Wadowice

During your visit in Cracow it is a good idea to rent a car and take a trip to the papal city – Wadowice. In this lovely place near Cracow our countryman – Karol Wojtyła was born, it is the place of his childhood and youth before he was elected Pope on 16 October 1978 and took the name John Paul II. In Wadowice you will find his family home, which is now a Museum of John Paul II (more precisely: Holy Father John Paul II Family Home in Wadowice). Also worth seeing is the beautiful Minor Basilica of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, here Karol Wojtyła was baptized and made his first Holy Communion. As the head of the Catholic Church every time he visited his family town he came to the Basilica.

Finally, you have to try the the iconic dessert: the Papal kremówka. The old confectionery of Karol Hagenhuber is placed on the market square (Plac Jana Pawła II nr 15). It was Hagenhuber who came to Wadowice from Vienna in 1936 and brought the recipe for kremówki. Joan Paul II mentioned, that it was the place he and his friend visited after they had completed their matura exams. The confectionery was closed in 1945 but today you can eat kremówki in every good cake shop in Wadowice, of which there are plenty.