A "Dragon Trail" is being created in Krakow , which is directly modeled on the Wroclaw dwarves. The dragons are to relate their attributes to the places where they will be located. Ten locations have been selected for now, with an additional spare six, perhaps for future use.
The "Trail of Krakow Dragons" project was submitted to the 2021 Citizens ' Budget. It was a local project, planned for the Grzegórzki district. In the project's justification, we read about the promotional potential of the Cracow Wawel dragon, which can be just as interesting as the Wroclaw dwarf.
The location of the dragons is to directly influence their attributes - a surveyor's dragon is to stand at Grunwaldzka Street, and a robot dragon at Lema Street. In this way, the new Krakow attraction is to become interesting for the youngest, while showing the functions of buildings and places in the immediate vicinity. Each figurine is to be between twenty and fifty centimeters long. Next to the dragons will be QR codes, which will inform us about the historical and cultural context of the place.
photographer's dragon project
photo. materials of the Department of Culture and National Heritage © City Hall of Krakow
The dragons are intended to encourage tourists to visit this part of the city as well - Grzegórzki and Wesoła. The project was selected in the BO, and its cost is one hundred and forty thousand zlotys. The figures were designed by well-known illustrators Andrzej Mleczko and Edward Lutczyn, and made by sculpture lecturers at Krakow's Academy of Fine Arts: Professor Jan Tutaj and Dr. Jacek Dudek.
wrocławization of Cracow
The idea of creating a dragon trail was and is popular - this is evidenced by the social reaction on social networks or the very fact that the project was selected for implementation. Leaving aside the form of the dragons themselves and their aesthetic value, it's hard not to ask why not try to create an authorial and original formula worthy of Krakow, instead of copying the Wroclaw solution. The Wawel Dragon sculpture by Boleslaw Chromy recently turned fifty years old, and every June a Dragon Parade takes place next to Wawel Castle - an event designed for children, during which rows of dragon figures fly over the city.
It's hard to understand how a Krakow dragon will be differentiated from a Wroclaw dwarf - yet somehow it should be. Will we get a more diverse form combined with branding? Will Cracovians be able to participate more broadly in the project, if only by choosing locations, sculpture designs or attributes? How does Krakow want to manage this?
geodetic dragon project
photo. materials of the Department of Culture and National Heritage, © City Hall of Krakow
It is worth asking these questions even before the project grows to a larger size. The Krakow dragon as a symbol of the city creates many possibilities here, but even more doubts. It's not worth duplicating the Wroclaw solution (as the London Eye was copied in Debniki), but it can be adapted, changed to suit Krakow's conditions.
