A MODERN TOWN
From the events of the Royal Free Town of Podgórze 1784–1915

After hard work and intensive studying, the inhabitants of Podgórze wanted to rest. They were able to use the beneficial nature and wealth of Krzemionki. They strolled along the walkways created around the former royal pond by the mayor Florian Nowacki, the boulevards next to the Vistula and the town park opened in 1896 due to the efforts of Wojciech Bednarski. This park, located in the oldest quarry in Podgórze, was the first example in Galicia of the reclamation of mining land. Established in 1891, the Polish Falcon Gymnastic Society in Podgórze promoted a healthy lifestyle, trying to change the opinion of gymnastics as something “if not evil, then at least excessive and almost superfluous”. Falcon organized sports activities for pupils of the folk and secondary schools. It invited people to the impressive building at 17 Sokolska Street for meetings, evening dances, presentations of amateur dramatic groups, concerts and national celebrations. In 1913, it began a series of cinema presentations. Children and adolescents under 16 were not allowed into the screenings that began after 8 pm. The films were censured by the state and could not contain indecent pictures. The translation of titles from foreign languages into Polish was also supervised.

Thanks to the activity of the Vacation Camp Society for pupils of the middle schools of Kraków and Podgórze, youths went on organized summer camps. The directors of the T. Kościuszki Male Departmental School invited children from the folk school to the so-called Vacation Corps, in which they participated in trips, games and joint fun. Under the patronage of the town leaders, charity balls, costume games and holiday celebrations were organized, including the Rękawka festival characteristic for Podgórze.

It had been known for many years that Krzemionki was a rich source of mineral water, however, only Antoni Mateczny made it a virtue of the town. In 1905 by Kalwaryjska Street, the balneotherapy “Sulphur-Salt Bath Centre” was opened, in a building built especially for this purpose, with electronic lighting and central heating, surrounded by a beautiful park. The Mateczny Health Resort possessed luxury top-class cabins, equipped with porcelain English-style baths as well as second-class bathrooms with enamelled iron baths. The patients after bathing were invited to rest in comfortable rooms. In the high season from May to October, the resort had up to four hundred guests, who wanted to treat rheumatism, skin diseases, colds or simply enjoy warm baths.