Florian Nowacki Park in Kraków

Florian Nowacki Park (Planty im. Floriana Nowackiego) is the oldest park in Podgórze, located near the mouth of the Wilga into the Vistula. It covers 2.67 ha between Władysława Warneńczyka, Sokolska, Karola Rollego and Jana Długosza Streets, on Emil Serkowski Square. It was created in 1868-1888 on the site of a filled-in medieval royal pond, and today it is a heritage site entered in the register.

Who Florian Nowacki was

The park owes its name and its origin to Florian Nowacki, mayor of Podgórze and a community activist. It was on his initiative that the old royal pond was filled in and greenery was laid out on the spot.

The obelisk of Maksymilian Siła-Nowicki

The most important monument in the park is an obelisk erected in 1898 in honour of Maksymilian Siła-Nowicki. He was a zoologist, a professor of the Jagiellonian University, a researcher of the fauna and flora of the Tatra Mountains and a pioneer of nature conservation in Poland. He co-founded the Tatra Society, and in 1879 he founded the National Fishing Society in Kraków, the first Polish angling organisation.

The park as a heritage site

Florian Nowacki Park is entered in the heritage register under number A-608 of 26 October 1981. Photographs of the park show its avenues, a general view to the east and a playground, so it is a place for an ordinary walk and not only for looking at a monument.

What to see nearby

The park lies in Podgórze, about 1.4 km from Oskar Schindler's Enamel Factory and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Kraków. It is about 1.2 km from the Wawel Dragon sculpture and about 1.3 km from Wawel Royal Castle.

Practical information

• Location: Podgórze, Emil Serkowski Square, between Warneńczyka, Sokolska, Rollego and Długosza Streets.
• The park is open to the public; closing times were not found in the sources, so check them on the spot.
• There is a playground in the grounds.