Rynek Underground
Photo: originally posted to Flickr as Uncovered History — CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Discover Kraków’s medieval past through interactive exhibits and archaeological finds in this subterranean museum beneath the Main Market Square.
Planning your visit
Rynek Underground is exactly that — a museum four metres beneath Kraków's Main Market Square, occupying the excavation carried out between 2005 and 2010 which uncovered the medieval market layers: the foundations of merchant stalls, the cloth hall's predecessors, roads, drainage, a smithy, and burials including plague victims.
The display leaves the archaeology in place and builds the museum around it, with glass walkways over the excavation and heavy use of multimedia — holograms, projections, reconstructions and touchscreens — to show how the market functioned as a trading hub on routes running east and west across Europe. Objects recovered include coins, lead seals, tools and imported goods.
The technology is dated in places but the raw material underneath is genuine and substantial.
Ticket numbers are capped to control crowding underground, and it sells out in season — advance booking is worth it. It is closed on some Tuesdays.
The entrance is in the Cloth Hall on the square. Allow ninety minutes. Bookable options include skip-the-line guided tours. Current availability is shown below.
Before you book
Where is Rynek Underground?
Rynek Underground is in Kraków, Poland. The map on this page marks its exact location.
How long should I allow for Rynek Underground?
Allow ninety minutes. That is the time the collection itself takes at an unhurried pace, before any queue.
Do I need to book Rynek Underground in advance?
Skip-the-line entry is worth booking ahead here: the saving is the queue, which is exactly what sells out.
