Nowa Huta

In 1949 work began on fields outside Kraków on a city built from scratch – for the people who would work in a gigantic steelworks. Nowa Huta ("New Steelworks") was meant to be a model socialist town without a church and with a central square named after Stalin. Today the same square is named after Ronald Reagan, and in January 2023 the district's urban layout was declared a Monument of History, Poland's highest heritage status.

A city for the steelworks

In 1949 Tadeusz Ptaszycki was appointed chief designer of Nowa Huta. Construction began before the plans were ready – the design for the central area was only finished in May 1952, and when it appeared in the journal "Architektura" it ran alongside Stalin's obituary; the Central Square was dedicated to him. The steelworks, opened in 1954 as the Lenin Steelworks, was for years Kraków's largest industrial plant (renamed after the engineer Tadeusz Sendzimir in 1990, today ArcelorMittal). Nowa Huta became part of Kraków as early as 1951. By 1960, officials counted 18,000 flats, 90 km of streets and an 840-bed hospital built here in a decade.

Central Square and Avenue of Roses

The plan draws on the Renaissance idea of the ideal city: avenues radiate from the five-sided Central Square, and housing blocks are closed off by grand buildings with arcades and rich detailing. The buildings rise up to eight storeys, with shops and services on the two lowest floors. The axis of the whole layout is the 50-metre-wide Avenue of Roses (Aleja Róż) – the only main avenue without tram tracks, ending at the gate of the Wanda sports stadium. From 1973 to 1989 a statue of Lenin stood here; it was removed as the communist era ended.

The cross and the Ark

A city without a church did not last long. In 1960 residents defended a cross put up where a church was supposed to be built, and the protests turned into one of the first mass clashes with the communist authorities. In 1977 Cardinal Karol Wojtyła – the future Pope John Paul II – consecrated the Ark of the Lord (Arka Pana) in Bieńczyce, the district's first church, won after years of effort by the parishioners. Its shape resembles a boat or a huge tent stretched over the altar.

What to see

• Central Square with the Centrum A–E housing estates – walk all the way round and look down the radiating avenues.
• The Ark of the Lord in Bieńczyce, north of the district centre.
• Nowa Huta Museum – a branch of the Museum of Kraków in the former "Światowid" cinema.
• Nowa Huta Lagoon (Zalew Nowohucki), home in summer to the Bulwar Sztuki festival with free concerts and performances.
• On the edges of the district – the medieval Cistercian abbey in Mogiła and Wanda Mound, reminders that this land has a much longer history than the communist era.

Tripto tip

Nowa Huta is best explored on foot or by bike: start at Central Square, walk down the Avenue of Roses, then head to the Nowa Huta Museum. For the Ark of the Lord and Mogiła you'll need a tram or a bike. Direct trams link the district with the Old Town. Allow half a day for a walk including the museum and the Ark; check the museum's opening hours on the Museum of Kraków website.