Rick Steves' Europe
Travel Bites 910: Krakow's Planned Soviet City: Nowa Huta
Clip | 3m 25sVideo has Closed Captions
Going from Hitler to Stalin in 1945, Krakow had a tough 20th century.
Going from Hitler to Stalin in 1945, Krakow had a tough 20th century. The Soviets built the communist-planned workers’ town of Nowa Huta that’s best toured today in a noisy little Trabant.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Distributed nationally by American Public Television
Rick Steves' Europe
Travel Bites 910: Krakow's Planned Soviet City: Nowa Huta
Clip | 3m 25sVideo has Closed Captions
Going from Hitler to Stalin in 1945, Krakow had a tough 20th century. The Soviets built the communist-planned workers’ town of Nowa Huta that’s best toured today in a noisy little Trabant.
Problems playing video? | Closed Captioning Feedback
Where to Watch Rick Steves' Europe
Rick Steves' Europe is available to stream on pbs.org and the PBS app.
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship[music playing] A fascinating corner of Krakow is Nowa Huta, an enormous planned worker's town that offers a glimpse into an important chapter in Poland's post-World War II story, becoming a Soviet satellite.
One entertaining yet informative way to get a peek at that is by looking through the windows-- Hello!
--of tiny Communist-era cars.
Hop in.
And we'll do the same, visiting the Communist-planned worker's town of Nowa Huta.
Oh, I love this little car.
Don't get too comfortable.
[chuckling] And our guide is Cornelia.
This is such a treat.
Tell me about this little car.
So we are driving a famous Trabant from East Germany.
Very popular family car in Poland.
Also one of few to choose from.
So people had no choice, and they were happy with what they got.
So tell me about this neighborhood.
What is this?
We are in Nowa Huta district.
It's a Communist model city from the '50s.
The only place like that in Poland, actually.
So it's supposed to be a showcase proving that Communism works.
People get jobs, apartments, and they're happy.
Nowa Huta was designed around a new enormous steel mill, the largest in Poland.
Called the Lenin Steelworks, it employed nearly 40,000 workers, who worked in 3 shifts, 24 hours a day.
It was intended as a high production factory to show off the Soviet bloc's industrial might.
How many people lived in Nowa Huta?
Design was for 100,000 people, but it was a worker's paradise.
Most men had a job in one factory over here, Steelworks.
And families, women-- you had jobs like services, hospitals.
So it was a self-sufficient town.
So why did Stalin want to give that plan to Krakow?
Well, one of the main reasons for sure were to punish the intelligentsia, to counterbalance this society in Krakow, with a lot of churches, universities, with workers, which before, were farmers and had quite simple life.
So punish Krakow for having culture, education, and churches?
Yeah.
What was it like to actually live here in the '50s?
So after the war, this was a very attractive place for people to come.
So they had jobs, they had apartments for free, and the shops were even better than the center.
They wanted to show people in Krakow that it's working.
So after the war, that was a good place to live.
[music playing] What about now?
What do people think of Nowa Huta now to live in?
It's getting way more popular than in the past.
Now, within 30 years' time, this is a pretty nice place to live in.
People are happy.
People have beautiful space to live in.
And they definitely prefer it more than being in a busy center.
Probably one of the best districts to live in in Krakow.
And the central plaza, reflecting the transition from Communism to democracy and capitalism, is called Ronald Reagan Square.
[music playing] For more information, visit ricksteves.com.
[audio logo]
NewTravel Bites 971: Passeggiata and Rome After Dark
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 59s | Join Romans for the beloved evening passeggiata. (3m 59s)
NewTravel Bites 970: Jewish Rome and Monti
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 5m 6s | Rome’s ancient Jewish community shares its extraordinary story of endurance and resilience. (5m 6s)
NewTravel Bites 969: Rome's Colorful Trastevere Neighborhood
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 23s | Across the river, Trastevere invites travelers into intimate lanes. (4m 23s)
NewTravel Bites 967: St. Peter’s and Vatican City
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 45s | Cross into the world’s smallest country to explore magnificent St. Peter’s Basilica. (4m 45s)
NewTravel Bites 966: Borghese Gallery’s Baroque Masters
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 2s | Rome’s fabulously wealthy patrons transformed collecting and commissioning art into dazzling display (3m 2s)
NewTravel Bites 965: Art in Rome’s Churches
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 45s | Step into Rome’s often unassuming churches to discover masterpieces in their original settings. (2m 45s)
NewTravel Bites 964: Rome’s Back Street Riches and Piazzas
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 4s | Rome’s public spaces transform an ordinary morning stroll into a memorable sightseeing adventure. (4m 4s)
NewTravel Bites 963: Testaccio: A Roman Food Tour
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 5m 40s | In earthy Testaccio, a lively food tour through a neighborhood market provides a delicious taste. (5m 40s)
NewTravel Bites 962: Catacombs and Early Christianity
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 5m 29s | A bike ride along the ancient Appian Way leads underground into Rome’s catacombs. (5m 29s)
NewTravel Bites 961: Pantheon: Rome’s Perfect Temple
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 1m 33s | The best-preserved temple of ancient Rome showcases engineering genius. (1m 33s)
NewTravel Bites 960: Imperial Rome in Art
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 18s | Trajan’s Forum, the Circus Maximus, and Rome’s National Museum reveal the empire at its peak. (3m 18s)
NewTravel Bites 959: Colosseum and Caracalla Baths
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 28s | Rome’s colossal engineering comes alive at the iconic Colosseum. (3m 28s)
NewTravel Bites 958: Eating Like a Roman
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 23s | A convivial Roman meal celebrates seasonal ingredients and regional specialties. (2m 23s)
NewTravel Bites 957: Capitoline Hill’s Ancient Treasures
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m | Rome’s historic Capitoline Hill brings ancient Rome vividly to life. (3m)
NewTravel Bites 956: Its Birth Story
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 4s | Tracing the story of Rome in a nutshell. (4m 4s)
NewTravel Bites 955: Paris: A floodlit tour
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 10s | The fabled “City of Light” is also the city of flood light. (2m 10s)
NewTravel Bites 954: Paris’ Other Great Museums
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 5m 35s | After Versailles, the Louvre, and the Orsay, Paris’ less famous museums are also worth a visit. (5m 35s)
NewTravel Bites 953: Versailles, Europe’s Palace of Palaces
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 40s | This ultimate royal palace is Louis XIV’s lavish explosion of baroque bling. (3m 40s)
NewTravel Bites 952: The Orsay Gallery
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 8s | The paintings of the Orsay take you from 1848 to 1914. (3m 8s)
NewTravel Bites 951: Paris's Louvre Museum
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 5m 38s | The Louvre—with masterpieces from Ancient Greek to Renaissance and Romantic—is a must to visit. (5m 38s)
NewTravel Bites 950: Paris: Boulevards, Les Invalides, Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysees
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 5m 38s | Grand boulevards like the Champs-Élysées connect great sights with edible memories. (5m 38s)
NewTravel Bites 949: Paris: Haussmann buildings and grand boulevards
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 1m 37s | The elegance of Paris is no accident. Broad boulevards, grand monuments, people-friendly greenbelts. (1m 37s)
NewTravel Bites 948: Eating French Cliches at a Parisian Bistro
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 55s | Grab a seat for lunch to enjoy a kir, French onion soup, escargot, croque madam, steak tartare. (3m 55s)
NewTravel Bites 947: Paris’ Marais neighborhood
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 6s | The Marais is a hub of Parisian history and culture—with its Jewish Quarter, and Bastille prison,. (4m 6s)
NewTravel Bites 946: Shopping for Dinner on Paris’ Rue Cler
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 6s | Paris’ most inviting market street is Rue Cler. (4m 6s)
NewTravel Bites 945: Two Grand Parisian Churches: Notre-Dame and Sainte-Chapelle
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 28s | Paris’ two most popular churches are the beloved Notre-Dame and the exquisite Sainte-Chapelle. (2m 28s)
NewTravel Bites 944: The Eiffel Tower
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 15s | Paris’ Eiffel Tower, a muscular symbol of France’s Industrial Age, has been entertaining since 1889. (2m 15s)
NewTravel Bites 943: Paris’ River Seine
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 35s | The Seine River defines Paris’ Right and Left Bank. (4m 35s)
NewTravel Bites 942: The Regeneration of London’s Industrial Heritage
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 6m 23s | London’s once abandoned industrial corners have morphed into popular people and culture zones. (6m 23s)
NewTravel Bites 941: The British Library
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m | London hosts the national archive with 12 million books and one Treasures Room. (2m)
NewTravel Bites 940: A Proper Afternoon Tea
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 6s | Afternoon tea is a great British tradition and London does it with style. (2m 6s)
NewTravel Bites 939: London’s East End Food Tour
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 40s | London’s happening East End survives and thrives just beyond a tsunami of skyscrapers. (4m 40s)
NewTravel Bites 938: London’s Victoria and Albert Museum
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 34s | “Albertopolis” is the corner of London built by and celebrating the vision of Prince Albert. (4m 34s)
NewTravel Bites 937: The Tower of London
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m | The Tower of London entertains and inspires. (2m)
NewTravel Bites 936: St Paul's Cathedral, London’s Pride
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 37s | St. Paul’s Cathedral is architect Sir Christopher Wren’s masterpiece, the greatest dome in Britain. (2m 37s)
NewTravel Bites 935: The City of London
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 34s | London’s historic core is called “The City.” (3m 34s)
NewTravel Bites 934: Britain’s National Portrait Gallery
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 35s | The National Portrait Gallery is the perfect place. (2m 35s)
NewTravel Bites 933: London’s Westminster and Whitehall, Home of Britain’s Government
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 8m 40s | The core of royal London. (8m 40s)
NewTravel Bites 932: Istanbul's Grand Main Drag, Istiklal Caddesi
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 38s | The best way to feel the pulse of urban Istanbul is to explore its teeming main boulevard. (4m 38s)
NewTravel Bites 931: Whirling Dervishes
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 2m 24s | Mystic Sufi monks whirl themselves into a meditative trance as they embrace the poet Rumi’s wisdom. (2m 24s)
NewTravel Bites 930: Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 27s | Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar remains enchanting, perplexing visitors with its maze-like network of lanes. (3m 27s)
NewTravel Bites 929: Istanbul, the Great Port on the Bosphorus
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 5m 53s | Istanbul straddles the Bosphorus Strait that separates Europe and Asia. (5m 53s)
NewTravel Bites 928: Istanbul’s Topkapi Palace
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 5m 14s | Here we find the storybook image of the Ottomans—sultans, eunuchs, harems. (5m 14s)
NewTravel Bites 927: Hagia Sophia, the Great Church of Constantinople
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 6s | This magnificent church-turned-mosque offers the visitor an opportunity to be inspired. (3m 6s)
NewTravel Bites 926: Islamic Art, Ramadan, and the Blue
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 57s | Istanbul offers a chance to better understand Islam. (4m 57s)
NewTravel Bites 925: A Turkish Bath in Ottoman Splendor
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 9s | The splendor of Istanbul’s Ottoman Empire is best experienced in a hammam. (3m 9s)
NewTravel Bites 924: Istanbul when it was Constantinople
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 4m 36s | For thousands of years, this place, where East meets West, has been a crossroads of civilizations. (4m 36s)
NewTravel Bites 923: A Leisurely Day on a Burgundian Canal
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 5m 39s | A crack-of-dawn trip to the bakery before breakfast on our barge. (5m 39s)
NewTravel Bites 922: Burgundy: Wine, Vineyard, and Chateau
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 3m 3s | France’s famed Côte d’Or, or “Golden Slopes,” is all about fine wine. (3m 3s)
NewTravel Bites 921: Barging: A Barge Cruise in Burgundy
Video has Closed Captions
Clip | 6m 3s | France’s Burgundy, with its inviting canals and iconic vineyards. (6m 3s)
Providing Support for PBS.org
Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
Support for PBS provided by:
Distributed nationally by American Public Television