Nowa Huta
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The easternmost district of Kraków, in fact a whole town, built from scratch as a socialist prestige project from 1949 onwards and until 1956 in a grandiose Stalinist architectural style. In addition to being a utopian socialist model town, it was to provide housing for the workers of the giant steelworks built adjacent to it. In the 1980s these steelworks became one of the principal hotbeds for the Solidarity Movement that eventually resulted in the downfall of communism in Poland (and the whole Eastern Bloc). Today you can go on specialist tours of the district that involve history, architecture and also a bit of tongue-in-cheek commie nostalgia.
>Combinations with other dark destinations
More background info: Nowa Huta (meaning literally ‘new steelworks’) is a planned “model” city in the style of socialist realism with heavy elements of Stalinist architecture as well (cf. Marszałkowska in Warsaw or Karl-Marx-Allee in Berlin), all funded by the USSR (the new post-WWII communist Poland’s “big brother”). It was built over two former villages appropriated by the state from 1949.
The construction was partly ideological, creating a socialist utopia city, as well as practical, namely for providing homes for the workers at the gigantic steelworks planned right to the east of the city, and constructed in the 1950s, opening in 1954 as the biggest such industrial complex in the whole of Poland.
The chosen location of the steelworks, however, was guided not so much by practical considerations, as coal and iron ore had to be shipped in (the former from within Poland from further west, e.g. the mines in and around Katowice in Silesia, the latter from as far away as Russia), while the steel produced here also had to be shipped elsewhere as there wasn’t much demand for it in Kraków and the surrounding region. At its peak, the steelworks employed over 40,000 people and produced 7 million tons of steel annually. The steelworks were named after Vladimir Lenin, and of course the main square in Nowa Huta was eventually also given a colossal Lenin statue.
The massive pollution from the steelworks, however, was responsible for the region developing one of the worst levels of air quality anywhere in Europe. This part of Poland still suffers from it, though since the fall of communism, reduced production and more modern filter technology have helped alleviating the worst of the health hazards.
The socialist-realist architectural dogma for buildings in Nowa Huta was abandoned in 1956, and from then onwards the expanding architecture took on more modernist designs, later augmented in the 1970s and 80s by plain “Plattenbauten” (prefab high-rise apartment blocks) just as in the GDR and much of the Eastern Bloc. In total Nowa Huta housed, and still houses, some 200,000 inhabitants, making it the largest district of Kraków.
As you’d expect for a ‘model city’, everything was provided for, including shops, schools, kindergartens, a theatre, cinema, sports facilities, etc. – but one type of building was conspicuously absent: churches – in line with the atheist ideology of communism. However, Poland was still deeply Catholic despite the prescribed state ideology and soon campaigns for constructing a Catholic church began. This was finally granted in the late 1960s and so the Arka Pana (Lord’s Arc) church came into being, opened in 1977. It’s an extremely modernist edifice heavily influenced by the style of Le Corbusier. In 1983 a second church was opened, named after Maximilian Kolbe (a priest sent to Auschwitz for having provided refuge for Jews and who sacrificed his own life to save another prisoner who had been condemned to death – Kolbe was beatified in 1971).
Nowa Huta’s Lenin steelworks became one of the main centres of the Solidarność movement in the 1980s, second only to the Lenin shipyards in Gdańsk (see European Solidarity Centre). There were many long years of strikes, protests and repression, but as we all know it ended with the toppling of the communist regime. Just south of Plac Centralny (see below) now stands a monument to Solidarność (see photos).
Shortly after this, the usual linguistic as well as physical iconoclasm ensued that often follows such upheavals. Street names were changed, and so Lenin disappeared, both from street signs and from the name of the steelworks, which were renamed “Huta im T. Sendzimira” (after Tadeusz Sendzimir, a Polish scientist and metallurgy engineer). The big Lenin statue in the centre of Nowa Huta was also removed in December 1989 (now to be seen in a Swedish theme park) – after it had already become the target of attacks in previous years (e.g. a bomb was planted at the base of the statue, which when it went off failed to topple the statue, but resulted in the loss of one of the bronze Lenin’s feet). In 2004 the main square was renamed “Plac Centralny im. Ronalda Reagana”, after the 40th US president, though most people carry on referring to it simply as “Plac Centralny”.
Nowa Huta once had the reputation of being a bit “rough”, but today it’s no less safe than central Kraków and its inhabitants are allegedly quite proud of their district.
The steelworks, which were already in financial trouble in the 1980s, ailed on after the fall of communism, and still required disproportionate subsidies. In 2005 they were sold to an Indian company and are still in operation, albeit at a significantly lower capacity than originally, and still employ a few thousand people.
What there is to see: There is nothing to stop you just getting on a tram and exploring Nowa Huta independently. But the guided tours of Nowa Huta offered from central Kraków by car are not only more convenient and relieve you of any navigational efforts (and a lot of walking), but also provide much added value in the form of guides bringing the various locations within the district to life through their stories. The following describes the tour I went on in January 2024.
My wife and I were picked up from our hotel, as arranged online, and we had a very pleasant guide who spoke excellent English. We were chauffeured around in an ancient vintage Trabant (“Trabbi”) car from the GDR, the hatchback model in pale blue, which our guide drove skilfully through the rather wintery road conditions.
Our first stop was at Plac Centralny, where we parked the car and went for a walk around the nearby streets and courtyards with their characteristic Stalinist-era architecture. Our guide also pointed out that the grander apartments on the main street and the square were for the privileged, not common industry workers, since, despite the praise for the working class and alleged equality under communism, in reality some people were more equal than others …
On Plac Centralny we visited the Cepelix shop, the only place here that retains the look and furniture from the early 1950s. Especially impressive is the ceiling with its chandeliers, decorated with/made from ceramic wares, some of which are also on sale here, alongside various souvenirs as well as some lacework. It’s all sublimely nostalgic.
From central Nowa Huta we then headed by car to the edge of the steelworks, taking a look at the plant’s sign (where our guide produced a photo on her smartphone of the plant’s sign when it still bore Lenin’s name). The gates of the steelworks are as far as you can get. The industrial plant is off limits to tourists (though our guide said she knew some urbexers who had managed to infiltrate abandoned parts of the steelworks, which must be quite adventurous). Just outside the gate stands an abandoned water cannon truck, like those used to crush protests in the 1980s, now permanently parked off the kerb.
At one of the grandiose administrative buildings of the steelworks, two identical ornate blocks flanking the square with the plant’s sign, our guide then fetched a key and led us down to the command-post nuclear shelter in the basement, which is given its own separate chapter here.
After spending a good amount of time down there we re-emerged into the courtyard, make our way back to the Trabbi car and drove off.
We then went to a café/restaurant that retains plenty of its socialist-era charm and design, much like the surviving so-called “milk bar” canteens. This is where we had our shot of vodka and a plate of pierogi that were included in the price of the tour. The café also had a little history corner with a silver scale model of a Lenin statue (with its left foot missing – see above). There was also a folder with reproductions of propaganda posters and photos from Nowa Huta in its socialist heyday.
After the café we were driven around Nowa Huta for a bit more and made a short stop by a Soviet-era tank on a plinth (the hallmark WWII commemoration in the former Eastern Bloc), as well as by the modernist Arka Pana church (see above).
Finally we headed back to the city centre, but we asked not to be taken back to our hotel where we had been picked up for the tour, but instead to be dropped off by the former Forum Hotel to take a closer look at its spiky brutalist architecture (see under Kraków). Our guide was able to relay some extra stories relating to that iconic abandoned edifice too.
En route back into the city centre, just to the west of Nowa Huta, we passed a high-rise building adorned at the top with weird fake fairytale-like turrets added to the otherwise typically bland block. Our guide said that somewhere this is indeed classed as the weirdest building in all of Kraków … I couldn’t really disagree.
All in all, it was a fun three to four hours with a very pleasant guide providing plenty of insights as well as entertainment. Well worth it!
Location: some five miles (8 km) east of the centre of Kraków.
Google Maps locators:
Plac Centralny: [50.0721, 20.0373]
Solidarność monument: [50.07123, 20.03707]
Cepelix shop: [50.07289, 20.03801]
Steelworks sign, gate and administrative buildings: [50.0792, 20.0667]
Tank on a plinth: [50.08155, 20.0362]
Arka Pana church: [50.0849, 20.0294]
Weird turreted high-rise: [50.0729, 20.0028]
Nowa Huta Museum: [50.0701, 20.0413]
Polish Aviation Museum: [50.0784, 19.9922]
Cistercian monastery: [50.0647, 20.0529]
Access and costs: best by guided tour, though also possible independently; tours not cheap but worth it.
Details: To get to Nowa Huta from central Kraków independently, the best connection is tram line 4 departing from the northern part of the Planty park ring around the Old Town and from just south of the main train station. It goes straight to Plac Centralny in ca. half an hour and also carries on to the steelworks gate and administrative buildings.
Getting around Nowa Huta on your own requires a lot of walking, some of it not particularly scenic. But it can be done. However, with a guide you simply get a lot more out if it and learn things you can’t just unearth on your own.
There are a couple of specialist tour operators offering Nowa Huta tours of different length/depth. These range from short “basic” tours of just 90 minutes (which can just about scratch the surface, but are sufficient for a quick impression) to regular 2.5 hour tours that take in more and “deluxe” extended packages lasting ca. 3.5 to 4 hours. These are offered e.g. by the outfit “Crazyguides” under the label “Communism Tours”. My wife and I opted for their extended tour, mainly because that’s the only one of theirs including the command-post nuclear shelter.
Prices vary according to which tour you pick and how many participants there are. At the time of writing (in 2024) this ranges from ca. 180 PLN (ca. 40 euros) per person for the basic tour if with a group of seven (that’s the maximum group size, larger groups only possible upon request) and up to a whopping 1050 PLN (244 euros) for the deluxe tour done solo, without any other participants. My wife and I paid 1100 PLN (256 euros) for this deluxe tour for the two of us. This may sound a lot, but take into account the length of the tour and the private nature of it. You should enquire via their website (crazyguides) in advance to make arrangements via their booking form or email them at <tours[at]CrazyGuides.com>.
Note that the tour guides/drivers use a pool of vintage cars from the communist era, mostly Trabants (“Trabbis”) from the GDR, but sometimes also Polish-built cars from the same period. These are small and basic by today’s standards, but of course fun (these cars get looks – and comments!). Getting four passengers into one of these cars makes it very cramped indeed, so they offer to do the tour with two cars instead, for a significant markup. Group sizes over four are in two cars by default.
Another outfit offering Nowa Huta tours is called “eNHa” (for NH, Nowa Huta, in case you were wondering). I haven’t used them myself, so can’t vouch for the quality from personal experience, but they do come highly recommended. Moreover, they are closely associated with the foundation (fundacjanh) that looks after the administrative buildings and the command-post nuclear shelter beneath them and can also arrange visits to the above-ground parts of these buildings, more underground facilities and a typical socialist-era apartment. Their tours seem to be cheaper than the outfit I went with but they may not have as many guides available, so better book further ahead. There’s an online booking form that gives you different options as well as choices of cars for groups – and: they can accommodate larger groups too, because they have access to vintage UAZ and Żuk minibuses that can seat more passengers.
Time required: Tours usually last between 90 minutes and four hours. On your own you’d need much longer because of all that walking involved in Nowa Huta and the need to use public transport to get there and on to the steelworks’ administrative building.
Combinations with other dark destinations: Also of special interest to those visiting Nowa Huta independently is the dedicated Nowa Huta Museum, located just a short walk east of Plac Centralny, housed in what was originally a cinema completed in 1957 in the typical landmark socialist-realist style of early Nowa Huta. In addition to the regular museum exhibition about the life and history of the district, the basement is home to a nuclear shelter with a Cold-War-themed extra exhibition. Another branch, also about the Cold War and nuclear shelters, can be found at Mechanical School No. 3 (Os. Szkolne 37).
It is also possible to see the interior of parts of the steelworks’ historical administrative buildings, but only by prearranged guided tour (see the website en.nca.malopolska.pl/), also covering yet another nuclear shelter. The administrative building interiors can be booked as part of the “eNHa” tours of Nowa Huta (see above).
In the western part of Nowa Huta you can find the Polish Aviation Museum, which boasts many aircraft from the Cold-War period, in particular an especially large collection of MiGs.
See also under Kraków in general.
Combinations with non-dark destinations: really not much, except perhaps the Cistercian monastery and Holy Cross Basilica in the old part of Mogiła, just outside the south-easternmost corner of residential Nowa Huta. En route from the tram stop (Klasztorna), walking in a southerly direction, you also pass an old wooden church, St. Bartholomew. The monastery has an Altar of National Remembrance, including a plaque thanking the then Abbot of the order for sheltering a Jewish boy from Nazi persecution during WWII. He later emigrated to the USA, became a psychiatry professor and in 1990 donated this plaque. Actually, this note should possibly have gone in the above section, come to think of it …
Otherwise Nowa Huta really isn’t much of a general tourism destination – for that head back to central Kraków.
