Where did you catch a bus to Zakopane in 1932? In Kraków, the answer was St Spirit Square (plac Świętego Ducha), right next to the Old Town. In June 1932 a press photographer came here and took a series of pictures. They are now in the Polish National Digital Archive and are in the public domain.
I love old photos like these, because you can stand in the same place today and compare.
The bus station on St Spirit Square
Look at the signs on the poles: Zakopane, Krynica, Myślenice, Rabka, Mszana Dolna, Będzin. Each one marked the stop for a different bus line. Station clocks hang above them, so passengers could check how long they still had to wait.
Luggage on the roof
The buses of the time had racks on the roof, and that is where suitcases, baskets and big sacks went. In the photos you can see travellers standing next to their bags, waiting for the bus to Krynica or Myślenice.
The same place today
St Spirit Square is still there, by the Planty park ring, next to the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre. Today it is a quiet square, and buses to the mountains leave from the modern bus station next to Kraków Główny railway station. Stand on the square with these photos on your phone and try to find the same buildings.
Practical info
- Where: plac Świętego Ducha (St Spirit Square), Kraków, by the Juliusz Słowacki Theatre, a few minutes’ walk from the Main Square.
- Photos: National Digital Archive (Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe), collection of the Ilustrowany Kurier Codzienny newspaper, ref. 3/1/0/8/3900, June 1932, public domain.
- Buses to the mountains today: from the bus station next to Kraków Główny railway station.
Checked November 2026.
More guides: Kraków & Małopolska in English.
Łukasz, Niezwykła Małopolska