Kraków ([’krakuf]; variant English spelling Cracow; in full Royal Capital City of Kraków, Polish: Królewskie StoÅ�eczne Miasto Kraków, during Austrian rule: Krakau) ) is one of the oldest and largest cities of Poland, with a 2004 population of 780,000. This historic city is situated on the Vistula (WisÅ�a) River at the foot of Wawel Hill in the southerly region of Little Poland (MaÅ�opolska). It is the capital of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (województwo maÅ�opolskie) (since 1999); previously it was the capital of Kraków Voivodeship (since the 14th century).

Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading scientific, cultural and artistic centres of the country, the former seat of the Polish kings and national capital. It’s considered by many to still be the heart of Poland. Krakow is also a major centre of local and international tourism, attracting seven million visitors per year.

Landmarks:

The old city of Kraków (pol. Stare Miasto) has a rich architecture, mostly Renaissance with some examples of Baroque and Gothic. Krakow’s palaces, churches and mansions display a richness of color, architectural details, stained glass, paintings, sculptures, and furnishings.

Among the most notable of the city’s hundreds of historic buildings are: the Wawel Royal Castle and Cathedral on Wawel Hill, where kings are buried; the medieval Old Town with its beautiful Market Square (200 meters on a side); plentitude of old churches and museums; the 14th century buildings of the Jagiellonian University; as well as Kazimierz, the historical centre of Kraków’s Jewish religious and social life.

The Gothic St. Mary’s Church (KoÅ�cióÅ� Mariacki) stands by the market place. It was built in the 14th century and boasts a famous wooden altar carved by Wit Stwosz. Every hour, a trumpet call, the hejnaÅ� mariacki, is sounded from the church’s main tower.

Kraków hosts many annual artistic events, including some of international significance, such as the festival of Short Feature Films, Biennial of Graphics, and the Jewish Culture Festival. There are several active theaters:

* The Old Theatre
* the Slowacki Theatre
* Kraków Opera
* Kraków Operetta

Nearby points of interest include the salt mine in Wieliczka, the Tatra mountains, the historic city of Cz�stochowa, the former concentration camp at Auschwitz, and Ojcowski National Park.

Kraków contains 28 museums and art galleries, such as the National Museum and Czartoryski Museum.

Kraków is a major centre of education. Today there are 18 university-level institutions with about 10,000 faculty and 170,000 students. That numbers are annually increasing.

Notable modern artists from or living in Kraków include:

- Ewa Demarczyk
- Tadeusz Kantor
- Nigel Kennedy
- S�awomir Mrożek
- Krzysztof Penderecki
- Zbigniew Preisner
- Wis�awa Szymborska
- Maciej Male�czuk
- Zbigniew Wodecki
- Adam Marczynski

Historic districts:

The oldest parts of Kraków, united in late 18th century are:

- Old Town (Stare Miasto) - the area once contained within the city walls, now encircled by a park known as Planty
- Wawel - a limestone hill south of the Old Town, the site of the Royal Castle and the cathedral
- Stradom and Kazimierz - south of Wawel; the latter was once divided into Christian and Jewish quarters
- Kleparz - north of the Old Town

Areas added in the 19th and 20th centuries include:

- Podgórze - built across the Vistula by the Austrians in the 19th century
- Nowa Huta - built east of Kraków by the Communist regime after the Second World War

History

The earliest known settlement on the present site of Kraków was established on Wawel hill, and dates back to the 4th century. Legend attributes the town’s establishment to the mythical ruler Krak, who built it above a cave occupied by a ravenous dragon.

Before the Polish state existed, Krakow was the capital of the tribe of Vistulans, subjugated for a short period by Great Moravia. Krakow’s first appearance in historical records dates back to the 8th century, and notes that the prince of the Vistulians was baptized. The first mention of the name dates to 966, when Abraham ben Jacob mentioned it as a notable commercial centre.

After Great Moravia was destroyed by the Hungarians, Kraków became part of the kingdom of Bohemia. By the end of the 10th century, the city was a major center of trade. Around this time, it was incorporated into the holdings of the Piast dynasty of Poland. Several brick buildings were also constructed, including a castle, Romanesque churches, a cathedral, a basilica, and the St. Felix and Adaukt Church.

In 1038, Kraków became the seat of the Polish government. In 1079 on a hillock in nearby Ska�ka, the Bishop of Kraków, saint Stanislaus of Szczepanów, was slain by order of Polish king Boles�aw II the Bold. Two hundred years later the town was almost entirely destroyed in the Tatar invasions.

In 1257, the city was rebuilt, in a form which has remained practically unaltered, and received city rights under Magdeburg Law. But in 1259 and 1287 the city was again destroyed by the mongols. The year 1311 saw a rebellion against Poland’s King WÅ�adysÅ�aw I. It was organised by Wójt Albert and involved mostly German-speaking citizens of Kraków. The rebellion cost Poland the city of GdaÅ�sk, which was taken by the Teutonic Order, but German-speakers lost their political ambitions and began to Polonize.

Kraków rose to new prominence in 1364, when Casimir III of Poland founded the University of Kraków, the second in central Europe after the University of Prague. There had been a cathedral school under the auspices of the city’s bishop since 1150. The city continued to grow under the joint Lithuanian-Polish Jagiellon dynasty (1386-1572). As the capital of a powerful state, it became a flourishing center of science and the arts. Many works of Renaissance art and architecture were created here during that time.

In 1475 delegates of the elector George the Rich of Bavaria came to Kraków to negotiate the marriage of Hedwig, the daughter of King Casimir IV Jagiello to George the Rich. Hedwig traveled for two months to Landshut in Bavaria, where an elaborate marriage celebration, the Landshut Wedding (Landshuter Hochzeit) took place.
Renaissance

In 1468 the Italian humanist Filip Callimachus came to Kraków, where he worked as the teacher of the children of Kazimierz IV. In 1488 the imperial Poet Laureate and humanist Conrad Celtes founded the Sodalitas Litterarum Vistulana, a learned society based on the Roman Acadiemies. In 1489 Veit Stoss of Nuremberg finished his work on the Great Altar of the St. Mary’s Church. He later also wrought a marble sarcophagus for Casimir IV. Numerous other artists, mainly from Nuremberg and Italy (Francesco Florentino, Bartholommeo Berecci, Santi Gucci, Mateo Gucci, Bernardo Morando, Giovanni Baptista di Quadro etc.), worked in Kraków. By 1500, Haller had established a printing press in the city.

In 1520, Johan Behem made the largest churchbell in Poland, named the Sigismund Bell after king Sigismund I. At the same time Hans Dürer, younger brother of Albrecht Dürer, was Sigismund’s court painter. Hans von Kulmbach made the altar for the Johannis Church.
Decline

In 1572, king Sigismund II died childless, and the throne passed to Sigismund III of the Swedish House of Vasa. Kraków’s importance began to decline, accelerated by the pillaging of the city during the Swedish invasion, and an outbreak of plague that left 20,000 of the city’s residents dead. Sigismund III moved his capital to Warsaw in 1596.
After the partition of Poland

In the late 18th century, the weakened Polish state was absorbed by its more politically vigorous neighbors, Russia, the Austrian Habsburg Empire, and the Prussia. Kraków became part of the Austrian province of Galicia. Tadeusz KoÅ�ciuszko initiated a revolt, the KoÅ�ciuszko insurrection, in Kraków’s market in 1794. The Prussian army put down the revolt, and looted Polish royal treasure kept in the city.

When Napoleon Bonaparte of the French Empire captured what had once been Poland, he established the Duchy of Warsaw (1809) as an independent but subordinate state. The Congress of Vienna (1815) restored the partition of Poland, but gave Kraków independence as the Free City of Kraków. The city again became the focus of a struggle for national sovereignty in 1846, during the Kraków Uprising. The uprising failed to spread outside the city to other Polish-inhabited lands, and was put down, resulting in Kraków’s annexation by Austria.

After the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Austria granted autonomy to Galicia, making Polish a language of government and establishing a provincial diet. As this form of Austrian rule was more benevolent than that exercised by Russia and Prussia, Kraków became a Polish national symbol and a center of culture and art, known frequently as the “Polish Athens” (Polskie Ateny) or “Polish Mecca” to which Poles would flock to revere the symbols and monuments of Kraków’s (and Poland’s) great past. Several important commemorations took place in Kraków during the period from 1866-1914, including the 500th Anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald in 1910, in which world-renowned pianist Ignacy Paderewski unveiled a monument. Famous painters, poets and writers of this period include Jan Matejko, StanisÅ�aw Ignacy Witkiewicz, Jan Kasprowicz, Juliusz Kossak, Wojciech Kossak StanisÅ�aw WyspiaÅ�ski, and StanisÅ�aw Przybyszewski. The latter two were leaders of Polish modernism.
20th century

Fin-de-siecle Kraków was famously the center of Polish nationalism and culture, but the city was also becoming a modern metropolis during this period. In 1901 the city installed running water and witnessed the introduction of its first electric streetcars. (Warsaw’s first electric streetcars came in 1907.) The most significant political and economic development of the first decade of the 20th century in Kraków was the creation of Greater Kraków (Wielki Kraków), the incorporation of the surrounding suburban communities into a single adminisitrative unit. The incorporation was overseen by Juliusz Leo, the city’s energetic mayor from 1904 to his death in 1918. Thanks to migration from the countryside and the fruits of incorporation from 1910 to 1915, Kraków’s population doubled in just fifteen years, from approx. 91,000 to 183,000 in 1915. Russian troops besieged Kraków during the first winter of the First World War, and thousands of residents left the city for Moravia and other safer locales, generally returning in the spring and summer of 1915. During the war Kraków Legions led by Józef PiÅ�sudski set out to fight for the liberation of Poland, in alliance with Austrian and German troops. The Austrians and Germans lost the war, but the terms of the Treaty of Versailles (1919) established the first sovereign Polish state in over a century.

Poland was partitioned again in 1939, at the outset of the Second World War, and Nazi German forces entered Kraków in September of that year. It became the capital of the General Government, a colonial authority under the leadership of Hans Frank. The occupation took a heavy toll, particularly on the city’s cultural heritage. On one occasion, over 150 professors and other academics of the Jagiellonian University were summoned to a meeting, arrested and dispatched to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen (see also Sonderaktion Krakau). Many relics and monuments of national culture were destroyed or looted. Major concentration camps near Kraków included Plaszow and Auschwitz, to which many Polish Jews were sent. Specific events surrounding the Jewish ghetto in Kraków and the nearby concentration camps were famously portrayed in the film Schindler’s List, itself based on a book by Thomas Keneally entitled Schindler’s Ark.

Thanks to a manoeuvre by advancing Soviet forces, Kraków escaped complete destruction during the German withdrawal and some historic buildings and works of art were saved. After the conclusion of the war, however, the government of the People’s Republic of Poland ordered the construction of the country’s largest steel mill in the suburb of Nowa Huta. This is regarded as an attempt to diminish the influence of Kraków’s intellectual and artistic circles by attracting the working class.

Kraków’s population has quadrupled since the end of the war, and it is still regarded as the cultural capital of Poland. In 1978, UNESCO placed Kraków on the list of World Heritage Sites. In the same year, on October 16th, the city’s archbishop, Karol Wojtyla, was elevated to the papacy. He was the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.
21st century

Offshoring of IT work from other nations has become important to the economy of Poland in recent years, and Kraków is a key center for this business activity. There are about 20 large offshore centers in Kraków, including centers serving IBM, General Electric, and Motorola, along with British- and German-based firms.

Politics
Kraków constituency

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Kraków constituency

* Andrzej Adamczyk, PiS
* Bogus�aw Bosak, PiS
* Barbara Bubula, PiS
* Kazimierz Chrzanowski, SLD
* Jerzy Feliks Fedorowicz, PO
* Marek Boles�aw Kotlinowski, LPR
* Jacek Krupa, PO
* Ireneusz Ra�, PO
* Jan Maria Rokita, PO
* Monika Ryniak, PiS
* Tomasz Szczypi�ski, PO
* Zbigniew Wassermann, PiS
* Zbigniew Ziobro, PiS

Education

Kraków is home to several major state universities and several dozen other schools of higher education. It is also home to Jagiellonian University, the first Polish university and one of the oldest and most prominent universities in Central Europe. Apart from the local population, the schools of Kraków provide education for inhabitants of the region of Southern Poland.

Among the most notable schools in Kraków are:

* Jagiellonian University
* AGH University of Science and Technology
* Cracow University of Economics
* Akademia Muzyczna w Krakowie
* Akademia Pedagogiczna w Krakowie
* Akademia Rolnicza w Krakowie
* Akademia Sztuk Pieknych
* Pa�stwowa Wyższa Szko�a Teatralna w Krakowie
* Papieska Akademia Teologiczna
* Politechnika Krakowska

Culture

Kraków is considered by many to be Poland�s capital of culture. The city boasts one of the best museums in the country and a number of famous theaters. It has counted among its residents two Nobel Prize winners in literature: (Wis�awa Szymborska and Czes�aw Mi�osz). It is also home to one of the world�s oldest and most distinguished universities. Kraków was named a European City of Culture in 2000.

One may find plenty of places to drink, eat, and have a good time in Kraków. They are situated mostly in the city’s historic Old Town district. Recently more trendy spots have been launched in the nearby Kazimierz quarter.

Notable Kraków restaurants:

* Wierzynek restaurant - The oldest Polish restaurant (1364)
* Wentzl restaurant
* Hawe�ka restaurant

Kraków night clubs: Kraków has a lively club scene with Friday and Saturday nights being the high point of the week. Kraków’s clubs are rather cozy and few places can seat more than 100. Some Kraków DJs enjoy local fame and those from other parts of Poland and abroad spin occasionally in the city. Live entertainment fits all tastes. Jazz remains surprisingly popular and there is no lack of places for fans of rock, modern pop, ballads, etc. Plenty of places are also available for an older audience to enjoy themselves.

Symbols

The city’s official symbols are the coat of arms, the flag (see top of this page), the seal and the banner. In addition to these, a number of semi-official and unofficial symbols, such as the “Cracovia” logo used in the Kraków’s promotional materials or an image of the Wawel dragon wearing a Kraków cap, are also used.

Sons and daughters of the city

* Alexander Abusch
* Stefan Banach
* Daniel Bogusz
* Boles�aw III Wrymouth
* Krzysztof Borek
* Carl Carl
* Napoleon Cybulski physiologist
* Ewa Demarczyk
* Robert Gadocha
* Konrad Ga�ka
* Mordechai Gebirtig
* Henryk Grossmann
* Ludwig Gumplowicz, sociologist, born 1838
* Friedrich Halm
* Wojciech Has
* Roman Haubenstock-Ramati
* Zvi Hecker
* Jerzy Hoffman
* Józef Hofmann
* Stanislaus Hosius
* Roman Ingarden
* Jan I Olbracht
* Saint Casimir
* Tadeusz Kantor
* Jan II Kazimierz
* Zygmunt Konieczny
* Ewa Lipska
* Jan Matejko
* Edward Ochab
* Karin Reschke
* Jan Rokita
* Zygmunt II
* Jerzy Stuhr
* Karl Freiherr von Urban
* W�adys�aw II Jagie��o
* Wanda Wasilewska