Krakow's Main Market Square, or Rynek Główny, is famous for being what?

One of the largest medieval squares in Europe

The highest town square anywhere in Europe

What is unusual about the trumpet call played every hour from St. Mary's Basilica?

It stops abruptly in the middle

It is always played backward from the end

It is played on a giant seashell

What is an obwarzanek, a popular Krakow street snack sold from blue carts?

A fried potato pancake with sour cream

A sweet doughnut filled with rose jam

Krakow Quiz: Wawel, Market Square and Old Town of Poland

This Krakow quiz explores Poland's former royal capital on the Vistula River, with questions on the Wawel Dragon, the Main Market Square and Cloth Hall, the trumpet call from St. Mary's Basilica, the Kazimierz district, Jagiellonian University, Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine, the obwarzanek and the salt chapel of St. Kinga. Ten questions.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 90 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 90s

Legends
According to legend, which creature lived in a cave beneath Wawel Hill?
Squares
Krakow's Main Market Square, or Rynek Główny, is famous for being what?
Trumpets
What is unusual about the trumpet call played every hour from St. Mary's Basilica?
Buildings
Which long Renaissance building in the middle of the Main Square once housed cloth merchants?
Districts
Which historic Krakow district was the center of Jewish life for centuries?
Universities
Which Krakow university, founded in 1364, counts Nicolaus Copernicus among its students?
Art
Which Leonardo da Vinci portrait is displayed at the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow?
Capital
Krakow was the capital of Poland until around 1596, when the royal court moved to which city?
Food
What is an obwarzanek, a popular Krakow street snack sold from blue carts?
Chapels
The Chapel of St. Kinga in the Wieliczka Salt Mine has chandeliers made of what?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: According to legend, which creature lived in a cave beneath Wawel Hill?
Answer: A dragon
A clever shoemaker tricked the dragon into eating a sheep stuffed with sulfur. A metal statue outside the cave now breathes real fire.
Q2: Krakow's Main Market Square, or Rynek Główny, is famous for being what?
Answer: One of the largest medieval squares in Europe
The square covers about 4 hectares and was laid out in 1257. Cafés, flower stalls and horse-drawn carriages fill it.
Q3: What is unusual about the trumpet call played every hour from St. Mary's Basilica?
Answer: It stops abruptly in the middle
Legend says a trumpeter was shot in the throat by an arrow while warning of an attack. The call is broadcast on Polish radio every day at noon.
Q4: Which long Renaissance building in the middle of the Main Square once housed cloth merchants?
Answer: The Cloth Hall
The Cloth Hall, or Sukiennice, still has market stalls selling amber, crafts and souvenirs. Its upper floor holds a gallery of Polish art.
Q5: Which historic Krakow district was the center of Jewish life for centuries?
Answer: Kazimierz
Kazimierz has old synagogues, cafés and galleries. Parts of the film Schindler's List were shot in and around the district.
Q6: Which Krakow university, founded in 1364, counts Nicolaus Copernicus among its students?
Answer: Jagiellonian University
It is the oldest university in Poland. Its Collegium Maius, a Gothic building, contains old astronomical instruments.
Q7: Which Leonardo da Vinci portrait is displayed at the Czartoryski Museum in Krakow?
Answer: Lady with an Ermine
It is one of only a handful of Leonardo portraits of women. The sitter is believed to be Cecilia Gallerani, holding a white ermine.
Q8: Krakow was the capital of Poland until around 1596, when the royal court moved to which city?
Answer: Warsaw
King Sigismund III Vasa moved the court to Warsaw. Polish kings were still crowned and buried at Wawel Cathedral for centuries afterward.
Q9: What is an obwarzanek, a popular Krakow street snack sold from blue carts?
Answer: A braided ring-shaped bread
The bread is boiled before baking, like a bagel, and topped with poppy seeds, sesame or salt. It has protected EU status.
Q10: The Chapel of St. Kinga in the Wieliczka Salt Mine has chandeliers made of what?
Answer: Salt crystals
Miners carved the chapel, its altar and wall reliefs from rock salt over several decades. It lies about 100 meters underground.

Krakow Quiz – Poland's Royal City

Krakow, spelled Kraków in Polish, is one of the oldest and most beautiful cities in Poland. Lying on the Vistula River in the south of the country, it was the royal capital for centuries and remains Poland's cultural heart. Its historic center was among the very first sites placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1978.

Krakow escaped major destruction in World War II, so its medieval and Renaissance buildings survive. The Main Market Square, one of the largest medieval town squares in Europe, is surrounded by colorful townhouses and dominated by the Cloth Hall and St. Mary's Basilica. Every hour, a trumpeter plays the hejnał from the church tower, stopping in the middle of the tune.

On Wawel Hill stand the royal castle and the cathedral where Polish kings were crowned and buried. Below the hill is the Dragon's Den, linked to the legend of the Wawel Dragon. Krakow was Poland's capital until the late 16th century, when the royal court moved to Warsaw.

The city has a long tradition of learning and art. Jagiellonian University, founded in 1364, is one of the oldest in Central Europe, and Copernicus studied there. The Czartoryski Museum displays Leonardo's Lady with an Ermine. Kazimierz, the old Jewish quarter, is now full of synagogues, cafés and galleries, while Pope John Paul II served as archbishop of Krakow.

Krakow is also the base for visiting the Wieliczka Salt Mine and the Auschwitz-Birkenau memorial. Local food includes pierogi, obwarzanek, zapiekanka and hearty soups.

This quiz covers the history, legends, landmarks and food of Krakow.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is perfect for travelers, history fans and art lovers.

The legend of the Wawel Dragon
The Main Market Square and Cloth Hall
St. Mary's Basilica and its trumpet call
Kazimierz and Jewish heritage
Jagiellonian University and Copernicus
Krakow's art, food and nearby salt mine

Quick Facts About Krakow

Krakow's Planty park circles the old town where the walls once stood.
The city has hundreds of churches and chapels.
St. Florian's Gate is one of the few surviving parts of the old walls.
Krakow's Christmas cribs, called szopki, are on UNESCO's intangible heritage list.
The Barbican is a round fortified outpost from the 15th century.
Nowa Huta was built in the 1950s as a model communist district.