Embankments of the Vistula

Built on both sides of the Vistula River in 1907-1913 to a design by Roman Ingarden, the Embankments of the Vistula were to serve the municipalities of Kraków and Podgórze as flood barriers. Besides that primary function, they were a part of the planned Danube – Dniester canal which was never completed as works were interrupted by the war and the breakdown of the Habsburg Empire. The inner, lower, boulevard walls and the outer, higher ones featured paved roads and tracks connected by 6 m (20 ft) wide loading ramps and stairs built for pedestrians. It was only much later that the embankments turned into elegant promenades, although adaptation works had already begun during the second world war.