It's a fitting place for a memorial to the professors of Jagiellonian University that were arrested for being educators. That wasn't the formal charge, but it was one of the repressive policies that the Nazi regime imposed on Kraków during the invasion of Poland. The ban on education would force students to have clandestine study meetings in underground basements. The 183 professors (active & retired professionals) would eventually be transferred to the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, and the youngest would later go to Dachau. About 101 were released due to worldwide protests. The ones that recovered from captivity would form an underground university for the Polish resistance. We would find out later that Karol Wojtyła (Pope John Paul II) was a student of their underground seminary. It's all part of Kraków's tragic history. The actual garden has always been there. Although it wasn't a memorial to the professors. It was a fruit and vegetable garden. The professors back in the 15th century had residences in the Collegium Maius which connected to this garden through a passageway. It remained a garden for professors through the 18th century. Now, it's a nice little peaceful retreat away from the city. We just happened to see it on our way to a meeting point for a tour. It's truly a hidden gem. Seek it out when walking down Jagiellońska Street. read more

See all