0:00:03 > 0:00:06I'm embarking on a new railway adventure
0:00:06 > 0:00:08that will take me across the heart of Europe.
0:00:11 > 0:00:15I'll be using this, my Bradshaw's Continental Railway Guide,
0:00:15 > 0:00:20dated 1913, which opened up an exotic world of foreign travel
0:00:20 > 0:00:21for the British tourist.
0:00:23 > 0:00:25It told travellers where to go, what to see,
0:00:25 > 0:00:29and how to navigate the thousands of miles of tracks
0:00:29 > 0:00:31criss-crossing the continent.
0:00:31 > 0:00:32Now, a century later,
0:00:32 > 0:00:37I'm using my copy to reveal an era of great optimism and energy
0:00:37 > 0:00:42where technology, industry, science and the arts were flourishing.
0:00:42 > 0:00:45I want to rediscover that lost Europe
0:00:45 > 0:00:49that in 1913 couldn't know that its way of life
0:00:49 > 0:00:52would shortly be swept aside by the advent of war.
0:01:05 > 0:01:08I'm continuing my journey through Poland,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11which began in the capital Warsaw
0:01:11 > 0:01:13and continued to Lodz.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15Today, I'll head west to Poznan,
0:01:15 > 0:01:17then south to Wroclaw.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22And end in the ancient capital of Krakow.
0:01:25 > 0:01:28Following my guidebook, I'll cross the old border to Poznan
0:01:28 > 0:01:30for my first taste of Polish lands
0:01:30 > 0:01:33that were once ruled by the German empire.
0:01:41 > 0:01:47Bradshaw's Guide 1913 contained a railway map of Europe
0:01:47 > 0:01:52and a picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. Here we are.
0:01:52 > 0:01:55This is Russian Poland and it appears as a white blank
0:01:55 > 0:01:59on the map because the Russians had built very few railways.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03By contrast, here in German Poland, well, it's absolutely black
0:02:03 > 0:02:06with railway lines, running in all directions.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09For my next destination, I have to move away from
0:02:09 > 0:02:13the Russian section in Bradshaw's to the German section.
0:02:13 > 0:02:17More precisely, "The German empire or Deutsches Reich, consists of
0:02:17 > 0:02:21"the following 25 States in order of magnitude," and then Prussia
0:02:21 > 0:02:24is listed first. In those days,
0:02:24 > 0:02:28Prussia included Posen, or Polish Poznan.
0:02:28 > 0:02:33"It's the oldest of Polish towns and a strong fortified place."
0:02:33 > 0:02:36Well, of course it was. It was very strategically important.
0:02:36 > 0:02:39It was on the eastern frontier of Germany
0:02:39 > 0:02:43and I'm going there to find out how, to shore up German power,
0:02:43 > 0:02:46the Polish territory was Germanified.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51I'm travelling 130 miles northwest
0:02:51 > 0:02:55to Poznan Glowny station, built in 1879
0:02:55 > 0:02:57in what was the heart of German Poland.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03I'll leave it to the morning to tour this fortress city.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20Poznan is a good place to start my exploration
0:03:20 > 0:03:22of the German partition.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25It's one of the oldest cities in Poland
0:03:25 > 0:03:27with roots in the early Middle Ages.
0:03:27 > 0:03:31My guidebook tells me that there's a particularly noble building here,
0:03:31 > 0:03:33dating from the 15th century.
0:03:36 > 0:03:38The Rathaus referred to in my Bradshaw's guide
0:03:38 > 0:03:41turns out to be a glorious Renaissance town hall
0:03:41 > 0:03:44and there's a legend that many, many years ago,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47a couple of goats escaped the cooking pot
0:03:47 > 0:03:51and ran up to the top of the tower to avoid being eaten.
0:03:51 > 0:03:55So, they've now become the symbol of the city.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58- And, at noon every day... - CLOCK CHIMES THE HOUR
0:03:58 > 0:04:00..a couple of goats appear above this clock.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04A mechanism that was restored in 1913,
0:04:04 > 0:04:05the year of my Bradshaw's guide,
0:04:05 > 0:04:09so it turns out to be not so much a Rathaus as a "goat house".
0:04:32 > 0:04:35I want to find out more about what life was like here
0:04:35 > 0:04:37in the early 20th century,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41so I'm meeting British-born historian Hubert Zawadzki
0:04:41 > 0:04:44at the Prussian Imperial Palace, completed in 1910,
0:04:44 > 0:04:46and referred to in my guidebook as,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50"The Royal Palace, a new Romanesque building."
0:04:50 > 0:04:52Though new in 1913,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55the architectural inspiration is medieval
0:04:55 > 0:04:59and peppered with images from German folklore.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02This isn't a lesson in German architecture, is it?
0:05:02 > 0:05:04This is cultural and political.
0:05:04 > 0:05:09Very much so. A powerful symbol of Prussian-German domination
0:05:09 > 0:05:13in this part of Prussian Poland where there was quite a struggle
0:05:13 > 0:05:16between the Poles and the Germans.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19Poznan was of strategic significance, as well.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23It was important in terms of the eastern approach to Berlin.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26So, it was essential as a defensive position.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Following the unification of Germany in 1871,
0:05:29 > 0:05:32Prussia's Chancellor Otto von Bismarck
0:05:32 > 0:05:35wanted to ensure the loyalty of its subjects.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39One tool he used was the so-called "Kulturkampf" -
0:05:39 > 0:05:42a campaign to curb the power of the Catholic Church.
0:05:42 > 0:05:46What was the attitude of the German authorities, particularly
0:05:46 > 0:05:50of the very powerful Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, to the Poles?
0:05:50 > 0:05:52The important thing, from his point of view,
0:05:52 > 0:05:57was to reduce the influence of the Polish nobility, the landed class,
0:05:57 > 0:05:59and the Polish Catholic Church,
0:05:59 > 0:06:03which were seen as the carriers of the Polish national ideal.
0:06:04 > 0:06:06Hand in hand with this struggle
0:06:06 > 0:06:09went a campaign to "Germanise" this part of Poland.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12German replaced Polish as the official language
0:06:12 > 0:06:15of local government and in schools.
0:06:15 > 0:06:20In 1888, a new Kaiser, Wilhelm II, came to the throne.
0:06:20 > 0:06:23Bismarck resigned soon after
0:06:23 > 0:06:26but German repression of Poland continued.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29The Kaiser's balcony!
0:06:29 > 0:06:31Indeed! What a view!
0:06:31 > 0:06:34The building over there was the seat of the Ansiedlungskommission,
0:06:34 > 0:06:37which was to encourage German land-ownership
0:06:37 > 0:06:40in this part of Prussian Poland.
0:06:40 > 0:06:44- Encourage?- Initially, government funds were provided
0:06:44 > 0:06:46for the purchase of Polish landed estates
0:06:46 > 0:06:50which could then be redistributed amongst German settlers.
0:06:51 > 0:06:57Gradually from the mid-1890s, this policy hardens, and by 1908,
0:06:57 > 0:07:00a bill is passed in the Reichstag
0:07:00 > 0:07:05which provides for the compulsory purchase
0:07:05 > 0:07:07of Polish landed estates.
0:07:07 > 0:07:12These policies provoked a strong reaction both at home and abroad,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15but Kaiser Wilhelm was impervious to criticism.
0:07:15 > 0:07:18He visited the palace only twice,
0:07:18 > 0:07:23but for those occasions, he insisted on a throne of suitable grandeur.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25Well, Hubert, is this not the most extraordinary
0:07:25 > 0:07:28- piece of megalomania you have ever seen?- Indeed.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32It reminds you of the glories of the medieval German Empire.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34How successful in the end,
0:07:34 > 0:07:36from the Prussian and German point of view,
0:07:36 > 0:07:38was this repression of the Polish people?
0:07:38 > 0:07:42This repression would have been more successful
0:07:42 > 0:07:44had the German rule continued.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47But, of course, it ended with the First World War.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50- Would you say, in the end, it was counter-productive?- Very much so.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55It strengthens the link between the average Pole
0:07:55 > 0:07:57and the Roman Catholic Church.
0:07:57 > 0:08:01Well, it's quite a thought that within a few years
0:08:01 > 0:08:06of this castle being built, of this throne being created,
0:08:06 > 0:08:08Germany has lost the First World War,
0:08:08 > 0:08:10the Poles become self-governing,
0:08:10 > 0:08:13the Kaiser has escaped into exile.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16- The glories of this world are transitory, aren't they!- Indeed.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25And in 1919, these lands were transferred
0:08:25 > 0:08:28to the newly restored state of Poland
0:08:28 > 0:08:31under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43German architecture and railway lines survive here.
0:08:43 > 0:08:45This is one of the last places where steam engines
0:08:45 > 0:08:48haul regular train services on the main line.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Howard Jones is so passionate
0:08:52 > 0:08:55about this extraordinary railway heritage
0:08:55 > 0:08:59that 17 years ago, he left behind his life as a travel agent
0:08:59 > 0:09:02in Britain to dedicate himself to its preservation.
0:09:04 > 0:09:07- Hello, Howard! Good to meet you! - Nice to meet you.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09Wonderful great locomotive!
0:09:09 > 0:09:11How is it that so many steam locomotives survived
0:09:11 > 0:09:13through the Communist period?
0:09:13 > 0:09:15Well, Poland had a lot of coal,
0:09:15 > 0:09:17so therefore, it was easier to run on non-electrified lines,
0:09:17 > 0:09:20steam and diesel, which meant importing oil.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24Wolsztyn as a depot, carried on till 1997, being the last working depot,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27and I moved out here to help persuade the authorities
0:09:27 > 0:09:30to keep it running as it's unique in the world
0:09:30 > 0:09:32and it is now, by a long way, unique in the world.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36Howard took over running the line in the 1990s,
0:09:36 > 0:09:41operating ordinary commuter services as well as heritage tours.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44Today, he's invited me to travel on a special train.
0:09:44 > 0:09:46This locomotive is enormous.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49I don't think I've ever been on the footplate of anything
0:09:49 > 0:09:50as big in Britain. Is it Polish or Russian?
0:09:50 > 0:09:53It's a Polish design, built after the war.
0:09:53 > 0:09:54They're more designed for comfort.
0:09:54 > 0:09:58Particularly here, remember, you have temperatures going minus 20,
0:09:58 > 0:10:01minus 25 in the winter, so they're enclosed cabs so they're warmer.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03Thank you very much.
0:10:03 > 0:10:05If you finish oiling up there, we'll be away, I think!
0:10:05 > 0:10:07- OK, then.- Thank you.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35What always amazes me about these locomotives
0:10:35 > 0:10:37is the connection between man and machine.
0:10:40 > 0:10:43Apparently, these two guys have only ever driven
0:10:43 > 0:10:45steam locomotives throughout their careers,
0:10:45 > 0:10:48so you can imagine how they feel every vibration
0:10:48 > 0:10:50in the machine and respond to it.
0:10:54 > 0:11:00I wish I could convey to you the smell! It's really pungent.
0:11:00 > 0:11:02WHISTLE BLOWS
0:11:07 > 0:11:10If you're used to heritage railways in Britain,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13the great surprise is how fast this thing goes.
0:11:13 > 0:11:18But as railway buffs say, the difference between a steam engine on a heritage line
0:11:18 > 0:11:20and a steam engine on a main line
0:11:20 > 0:11:23is the difference between an animal in a zoo
0:11:23 > 0:11:26and an animal wild in Africa.
0:11:26 > 0:11:29And this beast is uncaged!
0:11:31 > 0:11:34I've been invited with hand signals
0:11:34 > 0:11:38to put some coal on the fire.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41I've done a bit of this in England.
0:11:41 > 0:11:43I don't remember it being quite as hot as this.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48There's no sign from the stoker
0:11:48 > 0:11:50that he wants me to stop, so on I go!
0:11:53 > 0:11:56A sign to stop thank God.
0:12:04 > 0:12:06Oh, looks as if I've been sacked!
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Bradshaw's tells me that my next stop
0:12:19 > 0:12:22had four railway stations and was known as Breslau,
0:12:22 > 0:12:27"one of the most important centres of industry and commerce in Germany,
0:12:27 > 0:12:30"with engineering being especially prosperous."
0:12:30 > 0:12:35In fact, it was driven particularly by the manufacture of locomotives,
0:12:35 > 0:12:40part of Germany's early 20th century phenomenal industrial boom.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44My journey is taking me south to a city now known as Wroclaw.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03A new day on my journey through Poland,
0:13:03 > 0:13:05and I'm in another picturesque city
0:13:05 > 0:13:08packed with wonderful Baroque architecture.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20Early 20th century visitor to Wroclaw
0:13:20 > 0:13:23encountered a German industrial powerhouse.
0:13:23 > 0:13:30I see that train manufacturing giant Bombardier continues that tradition.
0:13:30 > 0:13:34Krzysztof Gablanowski, site manager in the transportation division,
0:13:34 > 0:13:35has agreed to show me around.
0:13:38 > 0:13:41A most impressive and enormous factory.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45When did any sort of production begin here?
0:13:45 > 0:13:47What is sure is the year - 1838,
0:13:47 > 0:13:50but we are not sure whether it started with the wheelbarrows
0:13:50 > 0:13:53or with the wagons!
0:13:53 > 0:13:55But we are sure about the year.
0:13:55 > 0:13:57'By 1913, this factory had grown
0:13:57 > 0:14:01'into one of the largest manufacturers of rolling stock
0:14:01 > 0:14:06'in Europe, producing its thousandth locomotive that year.'
0:14:06 > 0:14:09After that, it grow even faster, because in 1920,
0:14:09 > 0:14:13- it was 2,000 locomotives produced. - Heavens.
0:14:13 > 0:14:17- So, the rate of production had become enormous!- Right.
0:14:17 > 0:14:21'Soon after, the factory was also Europe's largest manufacturer
0:14:21 > 0:14:22'of railway carriages.'
0:14:22 > 0:14:24What do you do today?
0:14:24 > 0:14:27We keep continuing over 100 years' tradition.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32So, we produce car bodies for all the types of Bombardier locomotives.
0:14:32 > 0:14:36- Would I see any of your products in Britain?- Yes, indeed.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39We have produced, in the past, a big batch of bogie frames
0:14:39 > 0:14:43for a London Underground project.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46And today, we are producing bogie frames for Manchester trams.
0:14:46 > 0:14:49- Wroclaw to Manchester! - Right.
0:14:49 > 0:14:53'Krzysztof is taking me to see how these chassis frames,
0:14:53 > 0:14:54'known as "bogies", are produced.'
0:14:56 > 0:14:58Here, we can see the welding process.
0:14:58 > 0:15:00By using this kind of jig,
0:15:00 > 0:15:05we ensure the quality and ergonomy of the process as much as we can.
0:15:05 > 0:15:08When do you think that will be running
0:15:08 > 0:15:10on the streets of Manchester?
0:15:10 > 0:15:15In one year from now, there should be some delivered to the city.
0:15:15 > 0:15:18'And for my final stop on the tour, some on-the-job training.'
0:15:29 > 0:15:33I feel like something out of Star Wars!
0:15:34 > 0:15:36WELDING TORCH BUZZES
0:15:42 > 0:15:44'Under heat, the metal pieces melt
0:15:44 > 0:15:48'and fuse together to form a strong, clean joint.'
0:15:50 > 0:15:52That's very beautiful!
0:15:52 > 0:15:53So, how did you hold it?
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Like that? You happy?
0:16:06 > 0:16:08WELDING TORCH BUZZES
0:16:12 > 0:16:15BUZZING AND CRACKLING
0:16:25 > 0:16:27Hmmm.
0:16:27 > 0:16:31- A little bit messy!- Wow!
0:16:31 > 0:16:34'Well, I hope that doesn't end up under a Manchester tram!'
0:16:40 > 0:16:43As I leave this city with its impressive industry,
0:16:43 > 0:16:47whimsical architecture, and quirky protest movement,
0:16:47 > 0:16:49I'm pleased to see that its station
0:16:49 > 0:16:52expresses the city's defiance of convention.
0:16:53 > 0:16:55Wroclaw Station must rank
0:16:55 > 0:16:58as one of the most delightfully over-the-top that I have ever seen.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02There have been lines and platforms here since the 1850s,
0:17:02 > 0:17:05but this extraordinary castellated facade
0:17:05 > 0:17:08was added between 1899 and 1907.
0:17:08 > 0:17:10So, it was new at the time of my Bradshaw's guide
0:17:10 > 0:17:12and fully restored in 2012.
0:17:29 > 0:17:33I'm embarking on the final leg of my journey to the city of Krakow
0:17:33 > 0:17:37which my guidebook tells me was the ancient capital of Poland.
0:17:37 > 0:17:41In doing so, I will be crossing the last of the old imperial
0:17:41 > 0:17:43boundaries into Austria-Hungary.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05Austria and Hungary says Bradshaw's are "independent states
0:18:05 > 0:18:07"ruled by Francis Joseph I,
0:18:07 > 0:18:12Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. Heir Presumptive,
0:18:12 > 0:18:17"it's Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of the Emperor and King."
0:18:17 > 0:18:19Within a year of my guide book being published,
0:18:19 > 0:18:24he had been assassinated at Sarajevo plunging Europe into war
0:18:24 > 0:18:26and bringing about the dissolution
0:18:26 > 0:18:29of the three empires that occupied Poland.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51My journey takes me 160 miles south east,
0:18:51 > 0:18:53running close to the border with the Czech Republic
0:18:53 > 0:18:55towards my final destination.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24For Krakow, which is the grand finale of my Polish journey,
0:19:24 > 0:19:26Bradshaw's mentions the Grand Hotel!
0:19:44 > 0:19:47I discover that the Polish-born writer Joseph Conrad
0:19:47 > 0:19:49frequented the Grand Hotel.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53At school, I studied his novel about a journey
0:19:53 > 0:19:55into the African interior
0:19:55 > 0:19:59to discover a white man enjoying absolute power
0:19:59 > 0:20:02and seduced into total depravity.
0:20:02 > 0:20:03The Heart Of Darkness
0:20:03 > 0:20:07was then made into a horrifying Hollywood movie
0:20:07 > 0:20:12starring Marlon Brando - the 1979 epic, Apocalypse Now.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17Conrad stayed here just a few weeks before the outbreak of the First World War
0:20:17 > 0:20:23and was determined to show his young family the city he loved so much.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26As the Austro-Hungarian Empire crumbled,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29its grip loosened and this area began to enjoy
0:20:29 > 0:20:31greater political and religious freedom.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35It became known as the cultural capital of Poland.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40I'm heading into the old town to see whether I can find any trace
0:20:40 > 0:20:45of the third empire, which dominated this part of Poland in 1913.
0:20:57 > 0:21:01Once again, the architecture changes markedly.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Russian and German influences are behind me.
0:21:04 > 0:21:06This is so very Austrian!
0:21:17 > 0:21:20That's particularly evident in this glorious square.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31Four of the cities on this Polish journey
0:21:31 > 0:21:36have been characterised by magnificent public squares.
0:21:36 > 0:21:38Maybe this one in Krakow is the best of all.
0:21:38 > 0:21:42One of the things I love about them is the chaotic juxtaposition
0:21:42 > 0:21:44of different architectural styles.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48The buildings are higgledy-piggledy and yet, somehow, it works.
0:21:48 > 0:21:53And within them, a vast space for people to be boisterous and free.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03In this Austro-Hungarian partition of Poland,
0:22:03 > 0:22:07that sense of freedom extended to the Polish religion, Catholicism.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13Krakow's most famous cleric, the recently sainted
0:22:13 > 0:22:18Karol Jozef Wojtyla, was elected Pope John Paul II in 1978.
0:22:19 > 0:22:23A year later, he visited his native Poland
0:22:23 > 0:22:26still embedded in the Soviet Empire.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28Millions flocked to see him.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33His election as Pope and return to Poland helped to fire up
0:22:33 > 0:22:37the workers' protest movement called Solidarity.
0:22:45 > 0:22:48Apparently, when you're in Krakow you must eat a pretzel.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51Thank you.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Thank you.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57It seems that they are a left-over from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
0:22:59 > 0:23:01Personally, I can't stand them.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04But I take my duties as a tourist seriously!
0:23:04 > 0:23:06Hmm.
0:23:09 > 0:23:10At the time of my Bradshaw's,
0:23:10 > 0:23:14Poland was partitioned between three empires.
0:23:14 > 0:23:18Travellers could hardly have guessed that all three would collapse,
0:23:18 > 0:23:23but the empires returned - first Nazi then Soviet.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28I'm off to visit Nowa Huta, a gift to Krakow
0:23:28 > 0:23:32from the grimmest Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin.
0:23:32 > 0:23:38My guide is Maciek Nyzio, and my ride, a Soviet-era Trabant.
0:23:38 > 0:23:42- Hello, Maciek! How are you? - Good to see you. How are you?
0:23:42 > 0:23:46- I hope your Trabant hasn't broken down!- Everything is fine.
0:23:46 > 0:23:47I was just checking it.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51There's not much to check, because this is the whole engine.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55It's engine more like for a motorbike or a chain saw.
0:23:55 > 0:23:5726 horsepower engine!
0:23:57 > 0:23:59Battery next to fuel tank!
0:23:59 > 0:24:03The car is very elastic, too. Look!
0:24:03 > 0:24:04In case of an accident,
0:24:04 > 0:24:07I hope it will just bounce back from other car.
0:24:07 > 0:24:09- Let's hope so! - Jump in, it's open!
0:24:23 > 0:24:24Made in East Germany,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28the Trabant was the iconic car of the Communist era.
0:24:28 > 0:24:32Painfully backward by comparison with vehicles
0:24:32 > 0:24:33beyond the Iron Curtain.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37I think this car is a good example of what real Communism was.
0:24:37 > 0:24:41It's supposed to be very cheap car for the whole family, easy to get.
0:24:41 > 0:24:45Finally, tiny car was designed and they were extremely expensive!
0:24:45 > 0:24:47Maciek, which part of the city are we in, now?
0:24:47 > 0:24:52We're in the oldest part of Nowa Huta, this perfect Communistic city.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55Nowadays, it's one of the districts of Krakow.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59It was built after Second World War as a separated city.
0:24:59 > 0:25:01A gift from Joseph Stalin.
0:25:06 > 0:25:10Construction of Nowa Huta began in 1949.
0:25:10 > 0:25:14Stalin's aim was to showcase the industrial might of Communism
0:25:14 > 0:25:18and to crush the middle classes by creating a uniform,
0:25:18 > 0:25:22working-class centre, populated by industrial workers.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26It was supposed to be a city to show the power of this new system
0:25:26 > 0:25:29to convince people to this new ideology,
0:25:29 > 0:25:31a symbol of Polish Soviet friendship.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34They wanted to provide as many apartments as possible,
0:25:34 > 0:25:38and to give people jobs, work at the factory.
0:25:38 > 0:25:41That's the main entrance to the factory in front of us.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44- What was it called?- Up until 1990,it was Lenin Steelworks.
0:25:46 > 0:25:48A vast, labyrinthine plant
0:25:48 > 0:25:51with nearly 300km of railway tracks inside it,
0:25:51 > 0:25:55the Lenin Works provided employment for the proletariat.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58But by the 1980s, it had become a hotbed
0:25:58 > 0:26:01of the anti-Soviet Solidarity movement.
0:26:02 > 0:26:04This is Central Square.
0:26:04 > 0:26:07Some time ago, our authorities added a name.
0:26:07 > 0:26:10So, it's the Central Square of Ronald Reagan!
0:26:10 > 0:26:13- Ronald Reagan?- Yes, we like famous actors in Poland.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17Ronald Reagan helped to donate a lot of money
0:26:17 > 0:26:20to our opposition, to Solidarity.
0:26:20 > 0:26:21He was friend of Lech Walesa,
0:26:21 > 0:26:26our first democratically elected president after the war.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Under the leadership of Lech Walesa,
0:26:28 > 0:26:31the Solidarity movement won the fight
0:26:31 > 0:26:35for the first partially independent elections in 1989.
0:26:35 > 0:26:39Poland became the first country in the Soviet Empire
0:26:39 > 0:26:41to abandon Communism.
0:26:42 > 0:26:44Leaving Ronald Reagan Square behind us,
0:26:44 > 0:26:48Maciek and I are reconvening in a Communist-era bar.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52Welcome to stylish restaurant!
0:26:52 > 0:26:54Mmm, it has quite an old-fashioned feel to it!
0:26:54 > 0:26:58It's one of the few places left in Communistic style here in Nowa Huta.
0:26:58 > 0:26:59GLASSES TINKLE
0:27:00 > 0:27:02I really enjoyed our ride in the Trabant.
0:27:02 > 0:27:05Our ride through recent Polish history!
0:27:05 > 0:27:08- Na zdrowie! To Poland! - To Poland, of course!
0:27:11 > 0:27:14A visitor to Krakow in 1913 might have guessed
0:27:14 > 0:27:18that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was crumbling,
0:27:18 > 0:27:22but not that it would shortly be joined in the dustbin of history
0:27:22 > 0:27:25by the German and Russian Empires, too.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28When Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31that was the start of the Second World War,
0:27:31 > 0:27:37and after its end, there followed 45 years of Soviet domination.
0:27:37 > 0:27:43Polish nationalism revived when Karol Jozef Wojtyla became Pope.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45Poland became free in 1989.
0:27:45 > 0:27:47During the course of this journey,
0:27:47 > 0:27:51I've discovered that the Poles have often been oppressed,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54but their spirit is irrepressible.
0:27:58 > 0:28:02'Next time, I find my sea legs off Spain's Atlantic coast.'
0:28:02 > 0:28:05Isn't that a beautiful beast? Isn't that fantastic?
0:28:05 > 0:28:08'Sample a favourite British tipple in Oporto.'
0:28:08 > 0:28:11It's a Martinez 1953, a very rare wine.
0:28:13 > 0:28:14It's glorious!
0:28:14 > 0:28:18'And in Lisbon, investigate an assassination.'
0:28:18 > 0:28:22They're a group of armed Republicans, in five minutes,
0:28:22 > 0:28:25they almost wiped out the entire royal family.
0:28:25 > 0:28:29So, this square was the scene of appalling horror.