Enchanted Cab Park (Dominican Ponds)
Explorer of Kraków's Parks · no. 12
Park type: water. In this park you can collect a stamp in the "Explorer of Kraków's Parks" campaign run by Kraków's Municipal Greenery Authority (ZZM).
History
Park Zaczarowanej Dorożki (the Enchanted Cab Park) in Prądnik Czerwony lies on the site of a former manor farm that belonged to the Dominican order from the 15th century. Around 1604 the order moved its main buildings to the area of today's church of St John the Baptist, and here it decided to build a mill and fish ponds, making use of the Prądnik river. In 1655, during the Swedish Deluge, most of the buildings were burnt down, but the mill was quickly rebuilt. In the 19th century the wooden mill was replaced with a brick one, whose structure survives to this day.
In 1950 the estate was nationalised, and in the 1970s, when the housing estate was being built, the ponds were drained and filled in and a park was laid out. In the 1990s the land was returned to the Dominicans. The park got its name when the neighbouring street was named after Jan Kaczara.
Did you know?
In 2010 a pond recalling the park's history was created, and a fountain in the shape of a mill wheel was placed where the paths cross.