Go backWe will look for similarities of renaissance and modernism in Wawel Royal Castle. The motifs of Castle’s arcade courtyard we can see in the Academy of Mining and Metallurgy (arch. Sławomir Odrzywolski). On the roof there is a sculpture picturing St Barbara, the patron of miners (sculp. Stefan Zbigniewicz). We will learn about a genealogist of Lithuanian origin, Rector of Santiago University Ignas Domeika, the one who discovered 27 new kinds of minerals. Having entered into the Academy of Mining and Metallurgy, you will feel as in the courtyard of the Renaissance Palace. Lecturer at the Academy of Fine Arts in Gdansk, architectural historian Dr Michał Pszczółkowski: “Modernism architecture, especially in Krakow, relies on often on the architecture of Wawel, which is brings value to culture and history of Poland”. You will learn about the unique ‘ethnic’ modernism style, characteristic to the Krakow School of Architecture. You will hear a legend about Krakus, the founder of the city, and the dragon dwelling at the foot of Wawel Hill.
The insurance company’s residential house - named the ‘crystal house’ - an exclusive tour.
The library of the Jagiellonian University (arch. Wacław Krzyżanowski). VMU historian Dr Kastytis Antanaitis: “King Jogaila created a fund for Lithuanian students to study at the University of Krakow, which became the first Lithuanian university”. It is one of the oldest universities in Central Europe. One and a half thousand famous Lithuanians have studied here, from Abraomas Kulvietis to Sofija Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė.
The house of the professors of the Jagiellonian University was known as ‘coffin’ or ‘black house’. National Museum in Krakow. And residential buildings in Venice Street.
We’ll travel along the Avenue of the Three Poets - three streets named after Poland’s most famous poets - Słowacki, Mickiewicz and Krasiński. It is full of inter-war modernist buildings. We will take the authentic elevator of the ‘professors’ House, which, like the staircase itself, has a polygonal shape. Marta Wyka, a professor at the Jagiellonian University and a writer, will invite us to visit her in her father, university professor’s flat. She has visited Lithuania several times while researching the works of Czesław Miłosz. You will hear excerpts from a book written by the professor, in which he describes the history of his house. You will learn that at the beginning of the 20th century, a river flowed down Venice Street. 
