The Hate-Love Relationship with Pigeons in Krakow
If you ever been to Krakow Main Market Square than for sure you have seen the committee of pigeons tapping about the place, searching for food from the willing tourists and locals. Pigeons in Krakow arouse 2 contrasting emotions in people: they either love them, take photos of them and feed them OR they release great negative emotions and people just want to see them disappear.
I believe it is especially hard for people living in the areas where they flock often, like the Main Market Square (Rynek) in Krakow. For the people that are also balcony owners, they are a nuisance and they certainly do not arouse any sympathy when they poop around the place… Of course, the people and the City of Krakow have tried to limit the damage by placing in spikes but they have grown accustomed to that as well!
Krakow Pigeons = Local Attraction
You can see them popping their head from the postcards and you can see and hear them on any video taken in the Main Square. They are inevitable! They can even be considered an attraction for the kids – as they always love feeding them and running around them, trying to catch them. I know my Little LadyBug Baby Girl loves chasing them about!
For a certain amount of time, during communist times even, food for them could be bought right next to the florists that were on the Rynek. Now the feeding of the pigeons is discouraged but there are some men that wander around, selling small dosages for the kids to buy and feed the birds.
The Legend of Krakow Pigeons
You might not know, but the Krakow Legend says that these pigeons are actually knights! The legend was told by prof. Michał Rożek in the recommendable “Silva Rerum“. At the end of the 13th century, Prince Henry IV of the Right (Henryk IV Prawy) sought to unite Polish lands, which were then divided into districts. To do this he needed to be crowned. Coronation, in turn, required payment of the emperor or pope, and these were not cheap things. The prince had no money, so he borrowed it from the witch from Zwierzyniec. This decided on a rather unusual pledge.
Henryk’s courtiers and knights, whom she changed into pigeons, became security for his pledge. She promised that she would restore them to their former form when the king would return from Rome and repay the debt. However, during the expedition, he went and drank everything he borrowed. Henryk returned to Kraków, but he did not pay the debt. The courtiers and knights remained pigeons. And they are with us to this day, poor things…
How about you? Have you ever been to Krakow and fed the knights? 🙂
Yours truly,
The Twisted Red LadyBug That Loves Krakow Legends
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