Tygodnik Powszechny - Poland's Catholic Magazine

On Wednesday we visited the Polish Catholic magazine, Tygodnik Powszechny. The magazine was founded in March 1945 in the closing months of World War II and focuses on social and cultural issues. It was briefly closed in 1953 because of its refusal to publish an obituary for Vladimir Lenin after his passing. Their stance on this issue back in 1953 clearly showed their values and insistence on having a strong opinion in a time when the wrong opinion can get you into trouble.

Tygodnik Powszechny was meant to be for the laymen and secular people to get the real news under the communist regime of the time. As seen below, the magazine was of course censored by the government, but that didn't stop the magazine from letting its readers know about their disagreement with the policy. You'll see sections of text that were crossed out and when printed there would be a line ([-----]) indicating that the content was removed due to censorship. 

After the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989, the magazine became more difficult to sustain. There was a drop in readership due to even more political influence. However, the magazine continues to fight and express its opinions. They have a positive view on abortion and LGBT rights and are not afraid to express their views.

What surprised me most was the fact that Tygodnik Powszechny is considered a Catholic magazine, even though it does not give that impression at all. There are sections titled "Wiara" or "Faith" where they discuss Catholic news and events. Even after speaking with some Polish students yesterday about the magazine, they also said they read the magazine and agreed with the opinions expressed. 

My roommate Kelly and I were trying to think of a United States comparison for this magazine, but could not think of one other than The New Yorker in terms of unbiased news reporting. However, that does not necessarily have any religious ties. Can anyone else think of a magazine that may be similar?

Churches and Architectural Gems in Krakow

Krakow is known as the cultural center of Poland. While its northern neighbor, Warsaw, is larger and holds the title of the nation’s capital, Krakow bursts with creativity, history, and culture. One of the most impressive aspects of Krakow’s cultural offerings is the multitude of churches and architectural pearls scattered throughout the town.

To start, Bazylika Mariacka, or St. Mary’s Basilica, in the famous Rynek Główny square at the heart of Old Town, boasts not only beautiful architecture, but also incredible history. This baroque-style church was built in the 15th century, and features unique engraved wooden panels above the altar, that are open and shut daily. The architecture of the cathedral is also a Gothic style, and the decor includes many angels inside the church as well as maszkaron devils outside of the church. This is a particularly unique feature of Krakowian architecture, parallelled on many of the other churches and landmarks throughout the city. St. Mary’s also plays host to an enduring Krakowian tradition of a live trumpet performance at the top of every hour of the day. The trumpeter waves out the open window to the passing crowds who gather to hear the performance, which is broadcast on public radio.

Rynek Glowny, the central square in Old Town, also includes a large permanent marketplace that still sells goods today, and a clock tower that is the only remaining piece of the 14th century-era town hall.

Hidden beneath this fantastic facade lies the Historical Museum of Kraków (Podziemia Rynku - Muzeum Historyczne Miasta Krakowa), which houses an impressive display of excavated ruins, ancient cobblestone roads, and artifacts from medieval Krakow society, combined with high-tech interactive elements.

A bit further from Old Town lies the famous Wawel Castle. Constructed in 1320, making it almost 700 years old, the cathedral and castle are set up high on a hill overlooking the city. The cathedral is spectacularly rich with history, including housing the tombs of ancient Polish kings, showcasing “dragon” bones at the entrance, and hosting centuries of coronations of Polish royalty. The castle grounds include a famous “dragon’s den”, wherein tourists can walk down a winding spiral staircase to the damp and dark caves below, and emerge just in time to see a dragon statue breathe fire. Finally, the Wawel Castle was built in the 1500s and features a grand courtyard in the Italian style, complete with dragon-shaped water drains and two-story, open-air hallways. It also features a world-famous Chakra energy source found in the stone walls.

Krakow is home to many important pieces of Polish architecture, including churches and other historic landmarks. From time-honored traditions to hidden gems and mythical dragons, it is a place that draws upon its long history to tell stories that are passed down to the next generation, in order to support the culture of this incredible city.

Radio Kraków——Perfect combination of historical inheritance and media freedom

Radio Kraków is a 90-year-old radio station with totally radio passion as well as the responsibility as mass media. Relating to the most important political, historical, cultural, religious and sporting events, the tradition of radio Kraków has been associated with every single inhabitant of Kraków since established.

Instead of saying that radio Kraków is a radio station, it’ll be better to describe it as a historical archive for Polish history. As seen in the archive room of radio Kraków, which was the most impressive place for me, there are plenty of files and tapes even videos that record the history of Poland and Kraków. It’s the essence of Polish culture and the spirit of media that could be seen from the old yellowed record paper in the archive room.

There's also a recording room in the Archive that is used to digitalize the documents. The room is really professional. The walls are full of sharp tips which are built to isolate the noise and kill the echo as well. It is said that the building of Radio Kraków was designed by a team of professional architects, which contents modern recording studios and concert studios apart from broadcasting studios and newsroom.

                         

There's also a old map of Kraków city hang on the wall.  From which, it could be seen that the spirit and passion of media in the radio station of this old town.

According to our guide, Radio Kraków is such a radio station of freedom of media that any press could be released without government review. Even though the leader of station is selected by government which is led by the ruling party, considering the political situation of Poland, it is such precious to keep it that way.

Also, the tradition that to broadcast the trumpet from the top of Maria Church is inherited till today. It is such a memorial of the history of invasion from Tartars in 13th century and also a historical horn for this over 10-century-old town.

Street Artists in Krakow

The streets of Krakow near the city center have been buzzing ever since we arrived. You can hear various languages getting tossed back and forth among pedestrians, people shopping, and people eating at the square’s restaurants. Other noticeable people include Krakow’s many street performers. So many exist, some handing out flyers, such as a woman dressed as a butterfly handing out club promotions, or a man dressed in a mirror suit, directing people into another club. Other performers have been interesting to watch, and strike me as being very unique to Krakow, than other cities.

One interesting street performance group consisted of a cello, an accordion, a percussion, and two violin players. Seeing an accordion player on the street is something unusual to see as a New Yorker, so my head turned and I stopped to listen to the young, all male group playing an upbeat, happy tune.

Another day, coming out of the old Krakow museum, my ears were pleasantly surprised to hear the musical stylings of a middle-aged man playing water glass rims to the melody of Fur Elise.

This past Tuesday, a public Krakow television station TVP3 was holding a public concert with a band consisting of two male electric guitarists, a female violinist, and male accordion player who sang alongside a female vocalist for a crowd of about forty. Their music was catchy, upbeat, and had a heavy metal edge to it. Though this group was not seeking donations, as the other street performers are.

The other street performers I found interesting were a band of female tambourine player, male accordion player, and male percussionist playing traditional Polish music and dressed in traditional Polish garb. I love how many accordion players I’ve been seeing! It’s such a unique instrument for a New Yorker to see, and it’s smart for street performers who have the immense talent to play one of these instruments to show off that ability to tourists.

Street painters have not been as common, though I have seen them. One of our student guides advised me though to not buy paintings from them, as they’re low quality and meant to rip off tourists; that better art exists in Poland.

Finally, the last type of street performers are the lovely drunk pedestrians of the Krakow streets ;P Krakow is known to be a city where people come to drink, as drink prices are very low. Bachelor and bachelorette parties are common here, and after a few drinks, groups of intoxicated people on the street can be likely to break out into song. I can’t wait to see even more street performers and artists in the next few days!

History buried underground the market square

Under the Main Market Square, specifically, Saint Mary’s church, is hidden a European identity of Krakow that may be unknown to many. But archeologists were able to research this great treasure and allow us to explore the history of this exceptional country. This exhibition gives us a perspective on the way Poles were living back in the medieval time. Simple, but not primitive, practical, their life in Krakow was suitable and satisfying to them. They manage to solve problems effortlessly to live in their ideal place without technology. From Transporting food on a cart to feed their family, to layering the ground level to solve the garbage problem, Poles show a great example of living a simple and fulfilling life. The archeologists were able to expose us to the real life of merchants in the market. Starting from the accommodation of each person’ spot to display merchandise, and attract clientele, the display helps us relive the past. The arrangement of skeletons allows us to understand some interpretations of the history that people may question. For instance, women contracted with infectious diseases were murdered under the assumption they were bitten by vampires, therefore they had to be killed with their arms and legs tied with a rope in order to prevent them from coming back and doing the same to others. For this reason, the remains of women seen on the exhibit, were bent and membranes were attached to one another The history of Poland is very rich with cultural tales that are worth exploring. I would love to come here again, spend additional time and learn more about this society. This a city that I would highly recommend anyone to visit.