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Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Cracow and its District Wolne, Niepodległe i Ściśle Neutralne Miasto Kraków i jego Okręg (Polish) | |||||||||||
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| 1815–1846 | |||||||||||
 Location of the Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Cracow with its Territory within Europe | |||||||||||
 Territory of the Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Cracow with its Territory (orange) and its three neighbours (Kingdom of Prussia, Austrian Empire and Russian Empire) | |||||||||||
| Status | City-state andprotectorate ofAustria,Prussia, andRussia | ||||||||||
| Capital | Cracow (Kraków) | ||||||||||
| Common languages | |||||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic (85%) Judaism (14%) Others (1%) | ||||||||||
| Government | Constitutional republic | ||||||||||
| President of the Senate | |||||||||||
• 1815–1831 | Stanisław Wodzicki [pl] | ||||||||||
| Legislature | Assembly of Representatives (Kraków) | ||||||||||
| History | |||||||||||
| 3 May 1815 | |||||||||||
| 29 November 1830 | |||||||||||
| 16 November 1846 | |||||||||||
| Area | |||||||||||
• Total | 1,188.8 km2 (459.0 sq mi) | ||||||||||
| Currency |
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| Today part of | Poland | ||||||||||
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TheFree City of Cracow (Polish:Wolne Miasto Kraków), also known as theRepublic of Cracow (Polish:Rzeczpospolita Krakowska), and officially theFree, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Cracow and its District,[a][b] was a nominally independentcity-state that existed from 1815 to 1846. It was established by theCongress of Vienna using territory from the formerDuchy of Warsaw, which had beendivided among theRussian,Prussian andAustrian empires after the Congress in 1815. The Free City comprised the Polish city ofCracow (Kraków) and its surrounding district.
Although formally autonomous, the Free City wasjointly overseen by its three more powerful neighbours: Russia, Prussia and Austria. It served as a centre of political and intellectual activity promotingPolish independence. In 1846, after the failedKraków Uprising, Austria unilaterallyannexed the city-state and brought it under direct control.[1]
The Free City of Cracow had a population that was predominantlyPolish-speaking and overwhelmingly Catholic. Approximately 85 percent wereCatholics, 14 percent wereJews, and members of other faiths made up less than one percent. In the years following the dissolution of the Free City, the Jewish population in Cracow itself grew substantially, reaching nearly 40 percent, though the remainder continued to be almost entirely Polish-speaking Catholics.[2]
The Free City was approved and guaranteed byArticle VII of theTreaty between Austria, Prussia, and Russia of 3 May 1815.[3] The statelet received aninitial constitution at the same time,[3] revised and expanded in 1818, establishing significant autonomy for the city. TheJagiellonian University could accept students from the partitioned territory of Poland. The Free City thus became a centre of Polish political activity on the territories ofpartitioned Poland.
During theNovember Uprising of 1830–1831, Kraków was a base for the smuggling of weapons into the Russian-controlledKingdom of Poland. After the end of the uprising the autonomy of the Free City was severely restricted. The police were controlled by Austria and the election of the president had to be approved by all three powers. Cracow was subsequently occupied by the Austrian army from 1836 to 1841. After the unsuccessfulKraków uprising of 1846, the Free City was annexed by Austria on 16 November 1846 as theGrand Duchy of Kraków.
The Free City of Cracow was created from the southwest part of theDuchy of Warsaw (part of the formerKraków Department on the left bank of theVistula river). At its smallest, the city encompassed an area of 1,164 to 1,234 km2 (sources vary). It bordered theRussian Empire, theKingdom of Prussia and theAustrian Empire. It comprised the city of Kraków and its environs; the other settlements in the area administered by the Free City included 224 villages and three towns (Chrzanów,Trzebinia andNowa Góra).
In 1815, its population was 95,000; as of 1843, it had a population of 146,000. 85% of them were Catholics, 14% Jews, while other religions comprised 1%. The most notableszlachta family was thePotocki family ofmagnates, who had a mansion inKrzeszowice.
The Free City was aduty-free area, allowed to trade with Russia, Prussia and Austria. In addition to noduties, it had very lowtaxes, and various economic privileges were granted by the neighbouring powers. As such, it became one of the European centres ofeconomic liberalism and supporters oflaissez-faire, attracting new enterprises and immigrants, which resulted in impressive growth of the city. Weavers fromPrussian Silesia had often used the Free City as acontraband outlet to avoid tariff barriers along the borders of Austria and theKingdom of Poland, but with Austria's annexation of the Free City came a significant drop in Prussian textile exports.[4]
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The statelet received an initial constitution in 1815 which had mainly been devised by PrinceAdam Jerzy Czartoryski. The constitution was revised and expanded in 1818, establishing significant autonomy for the city. Legislative power was vested in the Assembly of Representatives (Izba Reprezentantów), and the executive power was given to a Governing Senate.
In 1833, in the aftermath of theNovember Uprising and the foiled plan by some Polish activists to start an uprising in Cracow, the partitioning powers issued a new, much more restrictive constitution: the number of senators and deputies was lowered and their competences limited, while the commissars of the partitioning powers had their competences expanded.Freedom of the press was also curtailed. In 1835 a secret treaty between the three partitioning powers presented a plan in which in case of additional Polish unrest, Austria was given the right to occupy and annex the city. That would take place after theKraków Uprising of 1846.
The law was based on theNapoleonic Code andFrench commercial and criminal law. The official language wasPolish. In 1836 the local police force was disbanded and replaced by Austrian police; in 1837 the partitioning powers curtailed the competences of the local courts which refused to bow down to their demands.[citation needed]
The Free City of Cracow was the first purelyrepublican government in thehistory of Poland.
Media related toFree City of Kraków at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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50°3′42″N19°56′14″E / 50.06167°N 19.93722°E /50.06167; 19.93722
