General Info

Nestled underneath the southern hook of the Wisla river, Zablocie has become one of the city’s most dynamically developing districts. Set next to Podgorze, like its neighbour it bloomed in the first half of the 20^th century as a place of light industry and its spread of factory facilities were complemented by housing for the blue collar class. Later, it became indelibly tainted by its associations with the war. Partially home to the city’s Ghetto, the return of peace saw it again resume its function as a place of production. However, the economic collapse that preceded the fall of communism saw many of the factories closed and abandoned and for several years after the transition Zablocie became one of Krakow’s forgotten areas.

After years of inactivity and inertia, the turnaround that the district has experience has been nothing short of a modern day miracle, and one utterly reflective of Krakow’s booming reputation as a city for the young and ambitious professional. Where once the empty factories were seen as sad scars of the past, today these same facilities have been used to the district’s advantage. Oskar Schindler’s factory, for instance, has been turned into one of the country’s best-known tourist attractions. Next door, the MOCAK functions as a world class contemporary art gallery. Yet others have been repurposed as cultural centres, leading-edge restaurants, offices, design studios or trendy apartments. Moreover, the overgrown and empty plots have seen a flurry of action with developers building apartment blocks aimed at professional locals, and all this has served to bestow an atmosphere of ‘now’ on Zablocie.

Green & Recreational Areas

Though Zablocie lacks anything that could be legitimately described as a tended park, the area’s development has been undertaken in such a way that it never feels claustrophobic or lacking in space. Many if not all of the new complexes have been built to feature their own green areas, whilst the untamed riverbank provides a raw snapshot of nature in its finest form. Vast allotment gardens are also a feature and give the area breathing space, and so too does a huge expanse of greenery to the area’s very east.

Amenities

Zablocie’s retail offer is largely limited to small-scale supermarkets and indy design stores, but the presence of the Galeria Kazimierz mall just across the river ensures big shopping trips need to be planned events – close by, find also a branch of the Medicover private clinic. In Zablocie itself, smaller private healthcare providers can also be found such as IMIcare.

School-wise, Zablocie has a branch of Kids & Co, a bi-lingual nursery and kindergarten, whilst the International Trilingual School of Cracow is found not too far away in the Kazimierz area. Just beyond that, and on the fringes of Old Town, the British International School of Cracow can be reached at peak hours in anything between 10 to 20-minutes.