Beneath the Stefan Żeromski Specialist Hospital lies one of Poland’s most remarkable Cold War shelters—widely considered the only underground emergency medical unit of its kind open to visitors. Designed to function as a fully operational wartime hospital, it reveals how medical care would have been delivered in the event of a nuclear or military crisis.

Covering nearly 600 m², this is one of the largest shelters in Nowa Huta. Inside, you will see a detailed reconstruction of a complete underground medical facility, including an operating room, sterilization area, treatment rooms, pharmacy, decontamination baths, and patient wards.

Unlike traditional museum exhibits, many elements here are interactive, allowing you to engage with the equipment and experience how this hidden hospital was designed to operate under extreme conditions.

The Command Post of the Works Self-Defense Unit is one of the most unique Cold War shelters in Nowa Huta. This remarkably well-preserved bunker served as the headquarters for coordinating emergency response and overseeing critical industrial operations of the Kombinat.

Equipped almost entirely with original late-1950s- early 1970s furnishings, the shelter offers an authentic glimpse into how crisis management was organized during times of threat. Inside, you will find a series of specialized rooms, including a command center, секретariat, telephone exchange, and reporting station—each designed to ensure continuous communication and control in emergency conditions.

The shelter in Building Z is a classic example of a Cold War civil defense refuge designed for employees of the Administrative Center in Nowa Huta. It features a series of simple but functional shelter rooms with basic seating, sanitary facilities, and multiple air filtration systems that reflect everyday preparedness for crisis situations.

Over time, the bunker was partially upgraded in response to the growing threat of nuclear conflict, with improved filtration units, pressure relief chambers, and reinforced ventilation systems equipped with blast valves. These modifications illustrate how civil defense infrastructure evolved throughout the Cold War era.

The visit begins in Building S and includes access to the underground tunnel connecting both structures, as well as stairwells and original access points. You will also see a former Civil Defense training room, once used to prepare staff for emergencies and now displaying a collection of original equipment and historical exhibits.

A striking example of socialist realist urban planning. Designed as the focal point of the district, it was intended to serve both as a grand public space and a symbol of the ideal communist city.

Surrounded by monumental architecture, wide avenues, and perfectly symmetrical layouts, the square reflects the vision of post-war planners who aimed to create a self-sufficient “city within a city.” From here, key routes radiate outward, connecting residential areas, green spaces, and industrial zones.

Today, Plac Centralny remains one of the most characteristic landmarks of Nowa Huta, offering a unique insight into the ambitions, aesthetics, and everyday life of communist-era Poland.

Just a short walk from Plac Centralny lies the elegant Aleja Róż—once one of the most representative promenades of socialist Kraków. Lined with greenery and designed as a prestigious public space, it was originally intended as a place for leisure, parades, and official gatherings. For many years, it also featured a monument to Lenin, symbolizing the ideological importance of the district.

At the end of the avenue was to stand the Town Hall of Nowa Huta—a monumental administrative building that was never constructed. Its absence is a telling reminder of how many ambitious elements of the original urban plan remained unfinished. Today, the open space where it was meant to rise highlights the contrast between the grand vision of the socialist city and the realities of its development.

One of the most striking Cold War-era landmarks in Nowa Huta is the historic Soviet tank displayed near People’s Theatre.

This IS-2 tank is a powerful symbol of the Soviet Red Army’s role in World War II and the post-war establishment of the socialist system in Poland. Positioned in a prominent public space, it reflects how military history and political ideology were deeply embedded in the urban landscape of Nowa Huta during the communist era.

Today, the tank remains an important historical monument, offering visitors a tangible link to the complex and often controversial history of the 20th century in Kraków.

A short distance away stands one of the most significant landmarks in Nowa Huta—the Church of the Ark of the Lord.

Built in defiance of the original communist plan for a strictly atheist model city, it became a powerful symbol of resistance, faith, and community identity. Its construction was the result of years of struggle by local residents, who fought for the right to build a church in a district originally designed without any religious institutions.

Today, the church stands as a landmark of both architectural and historical significance, representing the social changes that eventually transformed the ideological landscape of Nowa Huta and Poland as a whole.