Memory Trail in Kraków
Navigating Wartime Kraków – a Walking Route Through Memory
What is the Memory Trail?
The Memory Trail is a thematic route curated by Kraków’s municipal museums. It connects key places tied to the Nazi occupation (1939–1945) and the immediate post-war years, illustrating how residents — Poles, Jews, and others — experienced terror, displacement, survival, and the ongoing work of remembrance that continues to shape the city’s collective identity today.
Time scope: 1939–1956
Core focus: occupation, ghetto, forced labour, repression, rescue, memory
Typical duration: 4–5 hours for the three core sites; a full day if you include Płaszów
How to Use This Page
- Choose a starting point below.
- Read the short context.
- Tap the button to open a detailed page with history, visiting info and photos.
Key Sites on the Memory Trail in Kraków
Ghetto Heroes Square (Plac Bohaterów Getta)
The central space of the former Kraków Ghetto — also known as the Square with Chairs. Today, 33 large steel chairs (and 37 smaller) form a powerful memorial to the people who were deported and murdered. The square was a site of selections and forced assemblies during the ghetto’s existence (1941–1943).
Pharmacy Under the Eagle (Apteka Pod Orłem)
Inside the ghetto, Polish pharmacist Tadeusz Pankiewicz obtained permission to remain and run his pharmacy. It became a lifeline — medicine, messages, discreet aid and witness. The museum preserves original interiors and stories of help offered at enormous risk.
Photo by Adrian Grycuk, CC BY-SA 3.0 PL
Oskar Schindler’s Factory Museum (Lipowa 4)
In the former enamelware factory, the exhibition “Kraków Under Nazi Occupation 1939–1945” tells the city’s story — everyday life, repression, and rescue. It also explains how Oskar and Emilie Schindler protected Jewish workers, ultimately saving around 1,200 people.
Płaszów Memorial Site (KL/Arbeitslager Płaszów)
An open-air landscape of the former forced-labour and later concentration camp where many from the Kraków Ghetto were sent. Today it is a place of reflection: remnants of camp roads and quarries, memorials and interpretive paths. Please visit with respect.
Photo by Lowdown, CC BY-SA 3.0
Pomorska Street 2 (Former Gestapo HQ)
A site of interrogations, torture and imprisonment under the Gestapo during the occupation. Preserved cells and exhibitions document the mechanisms of terror and the experiences of Kraków’s underground and civilians in 1939–1945 (and early post-war years).
Photo by Delimata, CC BY-SA 4.0
Krakow Memory Trial Tour
Suggested loop
Start at Pomorska Street 2 → tram to Ghetto Heroes Square → visit Pharmacy Under the Eagle → walk or tram to Schindler’s Factory (Lipowa 4) → optional tram/walk to Płaszów Memorial.
Time & pace
- Core route (Pomorska + Pharmacy + Factory): 4–5 hours
- With Płaszów Memorial: 5–7 hours (allow quiet time to reflect)
Suggested Route & Practical Tips
Visitor tips
- Book factory entry in advance; small groups inside due to narrow passages and installations.
- Wear comfortable shoes; bring water.
- Photography is generally allowed, but be respectful at memorials.
- Some spaces may be emotionally challenging — plan breaks.
Context: From Occupation to Memory
Post-war: Sites of suffering become places of remembrance; museums open exhibitions to preserve testimony.
The Memory Trail ties these strands together so visitors can understand where events happened — and why these places matter today.
1939: German forces occupy Kraków; persecution begins.
1941–1943: Kraków Ghetto in Podgórze; deportations to Płaszów and Auschwitz.