The Satellite Industrial City of Nowa Huta was one of two pre-planned Socialist Realism cities ever built (the other is Magnitogorsk in Russia).
Whilst backpacking Krakow, I highly recommend visiting the Schindler’s Factory Museum and Kazimierz, Krakow’s Jewish Quarter.
The concept of Nowa Huta was:
“We are going to build a steelworks and later we are going to build a cigarette factory and then build a cement works. And the workers are going to need somewhere to live”. And thus Nowa Huta was established.
Nowa Huta was created in 1949. The Lenin Steel Works opened in 1954. By the 1970s, it was the biggest steel plant in Poland, producing 7 million tonnes of steel a year.
Similarities to Milton Keynes
Slightly less exciting is Milton Keynes, which was built to alleviate the London Housing Crisis. They are still building, and there is still a housing crisis.
The New City of Milton Keynes was created in the 1970s. The idea was to build a shopping centre in the middle, surround it with lots of housing estates and industrial parks on the perimeter of its boundary, incorporating the towns of Bletchley where I am from and the Home of the Codebreakers, Stony Stratford and Wolverton and a handful of villages such as Loughton, Shenley Church End and Woughton.
Other similarities between Milton Keynes and Nowa Huta are wide boulevards with lots of trees and parks, and some pretty stark housing.
Another similarity is the lack of a traditional ‘downtown’.
Milton Keynes has a shopping mall and a theatre district at its heart.
The Lenin Steel Works gave its name to the city. Nowa Huta translates as New Steel Mill but after the fall of communism, it was renamed as the Tadeusz Sendzimir Steelworks. It occupies more than 1000 hectares but is a 40-minute walk from the centre.
Beyond the Steel Mill and forgotten Lenin statues, there are many places of notable interest to keep the curious backpacker occupied for the day.
So let’s take a trip back in time and explore this communist-era city.
Top Sights in Nowa Huta
Check out these top sights:
1. Plac Centralny
The other focal point for Nowa Huta is the Plac Centralny, a small park, now called Ronald Reagan Central Square, where a statue of Lenin once stood and was the location of the planned town hall, which never happened. But there is little else there these days.
2. Aleja Róż
The Aleja Róż Boulevard runs from the Plac Centralny to Bulwarowa and is the most famous street in Nowa Huta.
3. Swit Cinema
The Swit Cinema was built between 1951 and 1953 and remained in use until 2002. It became a small shopping arcade until 2012 when it went under a complete renovation
4. Ludowy Theatre
The Ludowy Theatre is textbook communist architecture.
5. IS-2 Tank
Yes, exactly what looks great in any neighbourhood. The IS-2 tank stands outside a military museum. Closed when I was there.
6. Our Lady Queen of Poland Church
Even the churches here are full-on brutal which I don’t understand because in Russia churches and cathedrals are built with flair and elegance.
There’s a little cafe restaurant attached. Nice place to get a coffee or a plate of wedges.
7. Lenin Steelworks
I briefly wrote about the steelworks above but to elaborate a little more, it was also an important centre for the anticommunist resistance, who organised numerous strikes and street demonstrations in Nowa Huta.
It was purchased by the Mittal Steel Company in 2005 and is now owned by Arcelor-Mittal, the largest steelmaker in the world, so you won’t be able to just wander in and you will be swiftly told as much, by very stern Polish security guards but it is said that you can organise a visit to some parts of the factory.
There are 2 imposing administration buildings on either side of the main entrance at the end of Aleja Solidarności.
8. Nowa Huta Underground
Nowa Huta was built with a massive network of underground tunnels and nuclear bunkers which were not much more than air raid shelters.
Located within the Technical College, they have opened the Nowa Huta Underground Museum, where you can learn about the nuclear bunkers here in Poland and around the world. There was even a shout-out to the Hack Green Nuclear Bunker in the UK.
9. Nowa Huta Museum
As you walk to the Nowa Huta Museum, you can see some of the ventilation shafts from the underground bunkers.
The Nowa Huta Museum has permanent exhibitions about life in Communist Poland.
There and Away:
From Krakow Tram #4 takes you right to the Plac Centralny but you could ride it right to the gates of the steelworks and save yourself some time.
You can buy 20, 40 or 90-minute tickets as well as 24-hour tickets (and more) from the ticket machines found at most stops and you must validate the tickets when you board.
Getting Ground:
Once in Nowa Huta, I walked everywhere but it’s very spread out, so if you follow suit, you’ll be racking up your steps. I estimated that I put in around 20km, with all the exploring and backtracking. A solid day’s backpacking for sure.
But it’s probably best to find out the trams you need before you go and save your legs!
Is Nowa Huta worth visiting
Undoubtedly so. My friend Jonny Blair, whom I met a few days later, lives in Poland and runs the Northern Irishman in Poland blog. He recommended this place to me. Go to Nowa Huta and be the first travel blogger to blog pack it.
I love visiting these wacky places as much as he does, and am wondering if there are any jokes about Nowa Huta like there are about Milton Keynes.