-century Polish art. He is the author of academic articles on the presence of sporting themes in the paintings of Wlastimil Hofman. He has published art criticism and essays in “Restart” and “Szum” magazine. An active member of the Jagiellonian University Art History Students’ Research Society, having previously served as a board member and president.

We warmly invite you to join us!