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.
0:01:10 > 0:01:13On this journey, I'm venturing deep into central Europe,
0:01:13 > 0:01:16to a country carved up by three great empires,
0:01:16 > 0:01:19a place where East meets West.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Poland has been colonised and partitioned,
0:01:22 > 0:01:26its people repressed and even slaughtered
0:01:26 > 0:01:31by three great empires of Russia, Austria-Hungary,
0:01:31 > 0:01:32and Germany,
0:01:32 > 0:01:36and then later by the Nazi Third Reich and the Soviet Union.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Today, it's the economic success story of the former Eastern Bloc
0:01:41 > 0:01:44but it's had a long struggle to get here.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48At the time of my Bradshaw's, Poland wasn't even on the map.
0:01:50 > 0:01:54I want to study how this nation was first subjugated,
0:01:54 > 0:02:00and then more recently reborn, as I travel Poland's historic tracks.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07My Polish adventure begins in the capital, Warsaw,
0:02:07 > 0:02:09which, in my 1913 Bradshaw's,
0:02:09 > 0:02:14appears under the heading "Russia in Europe (Including Poland)".
0:02:14 > 0:02:16I'll continue on to the city of Lodz,
0:02:16 > 0:02:19before entering former German territory
0:02:19 > 0:02:22to explore Poznan and Wroclaw,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25and end on what was then Austrian soil,
0:02:25 > 0:02:27at the southern city of Krakow.
0:02:29 > 0:02:33On today's journey, I discover how not to do a Polonaise.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39Don't know what happened there!
0:02:39 > 0:02:44Stoke up what is possibly the last steam-powered commuter train.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46Done a bit of this in England.
0:02:46 > 0:02:47I don't remember it being as hot as this!
0:02:50 > 0:02:53Rumble through the streets Soviet-style
0:02:53 > 0:02:54in a 1960s motoring icon.
0:02:54 > 0:02:58In case of accident, I hope you just bounce back from other cars.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00- Let's hope so!- Jump in, it's open.
0:03:00 > 0:03:04And land my acting debut in Poland's respected film industry.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07- WHISPERING:- This could be my big breakthrough.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17First stop, Warsaw. Bradshaw's comments:
0:03:17 > 0:03:19"Once the capital of Poland,
0:03:19 > 0:03:23"now capital of the Russian Province of Warsaw."
0:03:23 > 0:03:25The British tourist in 1913
0:03:25 > 0:03:30could have no idea that Russia would shortly be humiliated,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33its Tsar murdered and its empire overthrown.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46Edwardian travellers to Warsaw
0:03:46 > 0:03:49could have arrived at one of three main stations,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53but this city's history is such that each has been destroyed.
0:03:56 > 0:03:58Now only Warsawa Centralna remains,
0:03:58 > 0:04:01rebuilt during the communist era in a brutalist style.
0:04:03 > 0:04:08I'm not expecting much of the Warsaw described in my 1913 guidebook
0:04:08 > 0:04:13to have survived the ravages of the Nazi occupation and communist era.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17But my guidebook has led me to an avenue described as
0:04:17 > 0:04:20"the most important and interesting thoroughfare,
0:04:20 > 0:04:21"Krakowskie Predmeestie".
0:04:23 > 0:04:27Here is a painting of the same avenue nearly three centuries old
0:04:27 > 0:04:29and, of course, it's absolutely recognisable.
0:04:29 > 0:04:31Here is the church on the left.
0:04:31 > 0:04:33And this is somewhat puzzling
0:04:33 > 0:04:38because Warsaw was famously razed to the ground during World War II,
0:04:38 > 0:04:43so I don't quite follow how it can be so beautifully preserved here.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46To help me answer that question,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50Karolina Paczynska has offered to take me on a tour
0:04:50 > 0:04:54of this grand old avenue in a 1913 carriage.
0:04:56 > 0:04:57Karolina!
0:04:57 > 0:05:00Hello! How nice to see you in Warsaw!
0:05:00 > 0:05:02What a delightful way to travel!
0:05:02 > 0:05:03Yes, it is!
0:05:03 > 0:05:07Karolina, Bradshaw's devotes a whole page
0:05:07 > 0:05:10to the architectural wonders of Warsaw.
0:05:10 > 0:05:11It looks wonderful today.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15I don't understand, how was this not destroyed in World War II?
0:05:15 > 0:05:19The city of Warsaw was almost completely devastated
0:05:19 > 0:05:20on Hitler's orders.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24House by house in two or three months,
0:05:24 > 0:05:28it was transformed into a real desert,
0:05:28 > 0:05:33but it was reconstructed by the people who came back to the city
0:05:33 > 0:05:35after the Second World War.
0:05:35 > 0:05:37They found nothing.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41There were no houses, no homes, no electricity,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43no running water, nothing,
0:05:43 > 0:05:47and with their own hands they rebuilt it all.
0:05:49 > 0:05:51It was a real miracle,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54the reconstruction of the city of Warsaw.
0:05:55 > 0:05:56Real heroism.
0:05:56 > 0:05:57Yes, it was.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59And that's what makes us very proud.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04I was looking at the reproduction of the painting by Bellotto.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07Was that used as a model for the reconstruction?
0:06:07 > 0:06:12Yes, but what is interesting, he also made some improvements.
0:06:12 > 0:06:15It's funny because during the reconstruction of the city
0:06:15 > 0:06:20after the Second World War, they recreated the improvements as well.
0:06:21 > 0:06:23That's a very nice story.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25But I'm quite surprised that the communists allowed
0:06:25 > 0:06:28the reconstruction of this bourgeois architecture.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Well, they allowed it, but in very limited scale.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42I have a huge admiration for the determination of the Polish people
0:06:42 > 0:06:47to rebuild their city, a phoenix risen from the ashes of 1945.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58My last visit to Warsaw was a long time ago,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00just after the Communist era,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03and my memories of the place were that it was very partially restored
0:07:03 > 0:07:06and it was kind of Stalinist and grim.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08Well, it gives a very different impression today.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10The restoration is now very thorough
0:07:10 > 0:07:14and the city is as full of history as it is of fun.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20The revitalised fabric and glittering facades
0:07:20 > 0:07:25are architectural echoes of 1913 Warsaw
0:07:25 > 0:07:30a place that boasted a rich tapestry of different peoples and cultures.
0:07:30 > 0:07:34But, during the Second World War the Nazis made it their mission
0:07:34 > 0:07:36to annihilate the Jews in Warsaw.
0:07:38 > 0:07:43I want to find out how the Jewish community fares today.
0:07:43 > 0:07:47I'm turning to my 1913 guidebook to locate Warsaw's Jewish quarter.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Bradshaw's comments that "Warsaw is a busy place.
0:07:51 > 0:07:56"But the general elegance is often marred by the untidy appearance
0:07:56 > 0:07:57"of the Jews".
0:07:57 > 0:08:01And then again, "North of the cathedral is the old town
0:08:01 > 0:08:05"with the unattractive Jewish quarter a little further North".
0:08:05 > 0:08:08We all know, alas, what was the fate of Warsaw's Jewish population
0:08:08 > 0:08:14during World War II, but to find such casual, unselfconscious anti-Semitism
0:08:14 > 0:08:17in a British publication of the 20th century is really a shock.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24This quarter doesn't look unattractive today.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27At a cosy Jewish cafe I've arranged a lunch
0:08:27 > 0:08:29with lawyer Kryzsztof Izdebski.
0:08:31 > 0:08:35Here we are at the Tel Aviv cafe, which serves Israeli food
0:08:35 > 0:08:38and it seems really rather chic!
0:08:38 > 0:08:42Yes, it's rather chic and it's quite popular.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45The people think that to be a Jew is cool.
0:08:45 > 0:08:46It's kind of an exotic thing.
0:08:48 > 0:08:52My guidebook has some quite sort of casual anti-Semitic remarks.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54What were conditions like for Jews in Warsaw
0:08:54 > 0:08:56at the beginning of the 20th century?
0:08:56 > 0:08:59- Were they barred from certain professions?- Yep.
0:08:59 > 0:09:02It was very hard to get to the university, first of all,
0:09:02 > 0:09:07then you couldn't for example be a fully-qualified lawyer.
0:09:07 > 0:09:09The guidebook refers to the Jewish district
0:09:09 > 0:09:11being unattractive and untidy.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14Is that because the Jews here were very poor at the time?
0:09:14 > 0:09:15Yes. The people were poor,
0:09:15 > 0:09:18but generally the people wore traditional clothes
0:09:18 > 0:09:20with black, moustaches, hats...
0:09:22 > 0:09:24I can imagine it looked odd.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28From a population of around 300,000 in 1913,
0:09:28 > 0:09:33today's Jewish community officially numbers under 1,000.
0:09:33 > 0:09:34After the Second World War,
0:09:34 > 0:09:38survivors of the Holocaust returned to Poland,
0:09:38 > 0:09:44but persecution continued and hundreds of thousands of Jews fled.
0:09:44 > 0:09:48The situation between Poles and Jews was pretty tense.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51So a lot of people decided to assimilate,
0:09:51 > 0:09:55and assimilate in a society meant changing names,
0:09:55 > 0:09:57forgetting about the past.
0:09:57 > 0:10:02Some of my friends discovered that they are Jewish when they were 25.
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Where the grandfather or grandmother dying
0:10:07 > 0:10:10and they wanted to say this, "I'm Jewish.".
0:10:14 > 0:10:19Once they had to conceal their identity and were in mortal danger.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21Their history could not be darker.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27Today's tiny Warsaw community of Jews has no need to hide.
0:10:31 > 0:10:32My Bradshaw's has led me
0:10:32 > 0:10:36to this pleasant park in the south of the city where it tells me
0:10:36 > 0:10:41I'll find the imperial Warsaw residence of the Russian czar.
0:10:44 > 0:10:49This is the delightful Lazienki park, home to two palaces -
0:10:49 > 0:10:52the Lazienki palace and the Belvedere -
0:10:52 > 0:10:54and on a spring day like this,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58it's a pleasant place for Varsovians to take a stroll.
0:10:58 > 0:11:01But, in the 19th century, this was the playground for the Russian
0:11:01 > 0:11:05ruling class, the hated oppressors of Poland.
0:11:09 > 0:11:14The people of Warsaw had lived under the Russian yoke since 1815.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16The official language was Russian,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19and Poles weren't allowed to hold public office.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Treated as second class citizens in their own land,
0:11:22 > 0:11:26how did the Polish people maintain their cultural identity?
0:11:26 > 0:11:31I'm meeting Varsovian born and bred Wojciech Bakowski.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36The Lazienki park has a lot of connections with the Russian
0:11:36 > 0:11:38occupation of the 19th century.
0:11:38 > 0:11:43How was the Polish spirit kept alive during that period?
0:11:43 > 0:11:47It was kept alive, notably, with the art and literature,
0:11:47 > 0:11:51and the national movement actually used poets like Mickiewicz, and
0:11:51 > 0:11:55composers like Chopin as prophets and vehicles for the national cause.
0:11:57 > 0:12:01Composer and virtuoso pianist Frederic Chopin was born in 1810
0:12:01 > 0:12:05in a village outside Warsaw to a Polish mother and a French father.
0:12:05 > 0:12:10He left Poland as a teenager just before the 1830 Polish uprising
0:12:10 > 0:12:12and spent most of his life in Paris.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16His music reflected the melancholy of his Polish motherland,
0:12:16 > 0:12:20and, so, despite being absent, he was adopted as a Polish icon.
0:12:22 > 0:12:25He was the most famous Polish artist that we had in the 19th century,
0:12:25 > 0:12:30so he became an instrument for the national movement to build
0:12:30 > 0:12:33a Polish identity around those cultural values.
0:12:33 > 0:12:37For example, he used Polish national dances such as the Polonaise
0:12:37 > 0:12:40and the Mazurka as piano genres.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42MUSIC: "Polonaise" by Chopin
0:12:42 > 0:12:44Designed in 1910,
0:12:44 > 0:12:49this monument to Chopin commemorates his adoption to the national cause.
0:12:49 > 0:12:52The Nazis blew up the original statue in 1940
0:12:52 > 0:12:57because Chopin's music had become a potent symbol of Polish nationalism.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01To play it in Nazi-occupied Poland was considered subversion
0:13:01 > 0:13:03punishable by death.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07And what is that's sweeping above Chopin's head?
0:13:07 > 0:13:08That's a willow.
0:13:08 > 0:13:10That is the quintessential Polish tree,
0:13:10 > 0:13:15that expresses the melancholy and nostalgia of Chopin's music.
0:13:23 > 0:13:26The Polonaise is a traditional Polish dance
0:13:26 > 0:13:29elevated by Chopin to an art form.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37Wojciech is taking me to the beautiful Lazienki Palace
0:13:37 > 0:13:40to see how the tradition continues to this day.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50It's a stately, processional dance
0:13:50 > 0:13:54in which couples walk, circle each other and bow.
0:13:54 > 0:13:55THEY APPLAUD
0:13:57 > 0:14:00This is very, very charming. Why are the young people doing the Polonaise?
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Now, this is a traditional second high school ball that we call
0:14:03 > 0:14:07the "studniowka" which occurs 100 days before their A-levels,
0:14:07 > 0:14:10and the crucial part of that ball is dancing the Polonaise.
0:14:10 > 0:14:13- Everyone has to do this? Did you do this?- I did.
0:14:13 > 0:14:15Now, why don't you have a go?
0:14:15 > 0:14:17I'd rather not.
0:14:25 > 0:14:27And one, two, three.
0:14:27 > 0:14:29One, two, three.
0:14:29 > 0:14:31One, two, three.
0:14:31 > 0:14:34One, two, three. One, two, three.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43SHE GIGGLES
0:14:43 > 0:14:45Nie porozumielismy sie.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51I don't know what happened there, it seemed all right to me.
0:14:54 > 0:14:56I'm sure that dancing's not my forte
0:14:56 > 0:14:58but if at first you don't succeed...
0:14:58 > 0:15:00MUSIC STARTS
0:15:04 > 0:15:06SHE GIGGLES
0:15:06 > 0:15:07Once again.
0:15:07 > 0:15:09Once again.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13Come on.
0:15:15 > 0:15:16SHE GIGGLES
0:15:34 > 0:15:36That WAS a surprise!
0:15:38 > 0:15:40SHE GIGGLES
0:15:50 > 0:15:53APPLAUSE
0:15:55 > 0:15:56Very good.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02I think I'll be sticking strictly to my Bradshaw's!
0:16:12 > 0:16:15After prancing, I'm ready for a proper Polish supper
0:16:15 > 0:16:17and I'm returning to the Old Town.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24Celebrity chef Magda Gessler's Fukier restaurant would have been
0:16:24 > 0:16:27a fashionable eatery for tourists in 1913.
0:16:32 > 0:16:35- Good evening.- Good evening, how are you?- I'm Michael.
0:16:35 > 0:16:37You must be the famous Magda!
0:16:37 > 0:16:41- You remember me!- And you're Lara. - My name's Lara.- How lovely to see you.- Hello, Michael.- Good evening!
0:16:43 > 0:16:47Originally a wine shop, this historic building now
0:16:47 > 0:16:51prides itself on offering the best in traditional Polish fare.
0:16:52 > 0:16:55My passion is old Polish cuisine.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58And so you have resurrected the old Polish cuisine?
0:16:58 > 0:17:02I am like the archaeologic in the Polish cuisine!
0:17:02 > 0:17:04Magda, I arrived here with my old book, but I see
0:17:04 > 0:17:07that you have an old book, too. What is that?
0:17:07 > 0:17:09This is a very old book that me,
0:17:09 > 0:17:13my mum, her mum have been inspirated by this.
0:17:13 > 0:17:16That's a book by Lucyna Cwierczakiewiczowa.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19It's like a guide book for what you should eat
0:17:19 > 0:17:23during the year for your own family budget.
0:17:23 > 0:17:26So would it be possible this evening to try some recipes
0:17:26 > 0:17:29- that are recommended in your book? - Of course!
0:17:29 > 0:17:31This looks delicious.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35It's perfect steak tartare. It's appetiser which in Poland
0:17:35 > 0:17:38is amazing, and this place is very special.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41Pate venison and herring,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44Very special herring in sherry.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46Herring in sherry?
0:17:46 > 0:17:48Yes. You'll like this one it's very Polish.
0:17:48 > 0:17:52And, Magda, what should we drink with these little appetisers?
0:17:52 > 0:17:56Bison vodka. It's very special cold vodka.
0:17:56 > 0:18:00- Oh, it's amazing. Try this one.- Thank you very much.
0:18:00 > 0:18:06- So, herring with sherry washed down with vodka.- First, vodka.
0:18:08 > 0:18:10Mm.
0:18:11 > 0:18:13So smooth, isn't it?
0:18:14 > 0:18:15One, two.
0:18:24 > 0:18:26Mm, that's lovely.
0:18:26 > 0:18:31I thought it would be very, very strong and fishy, but it's not.
0:18:31 > 0:18:33It's perfect old herring.
0:18:33 > 0:18:37There's more to Polish cuisine than herring and dumplings.
0:18:37 > 0:18:41This delicious tripe soup with ginger, cinnamon
0:18:41 > 0:18:45and cardamom is a culinary blend of the empires that once ruled Poland.
0:18:45 > 0:18:46The Polish people,
0:18:46 > 0:18:50who were under foreign occupation more or less continuously
0:18:50 > 0:18:55for two centuries from 1795, have recently experienced a rebirth.
0:18:55 > 0:18:59And that is accompanied by a renaissance in Polish cuisine.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07After my tasty supper, I'm ready to turn in for the night.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10My guidebook recommends the Hotel Bristol
0:19:10 > 0:19:15named after the celebrated British traveller, the 4th Earl of Bristol.
0:19:15 > 0:19:19The name became a byword for luxury across the continent.
0:19:19 > 0:19:21Shipshape and Bristol fashion.
0:19:34 > 0:19:38A new day in Warsaw. I'm leaving this vibrant capital
0:19:38 > 0:19:43of today's independent Poland to head into its industrial heartland.
0:19:48 > 0:19:52My next destination is a city synonymous with the Industrial Revolution -
0:19:52 > 0:19:54the Manchester of Poland.
0:20:03 > 0:20:06- Can you help me with my Polish pronunciation?- Of course we can.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09I'm on my way to L-O-D-Z.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12- How do you pronounce that? - It's "woodj."- "Woodj?"- "Woodj."
0:20:12 > 0:20:15But it begins with an L. How do you get a "w" sound?
0:20:15 > 0:20:22It's two different letters. It's "l" and "w" in Polish alphabet.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27"L" and "w." Right, so L with a line makes it a W.
0:20:27 > 0:20:30- What about at the end? You said "woodj."- "Woodj."
0:20:30 > 0:20:37Yes, because it's not D-Z, it's like Z with a line.
0:20:37 > 0:20:44- Z with a line?- Yes.- It's Z but with the D it's pronounced "dj".
0:20:44 > 0:20:48What else should I look out for in Polish?
0:20:48 > 0:20:51Well, you have different kinds of "oo" as well.
0:20:51 > 0:20:55- So, in Lodz, the L has a line... - Yes.- ..the O has a line...
0:20:55 > 0:20:57- Yes.- ..and the Z has a line?
0:20:57 > 0:21:02- Yes.- You chose a very difficult city to go to!
0:21:03 > 0:21:05Well, my goodness your English is beautiful!
0:21:05 > 0:21:07Where did you both learn your English?
0:21:07 > 0:21:09- In high school.- Really?- Yes.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12We were in the same class in high school.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14- To that standard in high school? - Yes.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16We are so bad at languages. I am humbled.
0:21:18 > 0:21:20Thank you. That's nice.
0:21:32 > 0:21:36"I'm continuing my journey across 1913 Russian Poland
0:21:36 > 0:21:40"in a south-westerly direction towards the city of Lodz.
0:21:40 > 0:21:43"A population of 408,000 says Bradshaw's,
0:21:43 > 0:21:45"the chief town of the district
0:21:45 > 0:21:49"and the most important centre of the textile industry in Poland."
0:21:49 > 0:21:53A material fact, for whilst Britain had her dark Satanic mills
0:21:53 > 0:21:58in places like Manchester, Russia had hers in cities like Lodz.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15I'm leaving the train to discover what remains
0:22:15 > 0:22:17of that industrial heritage.
0:22:19 > 0:22:20A century ago,
0:22:20 > 0:22:24these immense factories supplied the vast Russian Empire.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31The Industrial Revolution brought phenomenal population growth
0:22:31 > 0:22:35to Lodz from about 800 people to about 400,000 in the 80 years
0:22:35 > 0:22:37before my Bradshaw's guide.
0:22:37 > 0:22:41Now the textile mills have been converted into a shopping centre.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51I'm meeting my guide, Jacek Paczesny,
0:22:51 > 0:22:53at a perfect city vantage point.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56These buildings are magnificent.
0:22:56 > 0:23:00Why was Lodz chosen for industrialization?
0:23:00 > 0:23:03Generally, it was a good location for a city which made
0:23:03 > 0:23:08the authorities grant the city the title of factory settlement.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11It was something like a special economic zone.
0:23:11 > 0:23:13And I suppose the railways must have made a difference, too?
0:23:13 > 0:23:16Yes. The railways definitely were essential.
0:23:16 > 0:23:22The first big date is 1848 when the Vienna Warsaw railway
0:23:22 > 0:23:28was opened and it passed just 30km to the Eastern border of Lodz.
0:23:28 > 0:23:33By the time of my 1913 guide, Lodz had been transformed.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37It was a city of great contrast.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40Between cultures, it was a bustling multicultural city,
0:23:40 > 0:23:42people of four different regions,
0:23:42 > 0:23:45Polish, Jewish, Russian, German living together.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48Second, contrast between wealth and poverty.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50A lot of people lived in wooden houses,
0:23:50 > 0:23:52the sewage was flowing through the streets.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56On the other hand, there was these marvellous palaces,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00privately owned green spaces with a fee entrance that exceeded
0:24:00 > 0:24:02the salary of the worker.
0:24:04 > 0:24:09Andrej Wajda's 1975 epic film The Promised Land
0:24:09 > 0:24:12was based on Wladyslaw Reymont's novel,
0:24:12 > 0:24:14a mordant critique of capitalism.
0:24:14 > 0:24:18It depicted life in Lodz as a vicious rat race.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30In the 19th century, Lodz gave Manchester a run for its money.
0:24:33 > 0:24:38But today the city prefers to compare itself to Los Angeles.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43What happens to a manufacturing city in the post-industrial age?
0:24:43 > 0:24:47In Lodz, part of the answer has been to create a film school,
0:24:47 > 0:24:51some of whose graduates are directors of international fame.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55And now they've created a walkway of the stars.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59Not for nothing is this place now known as "Holy-woodj."
0:25:03 > 0:25:07Andrej Wajda, studied at a film school here in Lodz.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10In fact, many of Poland's most celebrated directors
0:25:10 > 0:25:11cut their teeth here.
0:25:12 > 0:25:16I've arranged to meet Piotr Sitarski, Professor of Film Studies,
0:25:16 > 0:25:21to ask him about the history of cinema in this old industrial town.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24When did the cinema first come to Lodz?
0:25:24 > 0:25:25Very early.
0:25:25 > 0:25:311896. You know, this was a centre of textile industry
0:25:31 > 0:25:34with a huge number of proletarian workers.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37Most of them were Poles but you also had Jews and Germans
0:25:37 > 0:25:41and visual entertainment was ideal for them. You know, silent movies.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44And, of course, being silent they didn't have to understand
0:25:44 > 0:25:45- any of the language.- Exactly!
0:25:45 > 0:25:49After the Second World War, a film school was founded
0:25:49 > 0:25:53in Lodz because it was a place where cinema was popular.
0:25:53 > 0:25:59A film school in the 1950s within the Soviet empire sounds
0:25:59 > 0:26:01is that a bit subversive, a bit liberal?
0:26:01 > 0:26:07Yes, it is. Ironically because it was designed as a place where
0:26:07 > 0:26:09propagandists were to be trained.
0:26:09 > 0:26:13Instead, it turned out that it really offered a lot of freedom
0:26:13 > 0:26:16for the students and for the teachers,
0:26:16 > 0:26:20and a good example are the films the students could watch,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22films from around the world.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24So this was really a liberal place.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29I'm no De Niro
0:26:29 > 0:26:32but as this film school maintains a very high reputation,
0:26:32 > 0:26:39maybe I can pick up some tips from Poland's finest fledgling movie-makers?
0:26:39 > 0:26:42Hello. I hope I'm not interrupting. I'm Michael.
0:26:42 > 0:26:45- Of course not. I'm Adam. - So what are you doing here?
0:26:45 > 0:26:48I'm shooting this scene right here. I'm shooting in a hospital.
0:26:48 > 0:26:51We have a girl who's going to be playing a schizophrenic
0:26:51 > 0:26:54and we are going to have you play as a doctor.
0:26:54 > 0:26:56- OK. Psychiatric doctor.- Of course.
0:26:56 > 0:26:58- Let me just psych myself up for that one.- Sure.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03One of the oldest film schools in the world,
0:27:03 > 0:27:06Lodz prides itself on a hands-on approach,
0:27:06 > 0:27:10teaching its students the practical skills needed to make a movie.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13All right, so when you're walking in, when you move from here,
0:27:13 > 0:27:16go here, here, here, here,
0:27:16 > 0:27:20and then you place it down and then you look at her.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23We're going to have this shot right here of you confronting her.
0:27:24 > 0:27:27- WHISPERS:- This could be my big breakthrough!
0:27:29 > 0:27:33- Kamera. Poszla.- Ton 16ty.
0:27:35 > 0:27:36Action.
0:27:38 > 0:27:42SHE MUMBLES IN POLISH
0:27:50 > 0:27:51All right, perfect.
0:27:51 > 0:27:53Super. Nie bierz tabletki!
0:27:53 > 0:27:55LAUGHTER
0:27:55 > 0:27:57- Jeszcze raz?- Nie, spoko.
0:27:57 > 0:28:01- Brilliant, thank you so much. - Thanks so much.- Thank you.
0:28:01 > 0:28:02Great.
0:28:16 > 0:28:18After a shaky movie debut,
0:28:18 > 0:28:22I'm leaving Lodz where young people are now more likely to make
0:28:22 > 0:28:26films than fabrics, and following my guide across the old border
0:28:26 > 0:28:29to Poznan for my first taste of Polish lands
0:28:29 > 0:28:31ruled by the German empire.
0:28:38 > 0:28:43Bradshaw's Guide 1913 contained a railway map of Europe
0:28:43 > 0:28:48and a picture is worth a thousand words, as they say. Here we are.
0:28:48 > 0:28:52This is Russian Poland and it appears as a white blank
0:28:52 > 0:28:55on the map because the Russians had built very few railways.
0:28:55 > 0:29:00By contrast, here in German Poland, well, it's absolutely black
0:29:00 > 0:29:03with railway lines, running in all directions.
0:29:03 > 0:29:05For my next destination, I have to move away from
0:29:05 > 0:29:09the Russian section in Bradshaw's to the German section.
0:29:09 > 0:29:13More precisely, "The German empire or Deutsches Reich, consists of
0:29:13 > 0:29:18"the following 25 States in order of magnitude," and then Prussia
0:29:18 > 0:29:20is listed first. In those days,
0:29:20 > 0:29:25Prussia included Posen, or Polish Poznan.
0:29:25 > 0:29:30"It's the oldest of Polish towns and a strong fortified place."
0:29:30 > 0:29:32Well, of course it was. It was very strategically important.
0:29:32 > 0:29:35It was on the eastern frontier of Germany
0:29:35 > 0:29:39and I'm going there to find out how, to shore up German power,
0:29:39 > 0:29:43the Polish territory was Germanified.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48I'm travelling 130 miles northwest
0:29:48 > 0:29:52to Poznan Glowny station, built in 1879
0:29:52 > 0:29:54in what was the heart of German Poland.
0:29:56 > 0:30:00I'll leave it to the morning to tour this fortress city.
0:30:14 > 0:30:17Poznan is a good place to start my exploration
0:30:17 > 0:30:19of the German partition.
0:30:19 > 0:30:21It's one of the oldest cities in Poland
0:30:21 > 0:30:24with roots in the early Middle Ages.
0:30:24 > 0:30:28My guidebook tells me that there's a particularly noble building here,
0:30:28 > 0:30:29dating from the 15th century.
0:30:33 > 0:30:35The Rathaus referred to in my Bradshaw's guide
0:30:35 > 0:30:38turns out to be a glorious Renaissance town hall
0:30:38 > 0:30:41and there's a legend that many, many years ago,
0:30:41 > 0:30:44a couple of goats escaped the cooking pot
0:30:44 > 0:30:48and ran up to the top of the tower to avoid being eaten.
0:30:48 > 0:30:52So, they've now become the symbol of the city.
0:30:52 > 0:30:54- And, at noon every day... - CLOCK CHIMES THE HOUR
0:30:54 > 0:30:57..a couple of goats appear above this clock.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00A mechanism that was restored in 1913,
0:31:00 > 0:31:02the year of my Bradshaw's guide,
0:31:02 > 0:31:05so it turns out to be not so much a Rathaus as a "goat house".
0:31:29 > 0:31:32I want to find out more about what life was like here
0:31:32 > 0:31:33in the early 20th century,
0:31:33 > 0:31:37so I'm meeting British-born historian Hubert Zawadzki
0:31:37 > 0:31:40at the Prussian Imperial Palace, completed in 1910,
0:31:40 > 0:31:43and referred to in my guidebook as,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46"The Royal Palace, a new Romanesque building."
0:31:46 > 0:31:48Though new in 1913,
0:31:48 > 0:31:51the architectural inspiration is medieval
0:31:51 > 0:31:55and peppered with images from German folklore.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58This isn't a lesson in German architecture, is it?
0:31:58 > 0:32:00This is cultural and political.
0:32:00 > 0:32:05Very much so. A powerful symbol of Prussian-German domination
0:32:05 > 0:32:10in this part of Prussian Poland where there was quite a struggle
0:32:10 > 0:32:12between the Poles and the Germans.
0:32:12 > 0:32:15Poznan was of strategic significance, as well.
0:32:15 > 0:32:19It was important in terms of the eastern approach to Berlin.
0:32:19 > 0:32:22So, it was essential as a defensive position.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26Following the unification of Germany in 1871,
0:32:26 > 0:32:28Prussia's Chancellor Otto von Bismarck
0:32:28 > 0:32:32wanted to ensure the loyalty of its subjects.
0:32:32 > 0:32:35One tool he used was the so-called "Kulturkampf" -
0:32:35 > 0:32:38a campaign to curb the power of the Catholic Church.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42What was the attitude of the German authorities, particularly
0:32:42 > 0:32:46of the very powerful Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, to the Poles?
0:32:46 > 0:32:48The important thing, from his point of view,
0:32:48 > 0:32:53was to reduce the influence of the Polish nobility, the landed class,
0:32:53 > 0:32:55and the Polish Catholic Church,
0:32:55 > 0:32:59which were seen as the carriers of the Polish national ideal.
0:33:01 > 0:33:02Hand in hand with this struggle
0:33:02 > 0:33:06went a campaign to "Germanise" this part of Poland.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08German replaced Polish as the official language
0:33:08 > 0:33:11of local government and in schools.
0:33:11 > 0:33:16In 1888, a new Kaiser, Wilhelm II, came to the throne.
0:33:16 > 0:33:19Bismarck resigned soon after
0:33:19 > 0:33:22but German repression of Poland continued.
0:33:23 > 0:33:25The Kaiser's balcony!
0:33:25 > 0:33:27Indeed! What a view!
0:33:27 > 0:33:31The building over there was the seat of the Ansiedlungskommission,
0:33:31 > 0:33:33which was to encourage German land-ownership
0:33:33 > 0:33:36in this part of Prussian Poland.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40- Encourage?- Initially, government funds were provided
0:33:40 > 0:33:43for the purchase of Polish landed estates
0:33:43 > 0:33:46which could then be redistributed amongst German settlers.
0:33:48 > 0:33:53Gradually from the mid-1890s, this policy hardens, and by 1908,
0:33:53 > 0:33:57a bill is passed in the Reichstag
0:33:57 > 0:34:01which provides for the compulsory purchase
0:34:01 > 0:34:03of Polish landed estates.
0:34:03 > 0:34:08These policies provoked a strong reaction both at home and abroad,
0:34:08 > 0:34:11but Kaiser Wilhelm was impervious to criticism.
0:34:11 > 0:34:14He visited the palace only twice,
0:34:14 > 0:34:19but for those occasions, he insisted on a throne of suitable grandeur.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22Well, Hubert, is this not the most extraordinary
0:34:22 > 0:34:25- piece of megalomania you have ever seen?- Indeed.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28It reminds you of the glories of the medieval German Empire.
0:34:28 > 0:34:30How successful in the end,
0:34:30 > 0:34:32from the Prussian and German point of view,
0:34:32 > 0:34:35was this repression of the Polish people?
0:34:35 > 0:34:38This repression would have been more successful
0:34:38 > 0:34:40had the German rule continued.
0:34:40 > 0:34:43But, of course, it ended with the First World War.
0:34:43 > 0:34:46- Would you say, in the end, it was counter-productive?- Very much so.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52It strengthens the link between the average Pole
0:34:52 > 0:34:54and the Roman Catholic Church.
0:34:54 > 0:34:58Well, it's quite a thought that within a few years
0:34:58 > 0:35:02of this castle being built, of this throne being created,
0:35:02 > 0:35:04Germany has lost the First World War,
0:35:04 > 0:35:07the Poles become self-governing,
0:35:07 > 0:35:10the Kaiser has escaped into exile.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13- The glories of this world are transitory, aren't they!- Indeed.
0:35:19 > 0:35:22And in 1919, these lands were transferred
0:35:22 > 0:35:24to the newly restored state of Poland
0:35:24 > 0:35:27under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles.
0:35:35 > 0:35:39German architecture and railway lines survive here.
0:35:39 > 0:35:41This is one of the last places where steam engines
0:35:41 > 0:35:44haul regular train services on the main line.
0:35:47 > 0:35:49Howard Jones is so passionate
0:35:49 > 0:35:51about this extraordinary railway heritage
0:35:51 > 0:35:55that 17 years ago, he left behind his life as a travel agent
0:35:55 > 0:35:59in Britain to dedicate himself to its preservation.
0:36:00 > 0:36:03- Hello, Howard! Good to meet you! - Nice to meet you.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05Wonderful great locomotive!
0:36:05 > 0:36:08How is it that so many steam locomotives survived
0:36:08 > 0:36:09through the Communist period?
0:36:09 > 0:36:11Well, Poland had a lot of coal,
0:36:11 > 0:36:14so therefore, it was easier to run on non-electrified lines,
0:36:14 > 0:36:16steam and diesel, which meant importing oil.
0:36:16 > 0:36:20Wolsztyn as a depot, carried on till 1997, being the last working depot,
0:36:20 > 0:36:24and I moved out here to help persuade the authorities
0:36:24 > 0:36:26to keep it running as it's unique in the world
0:36:26 > 0:36:29and it is now, by a long way, unique in the world.
0:36:29 > 0:36:32Howard took over running of this line in the 1990s,
0:36:32 > 0:36:37operating ordinary commuter services as well as heritage tours.
0:36:37 > 0:36:40Today, he's invited me to travel on a special train.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42This locomotive is enormous.
0:36:42 > 0:36:45I don't think I've ever been on the footplate of anything
0:36:45 > 0:36:47as big in Britain. Is it Polish or Russian?
0:36:47 > 0:36:49It's a Polish design, built after the war.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51They're more designed for comfort.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54Particularly here, remember, you have temperatures going minus 20,
0:36:54 > 0:36:58minus 25 in the winter, so they're enclosed cabs so they're warmer.
0:36:58 > 0:36:59Thank you very much.
0:36:59 > 0:37:02If you finish oiling up there, we'll be away, I think!
0:37:02 > 0:37:03- OK, then.- Thank you.
0:37:29 > 0:37:31What always amazes me about these locomotives
0:37:31 > 0:37:34is the connection between man and machine.
0:37:37 > 0:37:39Apparently, these two guys have only ever driven
0:37:39 > 0:37:42steam locomotives throughout their careers,
0:37:42 > 0:37:44so you can imagine how they feel every vibration
0:37:44 > 0:37:46in the machine and respond to it.
0:37:50 > 0:37:56I wish I could convey to you the smell! It's really pungent.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59WHISTLE BLOWS
0:38:03 > 0:38:06If you're used to heritage railways in Britain,
0:38:06 > 0:38:10the great surprise is how fast this thing goes.
0:38:10 > 0:38:15But as railway buffs say, the difference between a steam engine on a heritage line
0:38:15 > 0:38:16and a steam engine on a main line
0:38:16 > 0:38:19is the difference between an animal in a zoo
0:38:19 > 0:38:23and an animal wild in Africa.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25And this beast is uncaged!
0:38:28 > 0:38:30I've been invited with hand signals
0:38:30 > 0:38:34to put some coal on the fire.
0:38:34 > 0:38:37I've done a bit of this in England.
0:38:37 > 0:38:40I don't remember it being quite as hot as this.
0:38:42 > 0:38:44There's no sign from the stoker
0:38:44 > 0:38:46that he wants me to stop, so on I go!
0:38:50 > 0:38:52A sign to stop thank God.
0:39:01 > 0:39:02Oh, looks as if I've been sacked!
0:39:13 > 0:39:15Bradshaw's tells me that my next stop
0:39:15 > 0:39:18had four railway stations and was known as Breslau,
0:39:18 > 0:39:23"one of the most important centres of industry and commerce in Germany,
0:39:23 > 0:39:27"with engineering being especially prosperous."
0:39:27 > 0:39:31In fact, it was driven particularly by the manufacture of locomotives,
0:39:31 > 0:39:36part of Germany's early 20th century phenomenal industrial boom.
0:39:36 > 0:39:40My journey is taking me south to a city now known as Wroclaw.
0:39:57 > 0:40:00A new day dawns on my journey through Poland,
0:40:00 > 0:40:02and I'm in another picturesque city.
0:40:02 > 0:40:05It's packed with wonderful Baroque architecture
0:40:05 > 0:40:09that would have delighted a tourist following my 1913 guidebook.
0:40:10 > 0:40:14Also, I can't help noticing some enchanting little characters
0:40:14 > 0:40:17who curiously fail to appear in my Bradshaw's.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22Everywhere I go here in Wroclaw,
0:40:22 > 0:40:27I find these little bearded leprechauns with pointed hats.
0:40:27 > 0:40:30What can the meaning be? I've "gnome" idea.
0:40:36 > 0:40:39- Excuse me, do you speak English? - No...- No.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44- Do you speak English?- No.
0:40:46 > 0:40:49- Excuse me, do you speak English? - Just a little.
0:40:49 > 0:40:54These little men, these bearded men with the pointy hats,
0:40:54 > 0:40:57who are they? Why are they there?
0:40:57 > 0:41:01This is the person in Wroclaw.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04It is a symbol of Orange Alternative.
0:41:04 > 0:41:06These are called krasnale in Polish,
0:41:06 > 0:41:09they're like little dwarves and they're a symbol of the city.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12It was the way of fighting with Communism.
0:41:12 > 0:41:13They help people.
0:41:13 > 0:41:16They were putting those dwarves as some kind of protest.
0:41:16 > 0:41:21- How do they help people? - Some of them make you happy.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25And now we have, I think, over 120 of them.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28And you have to just touch it and dreaming,
0:41:28 > 0:41:30and there's dream come true.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34How can gnomes, dwarves be anything to do with a revolution?
0:41:34 > 0:41:36It was the only way to be against the government,
0:41:36 > 0:41:39so this is why the put the dwarves to remind people to smile,
0:41:39 > 0:41:42and people like them and I think it's really cool.
0:41:42 > 0:41:45Thank you, I think I really understand now.
0:41:49 > 0:41:54A traveller following my guidebook would have known that this city
0:41:54 > 0:41:57was a German industrial powerhouse and I see
0:41:57 > 0:42:02that train-manufacturing giant Bombardier continues the tradition.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06'Krzysztof Gablanowski, site manager in the transportation division,
0:42:06 > 0:42:08'has agreed to show me around.'
0:42:08 > 0:42:11A most impressive and enormous factory.
0:42:11 > 0:42:14When did any sort of production begin here?
0:42:14 > 0:42:16What is sure is the year - 1838,
0:42:16 > 0:42:20but we are not sure whether it started with the wheelbarrows
0:42:20 > 0:42:22or with the wagons!
0:42:22 > 0:42:25But we are sure about the year.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27'By 1913, this factory had grown
0:42:27 > 0:42:31'into one of the largest manufacturers of rolling stock
0:42:31 > 0:42:35'in Europe, producing its thousandth locomotive that year.'
0:42:35 > 0:42:39After that, it grow even faster, because in 1920,
0:42:39 > 0:42:43- it was 2,000 locomotives produced. - Heavens.
0:42:43 > 0:42:46- So, the rate of production had become enormous!- Right.
0:42:46 > 0:42:51'Soon after, the factory was also Europe's largest manufacturer
0:42:51 > 0:42:52'of railway carriages.'
0:42:52 > 0:42:53What do you do today?
0:42:53 > 0:42:57We keep continuing over 100 years' tradition.
0:42:57 > 0:43:02So, we produce car bodies for all the types of Bombardier locomotives.
0:43:02 > 0:43:06- Would I see any of your products in Britain?- Yes, indeed.
0:43:06 > 0:43:09We have produced, in the past, a big batch of bogie frames
0:43:09 > 0:43:12for a London Underground project.
0:43:12 > 0:43:16And today, we are producing bogie frames for Manchester trams.
0:43:16 > 0:43:19- Wroclaw to Manchester! - Right.
0:43:19 > 0:43:22'Krzysztof is taking me to see how these chassis frames,
0:43:22 > 0:43:24'known as "bogies", are produced.'
0:43:25 > 0:43:28Here, we can see the welding process.
0:43:28 > 0:43:30By using this kind of jig,
0:43:30 > 0:43:35we ensure the quality and ergonomy of the process as much as we can.
0:43:35 > 0:43:38When do you think that will be running
0:43:38 > 0:43:40on the streets of Manchester?
0:43:40 > 0:43:44In one year from now, there should be some delivered to the city.
0:43:44 > 0:43:48'And for my final stop on the tour, some on-the-job training.'
0:43:59 > 0:44:02I feel like something out of Star Wars!
0:44:04 > 0:44:06WELDING TORCH BUZZES
0:44:12 > 0:44:14'Under heat, the metal pieces melt
0:44:14 > 0:44:18'and fuse together to form a strong, clean joint.'
0:44:20 > 0:44:21That's very beautiful!
0:44:21 > 0:44:23So, how did you hold it?
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Like that? You happy?
0:44:36 > 0:44:38WELDING TORCH BUZZES
0:44:42 > 0:44:44BUZZING AND CRACKLING
0:44:55 > 0:44:57Hmmm.
0:44:57 > 0:45:00- A little bit messy!- Wow!
0:45:00 > 0:45:04'Well, I hope that doesn't end up under a Manchester tram!'
0:45:10 > 0:45:13As I leave this city with its impressive industry,
0:45:13 > 0:45:17whimsical architecture, and quirky protest movement,
0:45:17 > 0:45:19I'm pleased to see that its station
0:45:19 > 0:45:21expresses the city's defiance of convention.
0:45:23 > 0:45:24Wroclaw Station must rank
0:45:24 > 0:45:28as one of the most delightfully over-the-top that I have ever seen.
0:45:28 > 0:45:32There have been lines and platforms here since the 1850s,
0:45:32 > 0:45:34but this extraordinary castellated facade
0:45:34 > 0:45:36was added between 1899 and 1907.
0:45:36 > 0:45:40So, it was new at the time of my Bradshaw's guide
0:45:40 > 0:45:42and fully restored in 2012.
0:45:58 > 0:46:03I'm embarking on the final leg of my journey to the city of Krakow
0:46:03 > 0:46:07which my guidebook tells me was the ancient capital of Poland.
0:46:07 > 0:46:11In doing so, I will be crossing the last of the old imperial
0:46:11 > 0:46:13boundaries into Austria-Hungary.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35Austria and Hungary says Bradshaw's are "independent states
0:46:35 > 0:46:37"ruled by Francis Joseph I,
0:46:37 > 0:46:42Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary. Heir Presumptive,
0:46:42 > 0:46:47"it's Archduke Franz Ferdinand, nephew of the Emperor and King."
0:46:47 > 0:46:49Within a year of my guide book being published,
0:46:49 > 0:46:54he had been assassinated at Sarajevo plunging Europe into war
0:46:54 > 0:46:56and bringing about the dissolution
0:46:56 > 0:46:59of the three empires that occupied Poland.
0:47:16 > 0:47:21My journey takes me 160 miles south east,
0:47:21 > 0:47:23running close to the border with the Czech Republic
0:47:23 > 0:47:25towards my final destination.
0:47:50 > 0:47:54For Krakow, which is the grand finale of my Polish journey,
0:47:54 > 0:47:56Bradshaw's mentions the Grand Hotel!
0:48:14 > 0:48:17I discover that the Polish-born writer Joseph Conrad
0:48:17 > 0:48:19frequented the Grand Hotel.
0:48:19 > 0:48:22At school, I studied his novel about a journey
0:48:22 > 0:48:25into the African interior
0:48:25 > 0:48:28to discover a white man enjoying absolute power
0:48:28 > 0:48:31and seduced into total depravity.
0:48:31 > 0:48:33The Heart Of Darkness
0:48:33 > 0:48:37was then made into a horrifying Hollywood movie
0:48:37 > 0:48:41starring Marlon Brando - the 1979 epic, Apocalypse Now.
0:48:43 > 0:48:47Conrad stayed here just a few weeks before the outbreak of the First World War
0:48:47 > 0:48:52and was determined to show his young family the city he loved so much.
0:48:52 > 0:48:56As the Austro-Hungarian Empire crumbled,
0:48:56 > 0:48:58its grip loosened and this area began to enjoy
0:48:58 > 0:49:01greater political and religious freedom.
0:49:01 > 0:49:04It became known as the cultural capital of Poland.
0:49:06 > 0:49:10I'm heading into the old town to see whether I can find any trace
0:49:10 > 0:49:15of the third empire, which dominated this part of Poland in 1913.
0:49:27 > 0:49:30Once again, the architecture changes markedly.
0:49:30 > 0:49:34Russian and German influences are behind me.
0:49:34 > 0:49:36This is so very Austrian!
0:49:47 > 0:49:50That's particularly evident in this glorious square.
0:49:59 > 0:50:01Four of the cities on this Polish journey
0:50:01 > 0:50:05have been characterised by magnificent public squares.
0:50:05 > 0:50:08Maybe this one in Krakow is the best of all.
0:50:08 > 0:50:11One of the things I love about them is the chaotic juxtaposition
0:50:11 > 0:50:14of different architectural styles.
0:50:14 > 0:50:18The buildings are higgledy-piggledy and yet, somehow, it works.
0:50:18 > 0:50:23And within them, a vast space for people to be boisterous and free.
0:50:30 > 0:50:33In this Austro-Hungarian partition of Poland,
0:50:33 > 0:50:37that sense of freedom extended to the Polish religion, Catholicism.
0:50:39 > 0:50:42Krakow's most famous cleric, the recently sainted
0:50:42 > 0:50:48Karol Jozef Wojtyla, was elected Pope John Paul II in 1978.
0:50:49 > 0:50:52A year later, he visited his native Poland
0:50:52 > 0:50:55still embedded in the Soviet Empire.
0:50:55 > 0:50:57Millions flocked to see him.
0:50:59 > 0:51:03His election as Pope and return to Poland helped to fire up
0:51:03 > 0:51:07the workers' protest movement called Solidarity.
0:51:15 > 0:51:18Apparently, when you're in Krakow you must eat a pretzel.
0:51:18 > 0:51:21Thank you.
0:51:21 > 0:51:22Thank you.
0:51:22 > 0:51:27It seems that they are a left-over from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
0:51:29 > 0:51:31Personally, I can't stand them.
0:51:31 > 0:51:34But I take my duties as a tourist seriously!
0:51:34 > 0:51:36Hmm.
0:51:40 > 0:51:43That's not going to satisfy my hunger.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46I've been told that there are canteens known as "milk bars"
0:51:46 > 0:51:49to be found where they serve good, cheap food.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58Mushroom soup? Any stuffed cabbage?
0:51:58 > 0:52:00Ooh! Stuffed cabbage, yeah.
0:52:00 > 0:52:02'Around since the time of my guidebook,
0:52:02 > 0:52:04'these canteens still offer
0:52:04 > 0:52:07'substantial portions to workers today.'
0:52:07 > 0:52:09Ooh, that looks pretty good. that mushroom soup.
0:52:09 > 0:52:13'Their heyday was in the second half of the 20th century,
0:52:13 > 0:52:16'while Poland lived under Soviet-imposed Communism.'
0:52:16 > 0:52:17Thank you very much. Wow!
0:52:17 > 0:52:20I don't think I'm going to go hungry with that!
0:52:22 > 0:52:2314.20.
0:52:23 > 0:52:25So, actually, that's not quite £3.
0:52:25 > 0:52:27Thank you very much.
0:52:37 > 0:52:41So, this very basic food and these very unfussy,
0:52:41 > 0:52:44plain surroundings are about the only souvenir
0:52:44 > 0:52:48that I've found in Poland of the old Communist era
0:52:48 > 0:52:50which lasted from 1945 to 1989
0:52:50 > 0:52:54and at the time, must have seemed endless!
0:53:03 > 0:53:05At the time of my Bradshaw's,
0:53:05 > 0:53:09Poland was partitioned between three empires.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12Travellers could hardly have guessed that each of them
0:53:12 > 0:53:17would collapse, giving rise to a moment of Polish freedom.
0:53:17 > 0:53:22But the empires returned, first Nazi then Soviet.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25I'm off to visit Nowa Huta, a gift to Krakow
0:53:25 > 0:53:28from the grimmest Soviet dictator, Joseph Stalin.
0:53:32 > 0:53:37My guide is Maciek Nyzio, and my ride, a Soviet-era Trabant.
0:53:38 > 0:53:42- Hello, Maciek! How are you? - Good to see you. How are you?
0:53:42 > 0:53:45- I hope your Trabant hasn't broken down!- Everything is fine.
0:53:45 > 0:53:47I was just checking it.
0:53:47 > 0:53:51There's not much to check, because this is the whole engine.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55It's engine more like for a motorbike or a chain saw.
0:53:55 > 0:53:5626 horsepower engine!
0:53:56 > 0:53:59Battery next to fuel tank!
0:53:59 > 0:54:02The car is very elastic, too. Look!
0:54:02 > 0:54:04In case of an accident,
0:54:04 > 0:54:06I hope it will just bounce back from other car.
0:54:06 > 0:54:08- Let's hope so! - Jump in, it's open!
0:54:23 > 0:54:24Made in East Germany,
0:54:24 > 0:54:28the Trabant was the iconic car of the Communist era.
0:54:28 > 0:54:31Painfully backward by comparison with vehicles
0:54:31 > 0:54:33beyond the Iron Curtain.
0:54:33 > 0:54:37I think this car is a good example of what real Communism was.
0:54:37 > 0:54:41It's supposed to be very cheap car for the whole family, easy to get.
0:54:41 > 0:54:45Finally, tiny car was designed and they were extremely expensive!
0:54:45 > 0:54:47Maciek, which part of the city are we in, now?
0:54:47 > 0:54:52We're in the oldest part of Nowa Huta, this perfect Communistic city.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55Nowadays, it's one of the districts of Krakow.
0:54:55 > 0:54:59It was built after Second World War as a separated city.
0:54:59 > 0:55:01A gift from Joseph Stalin.
0:55:06 > 0:55:10Construction of Nowa Huta began in 1949.
0:55:10 > 0:55:14Stalin's aim was to showcase the industrial might of Communism
0:55:14 > 0:55:18and to crush the middle classes by creating a uniform,
0:55:18 > 0:55:22working-class centre, populated by industrial workers.
0:55:22 > 0:55:26It was supposed to be a city to show the power of this new system
0:55:26 > 0:55:29to convince people to this new ideology,
0:55:29 > 0:55:31a symbol of Polish Soviet friendship.
0:55:31 > 0:55:34They wanted to provide as many apartments as possible,
0:55:34 > 0:55:38and to give people jobs, work at the factory.
0:55:38 > 0:55:40That's the main entrance to the factory in front of us.
0:55:40 > 0:55:44- What was it called?- Up until 1990,it was Lenin Steelworks.
0:55:46 > 0:55:47A vast, labyrinthine plant
0:55:47 > 0:55:51with nearly 300km of railway tracks inside it,
0:55:51 > 0:55:55the Lenin Works provided employment for the proletariat.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58But by the 1980s, it had become a hotbed
0:55:58 > 0:56:01of the anti-Soviet Solidarity movement.
0:56:02 > 0:56:04This is Central Square.
0:56:04 > 0:56:07Some time ago, our authorities added a name.
0:56:07 > 0:56:10So, it's the Central Square of Ronald Reagan!
0:56:10 > 0:56:13- Ronald Reagan?- Yes, we like famous actors in Poland.
0:56:13 > 0:56:17Ronald Reagan helped to donate a lot of money
0:56:17 > 0:56:19to our opposition, to Solidarity.
0:56:19 > 0:56:21He was friend of Lech Walesa,
0:56:21 > 0:56:26our first democratically elected president after the war.
0:56:26 > 0:56:28Under the leadership of Lech Walesa,
0:56:28 > 0:56:30the Solidarity movement won the fight
0:56:30 > 0:56:35for the first partially independent elections in 1989.
0:56:35 > 0:56:39Poland became the first country in the Soviet Empire
0:56:39 > 0:56:40to abandon Communism.
0:56:42 > 0:56:44Leaving Ronald Reagan Square behind us,
0:56:44 > 0:56:48Maciek and I are reconvening in a Communist-era bar.
0:56:49 > 0:56:51Welcome to stylish restaurant!
0:56:51 > 0:56:53Mmm, it has quite an old-fashioned feel to it!
0:56:53 > 0:56:57It's one of the few places left in Communistic style here in Nowa Huta.
0:56:57 > 0:56:58GLASSES TINKLE
0:57:00 > 0:57:02I really enjoyed our ride in the Trabant.
0:57:02 > 0:57:04Our ride through recent Polish history!
0:57:04 > 0:57:08- Na zdrowie! To Poland! - To Poland, of course!
0:57:11 > 0:57:14A visitor to Krakow in 1913 might have guessed
0:57:14 > 0:57:17that the Austro-Hungarian Empire was crumbling,
0:57:17 > 0:57:22but not that it would shortly be joined in the dustbin of history
0:57:22 > 0:57:25by the German and Russian Empires, too.
0:57:25 > 0:57:28When Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939,
0:57:28 > 0:57:31that was the start of the Second World War,
0:57:31 > 0:57:37and after its end, there followed 45 years of Soviet domination.
0:57:37 > 0:57:42Polish nationalism revived when Karol Jozef Wojtyla became Pope.
0:57:42 > 0:57:45Poland became free in 1989.
0:57:45 > 0:57:47During the course of this journey,
0:57:47 > 0:57:51I've discovered that the Poles have often been oppressed,
0:57:51 > 0:57:53but their spirit is irrepressible.
0:57:58 > 0:58:02'Next time, I find my sea legs off Spain's Atlantic coast.'
0:58:02 > 0:58:05Isn't that a beautiful beast? Isn't that fantastic?
0:58:05 > 0:58:08'Sample a favourite British tipple in Oporto.'
0:58:08 > 0:58:11It's a Martinez 1953, a very rare wine.
0:58:13 > 0:58:14It's glorious!
0:58:14 > 0:58:18'And in Lisbon, investigate an assassination.'
0:58:18 > 0:58:22They're a group of armed Republicans, in five minutes,
0:58:22 > 0:58:25they almost wiped out the entire royal family.
0:58:25 > 0:58:28So, this square was the scene of appalling horror.