Street art in Kraków

Kraków is home to some interesting and beautiful street art. If you are visiting Kraków then you must do a tour of the city's street art hotspots. There are a number of free walking tours that take you to on a guided tour of some of the popular street art locations. Alternatively, armed with a street art map you can explore the city on your own like we did. Most of the interesting street artworks are concentrated in the Kazimierz (Jewish Quarter) and Podgórze (former Jewish Ghetto) districts although there are a few works in the Old Town too. We did not see all of the works due to time constraint but managed to see some interesting ones.

Pil Peled’s ‘Judah’

Called 'Judah', this beautiful work was created by Pil Peled who is said to be one of Israel's most famous street artists. The piece was created as part of the Jewish Cultural Festival and features a young child (representing the vulnerability of the Jews) and a strong lion (that represents the Jews' struggle to survive and their strength).

Happy Again

Gene Kelly singing in the rain can be found in the Kazimierz district. A work of street artist Kuba this stencil art seems to portray a message about a city recovering from the horrors of the world war.

Listed below are some interesting tours in/around Krakow.

Ding Dong Dumb

Painted by popular Bolognese artist Blu, this mural aims to depict the relationship between Polish culture and the Catholic Church. The words 'Never Follow' clearly sums up the message the mural is trying to send out.

Kazimierz Historical Mural

Installed outside Pub Wręga, this mural by Piotr Janowczyk features five portraits of Polish historical figures - Emperor Józef Hapsburg II, Helena Rubinstein, Karol Knaus, Esterka and King Kazimierz. Featured below is Karol Knaus who was a local architect, artist and a conservator.

Józef Mehoffer House

Located on the side of the Józef Mehoffer House, this mural was designed by Mariusz Waras (one of Poland's most popular mural artists) as a part of the ArtBoom Festival in 2012. The mural is named as 'Mural no. 658' and depicts Krakow as a steamship which has been bombarded from all side by ammunition which looks like fishes and other marine life.

Related | Street art in London

Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn

Featuring the popular line from the 1939 film 'Gone with the Wind' (starring Clark Gable) this stencil art is also located in the Jewish Quarter.

Bernatek Footbridge Acrobatic Sculptures

I also had to include these acrobatic sculptures that are found on the Bernatek footbridge. The work of Polish artist Jerzy Kędziora, there are nine acrobatic figures in the installation called ‘Between the water and the sky’. It's beautiful!

To sum it up, if you are visiting Krakow and are a lover of street art, then do take the time to walk the streets of Kazimierz and Podgórze districts. You are sure to be impressed with Kraków’s street art.

And if you want more street art, have a look at my Bristol Street Art post.