Krakow's Hall of Halls

The Sukiennice, which translates as the Cloth or Drapers' Hall, is a Renaissance style structure that's become one of the most popular visuals of the one-time capital city. That's largely because Sukiennice is one of the main venues used to entertain the elite and powerful, including such recent visitors as Japan's Emperor Akihito and Great Britain's Prince Charles. Still, as the name applies, the hall is historically known as a center of trade and commerce.

Going back about 600 years, Sukiennice was a major international trade center utilized by merchants from countries throughout the region. Traders came as far as the Orient to trade with local and western Europeans. At the time, Krakow was the capital of Poland and one of Europe's most remarkable early metropolises.

Over the centuries, Poland suffered through several partitions and wars and the capital moved to Warsaw, and so the great hall came to look the worse for wear. About a century ago, however, Sukiennice finally got the restoration work it needed to become a proud city symbol once again. You may no longer be able to buy authentic Chinese silk and spices in the hall, but it's still a major merchant center. It's just now Sukiennice has become a combination mall and marketplace that sells, among other things, the kind of souvenirs that attract tourist like catnip. Still, it's not all key chains and t-shirts, which makes Sukiennice worthy of a stroll down its bustling aisles.