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Tourists head for Krakow 24.08.2005 In the wake of more assertive campaigning from the Polish Tourist Board, Krakow, the historic city in the south of the country, is experiencing a boom in the number of tourists who visit there. Statistics say that more than 52 % of Poles consider Krakow the most people-friendly city in the country. Last year the number of visitors to the city increased by 20%, to around 6.5 million tourists. This year, 8mln tourists are expected according to the Promotion Department of the City of Krakow. And that’s no accident, as it’s a city wrapped in...

By Ela Kasprzycka ASSOCIATED PRESS 4:46 a.m. June 3, 2005 WARSAW, Poland – Archbishop Stanislaw Dziwisz, personal secretary and close friend to the late Pope John Paul II, was named the archbishop of Krakow on Friday, the Vatican's representative to Poland said. Dziwisz, 66, takes over the position once held by the late pope, said Jozef Trela, secretary to papal nuncio Archbishop Jozef Kowalczyk. He replaces the popular Cardinal Franciszek Macharski, 78, who asked to retire three years ago due to his age but stayed on at the request of John Paul. "I have been wanting and thinking about this...

Krakow’s resurgent Jewish culture enjoyed by Jews and non-Jews alike By Carolyn Slutsky KRAKOW, Poland, April 19 (JTA) — Urszula Makosz doesn’t consider herself Jewish, but every Sunday night she takes the stage in Krakow to sing traditional Yiddish songs. Dressed theatrically in a black gown and a long shawl, her makeup dramatic and her long red hair flowing down her back, she swirls on stage, casting a steamy look at the audience. Her voice, as described by Chris Schwarz, the director at the Galicia Jewish Museum where the concerts take place, “is like a Berlin cabaret singer from the...

Whose Culture Is It? by Tom Teicholz Does it bother you when a white man sings the blues? Is jazz exclusively an African American art form? When Eminem (who is white) is the most popular rapper, Tiger Woods (who is part African American and part Asian) is the greatest golfer and Serena and Venus Williams (African Americans) dominate women’s tennis, should it upset us that Jewish Culture Festivals are run by non-Jews for audiences of primarily non-Jews, and that klezmer music is performed by non-Jewish performers for non-Jewish audiences? These thoughts came to mind reading Ruth Ellen Gruber’s “Virtually Jewish”...

There’s much more to Krakow’s Jewish history than is depicted in Holocaust films. Indeed, when the city’s Tempel Synagogue was being built between 1860 and 1862, Jewish life already had been thriving here for over 550 years. A ceremony and concert this week in the synagogue, which was restored in 2000, marked the 700th anniversary of Jewish life in Krakow. The event drew local and national dignitaries who delivered speeches on the historical and cultural significance of Jewish life in Krakow. “Jews helped build this town,” said Mayor Jacek Majchrowski. “They were doctors, teachers, and today with Jews and Poles...

The southern Polish city of Krakow decided Wednesday to name a square after former President Ronald Reagan in recognition of his role in ending communist rule. Krakow councilors voted 19-17 to give the name "Ronald Reagan Square" to the main square in Nowa Huta, a communist-era development built around a major steel plant. Currently called Central Square, it was the scene of numerous protests by workers in communist times. Reagan, who died at age 93 on June 5, is fondly remembered in Poland for his support of the anti-communist Solidarity movement during the period of martial law, imposed by Poland's...

S idney Lewis did not go to Europe to make history. In fact, it was almost an accident she ended up in Poland's first-ever gay-rights march, ducking eggs and rocks, walking past Poles making obscene gestures and shouting language too ugly to print here. "It was Poland's first gay-pride march, and I was there," Sidney wrote her family the next day. "History isn't beautiful. . . . It's mean. It's violent. It's scary. . . . It demonstrated that just beneath the surface, beneath the polite faces, the passive smiles, the pleases and thank-yous, there is hate. They wanted us...

Exercise Focuses on WMD Traffickers By Donna Miles American Forces Information Service WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 2003 -- A Japanese-flagged commercial merchant vessel is suspected of carrying items related to weapons of mass destruction. Military and law enforcement assets from Australia, France, Japan and the United States trail the vessel. The Japan coast guard, working with its French, U.S. and Australian law enforcement counterparts, boards the vessel on the high seas and conducts a search. This is the scenario for Pacific Protector, a three-day exercise now under way in international waters off northeastern Australia. The exercise, which began Sept. 12...

My friend, Mr. President. It's really good to be with you again and, of course, the first lady. Mr. Prime Minister, your eminence, distinguished guests, citizens of Poland. I'm honored to be in the city of Krakow, where so many landmarks give witness to Poland's history and Poland's faith. From this castle, Polish kings ruled for centuries in a tradition of tolerance. Below this hill lies the market square, where Kosciuszko swore loyalty to the first democratic constitution of Europe. And at Wawel Cathedral in 1978, a Polish Cardinal began his journey to a conclave in Rome, and entered...

Bush challenges 'Old Europe' to back America By Toby Harnden in Krakow (Filed: 01/06/2003) President George W Bush laid down a challenge to France and Germany yesterday to stop fomenting divisions in Europe and instead back a strong America dedicated to using military force to defend and spread democracy. George W Bush: 'This is no time to stir up divisions' In Krakow, on his first stop in a seven-day, three-continent round of frenetic diplomacy, he said that splits in the transatlantic alliance between America and Europe would only give succour to al-Qa'eda and delay success in the war against terrorism....

John Paul II Departs Poland for Rome Mon Aug 19, 1:40 PM ET By ANDRZEJ STYLINSKI, Associated Press Writer KRAKOW, Poland (AP) - Pope John Paul ( news - web sites) II concluded his nostalgic journey home Monday with a Mass at a mountain monastery, where as a youth he used to pray with his father, and a brief flyover of his native Wadowice. Before departing for Rome, Poland's native son left his countrymen with the hope this trip would not be his last. "Many have waited for my coming. Many have wished to meet me, although not all were...

APOSTOLIC VOYAGE TO POLANDHomily of the Holy FatherEucharistic CelebrationKalwaria, 19 August 2002 "Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, Our life, our sweetness and our hope!"Dear Brothers and Sisters.1. Today I come to this Shrine as a pilgrim, as I used to come when I was a child and as a young man. I come before Our Lady of Calvary as I used to come as Bishop of Kraków to entrust to her the problems of the Archdiocese and of those whom God had entrusted to my pastoral care. I come here and, now as then, I repeat: Hail, Hail, Holy Queen,...

APOSTOLIC VOYAGE TO POLANDHoly Mass and Beatifications:Zygmunt Szczesny FelinskiJan BalickiJan BeyzymSancja SzymkowiakHOMILY OF THE HOLY FATHER Blonie, Kraków, 18 August 2002 "This is my commandment,that you love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 15:2).Dear Brothers and Sisters!1. The words of Jesus which we just heard are closely related to the theme of today’s liturgical assembly in Blonie in Kraków: "God, rich in mercy". This phrase in a way captures the entire truth about the love of God which has redeemed humanity. "God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even when...

APOSTOLIC VOYAGE TO POLAND Address of the Holy FatherDedication of the Shrine of Divine MercyKraków-Lagiewniki, 17 August 2002  "O inconceivable and unfathomable Mercy of God, Who can worthily adore you and sing your praises? O greatest attribute of God Almighty, You are the sweet hope of sinners" (Diary, 951).Dear Brothers and Sisters!1. Today I repeat these simple and straightforward words of Saint Faustina, in order to join her and all of you in adoring the inconceivable and unfathomable mystery of God’s mercy. Like Saint Faustina, we wish to proclaim that apart from the mercy of God there is no other source...