For centuries Krakow was the seat of Polish kings, and the city still carries that role in its plan. This first part begins on Wawel hill, where the royal castle and the cathedral of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus stand together above the Vistula, the coronation church and burial place of monarchs, bishops and national figures. From there the film follows the old royal route into the Main Market Square, one of the largest medieval squares in Europe, dominated by the Cloth Hall and by Saint Mary's Basilica, from whose tower a trumpet call is sounded every hour and breaks off mid-phrase. Around them lie the streets of a university town whose academic tradition is among the oldest on the continent. Unlike Warsaw, Krakow came through the twentieth century without wholesale destruction, so its fabric is authentic rather than reconstructed. The historic centre was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List among the very first entries, and this programme sets out the reasons why.
