Time to hit the road
After months of deliberation over the concept, preparations for its execution, and assembling sources, equipment, and other essential elements, the 100KRK project is finally getting underway. We hope that the service — and the broader activity surrounding it — will bring a breath of fresh air among the many valuable initiatives already in place.
What is 100KRK?
100KRK is a service, a blog, and ultimately a full set of social media channels focused on the history of the city of Kraków, related curiosities, as well as the wider Kraków region and the areas strongly influenced by the city — and influencing it in return.
This is where the name 100KRK comes from: the area of interest defined by a 100 km radius from the center of Kraków.
Will these be rigid boundaries the service will never cross? Of course not. It is hard to overlook that regions located in today’s Silesia — the Duchy of Oświęcim, the Duchy of Siewierz, or the area of present-day Katowice — remained for a significant part of history in a relationship of tension and distance with Kraków. This, in turn, contributed to the emergence of fairly distinct cultural and worldview differences.
That is one of the reasons why the service’s focus will more often turn north and east. Although selected elements of the history of Silesia, the Dąbrowa Basin, the Duchy of Pszczyna, Oświęcim, or Siewierz will certainly appear in 100KRK, the region of historic Lesser Poland will remain central.
History goes in circles — or like an obwarzanek
The circle plays a significant role in the history and culture connected with Kraków and its surroundings. Kraków and Żarki obwarzanki, bagels, or the famous Bronocice Vase — whether these are universally recognized symbols is a story for another time. One thing is certain: the circular motif appears in the lives of Kraków’s inhabitants with remarkable frequency — and 100KRK will be no different.
It is cycling tourism, motorcycling, and more rarely four-wheel travel that will form the core of the project.
The service and its activities will therefore — quite literally — revolve around Kraków-related themes and nearby areas. To illustrate this and make the region easier to explore for ourselves and others, the project’s foundation is a map. Without it, nothing moves.
Curiosities that are not obvious by nature
History in its pure, everyday-detached form can be difficult to absorb and rarely captivating. Especially since it often overlooks threads considered too trivial, unserious, or inconvenient. One might even risk saying that history itself can be… boring. After all, anything presented in excess can become tiresome.
The surroundings of Kraków and Lesser Poland, however, are full not only of history but also of picturesque landscapes, peculiar nature, unique geological phenomena, and local customs. It is hardly a stretch to say that Lesser Poland is one of the most interesting regions in Poland — in fact, it truly is.
And it is precisely this combination — history together with the pleasure of traveling and traversing cycling and hiking routes — that 100KRK aims to present.
A world that is fading away
Although there is no shortage of places to visit, one thing is worth emphasizing: this is the last moment to capture a world that is quietly disappearing.
This refers both to the material traces of former ways of life and to what still remains alive — architecture unchanged for centuries, people and customs that today are vanishing at an unprecedented pace.
Although this is a niche topic, these small, often overlooked elements will form an important part of the service. Galician poverty not only destroyed — paradoxically, it also sometimes preserved what in other regions of Poland and the world has long since faded.
A new millennium
Although 100KRK is in some sense a traditional, hobby-driven travel blog and tourist guide, its form clearly departs from the typical WordPress standard.
Technological and scientific progress affects the region destructively in many respects — but its role in enabling the exploration of the past cannot be ignored.
In the context of the themes around which the service revolves, the “roadmap” carries particular meaning. At this stage, however, it refers to the project’s development plans. Its preliminary version can be found on the project’s description page: 100krk.pl/pl/about
This is, of course, only a fragment of the plans — but to keep this entry from growing excessively grandiose, we will stop here.
Time to hit the road
Spring is fast approaching — bringing longer days and more sunshine. It is the perfect moment to begin documenting places that have so far existed only as markers on the 100KRK map.
We hope that at least some visitors will find them appealing.