Kraków,[a][b] officially theRoyal Capital City of Kraków,[c] is thesecond-largest and one of the oldest cities inPoland.[11] Situated on theVistula River inLesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 (2023), with approximately 8 million additional people living within a 100 km (62 mi) radius.[12] Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596[13] and has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life. Cited as one ofEurope's most beautiful cities,[14] itsOld Town was declared aUNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, one of the world's first sites granted the status.
The name of Kraków is traditionally derived fromKrakus (Krak, Grakch), the legendary founder of Kraków and a ruler of theearly Medieval tribe ofVistulans.[25] In Polish,Kraków is anarchaicpossessive form ofKrak and essentially means "Krak's (town)".[26] The true origin of the name is highly disputed among historians, with many theories in existence and no unanimous consensus.[25] The first recorded mention of Prince Krakus (then written asGrakch) dates back to 1190, although the town existed as early as the seventh century, when it was inhabited by the tribe of Vistulans.[15] It is possible that the name of the city is derived from the wordkruk, meaning 'crow' or 'raven'.[27]
The city's full official name isStołeczne Królewskie Miasto Kraków,[28] which can be translated as "Royal Capital City of Kraków". In English, a person born or living in Kraków is a Cracovian (Polish:krakowianin orkrakus).[29] Until the 1990s the English version of the name was often written as Cracow, but now the most widespread modern English version is Krakow.[30]
Kraków'searly history begins with evidence of aStone Age settlement on the present site of theWawel Hill.[32] A legend attributes Kraków's founding to the mythical rulerKrakus, who built it above a cave occupied by adragon,Smok Wawelski. The first written record of the city's name dates back to 965, when Kraków was described as a notable commercial centre controlled first by Moravia (876–879), but captured by a Bohemian dukeBoleslaus I in 955.[33] The first acclaimed ruler of Poland,Mieszko I, took Kraków from the Bohemians and incorporated it into the holdings of thePiast dynasty towards the end of his reign.[34]
In 1335, KingCasimir III the Great (Polish:Kazimierz) declared the two western suburbs to be a new city named after him,Kazimierz (Latin:Casimiria). The defensive walls were erected around the central section of Kazimierz in 1362, and a plot was set aside for theAugustinian order next toSkałka.[42] The city rose to prominence in 1364, when Casimir founded theUniversity of Kraków,[43] the second oldest university in central Europe after theCharles University in Prague.
The city continued to grow under theJagiellonian dynasty. As the capital of theKingdom of Poland and a member of theHanseatic League, the city attracted many craftsmen from abroad,[44] businesses, andguilds as science and the arts began to flourish.[45] The royal chancery and the university ensured a first flourishing of Polish literary culture in the city.[46]
In 1520, the most famouschurch bell in Poland, namedZygmunt afterSigismund I of Poland, was cast by Hans Behem.[54] At that time,Hans Dürer, a younger brother of artist and thinkerAlbrecht Dürer, was Sigismund'scourt painter.[55]Hans von Kulmbach madealtarpieces for several churches.[56] In 1553, the Kazimierz district council gave the JewishQahal (council of a Jewish self-governing community) a licence for the right to build their own interior walls across the western section of the already existing defensive walls. The walls were expanded again in 1608 due to the growth of the community and influx of Jews from Bohemia.[57] In 1572, KingSigismund II Augustus, the last of the Jagiellons, died childless. The Polish throne passed toHenry III of France and then to other foreign-based rulers in rapid succession, causing a decline in the city's importance. Furthermore, in 1596,Sigismund III of theHouse of Vasa moved the administrative capital of thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from Kraków toWarsaw.[58] The city was destabilised by pillaging in the 1650s during theSwedish invasion, especially during the1655 siege.[59] Later in 1707, the city underwent an outbreak ofbubonic plague that left 20,000 of the city's residents dead.[60]
View of Kraków (Cracovia) near the end of the 16th century
In 1802, German became the town's official language. Of the members appointed by the Habsburgs to the municipal council only half were Polish.[63] From 1796 to 1809, the population of the city rose from 22,000 to 26,000 with an increasing percentage of nobles and officials.[63] In 1809,Napoleon Bonaparte captured former Polish territories from Austria and made the town part of theDuchy of Warsaw.[63] During the time of the Duchy of Warsaw, requirements to upkeep the Polish army followed by tours of Austrian, Polish and Russian troops, plus Russian occupation and a flood in the year 1813 all added up to the adverse development of the city with a high debt burden on public finances and many workshops and trading houses needing to close their activities.[63]
Act of granting the constitution to theFree City of Cracow. After thePartitions of Poland, Kraków became a city-state and remained the only piece of sovereign Polish territory between 1815 and 1846.
Following Napoleon's defeat, the 1815Congress of Vienna restored the pre-war boundaries but also created the partially independent and neutralFree City of Kraków.[63] In addition to the historic city of Kraków itself, the Free City included the towns ofChrzanow,Trzebinia andNowa Gora and 224 villages. Outside the city, mining and metallurgy started developing. The population of Kraków itself grew in this time from 23,000 to 43,000; that of the overall republic from 88,000 to 103,000. The population of the city had an increasing number ofCatholic clergy, officials and intelligentsia with which the rich townspeople sympathised. They were opposed to the conservativelanded aristocracy who also were drawn more and more to the city real estates even though their income still mainly came from their agricultural possessions in the Republic, the Kingdom of Poland and Galicia. The percentage of the Jewish population in the city also increased in this time from 20.8% to 30.4%. However, nationalist sentiment and other political issues led to instability; this culminated in theKraków uprising of 1846, which was crushed by the Austrian authorities.[64] The Free City was therefore annexed into the Austrian Empire as theGrand Duchy of Kraków (Polish:Wielkie Księstwo Krakowskie,German:Großherzogtum Krakau), which was legally separate from but administratively part of theKingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria (more simply Austrian Galicia).[65]
During the era of the free city, afree trade zone led to positive economic development. But because of the unstable political situation and insecurity about the future, not much of the accumulated wealth was invested.[63] Through the increase of taxes, customs and regulations, prices soared and the city fell into a recession. From 1844 to 1850 the population was diminished by over 4,000 inhabitants.[63]
In 1866, Austria granted a degree of autonomy to Galicia after its own defeat in theAustro-Prussian War.[66] Kraków, being politically freer than the Polish cities under Prussian (later German) and Russian rule, became a Polish national symbol and a centre of culture and art, known frequently as the "Polish Athens" (Polskie Ateny). Many leading Polish artists of the period resided in Kraków,[67] among them the seminal painterJan Matejko,[68] laid to rest atRakowicki Cemetery, and the founder of modern Polish drama,Stanisław Wyspiański.[69]Fin de siècle Kraków evolved into a modern metropolis;running water and electricstreetcars were introduced in 1901, and between 1910 and 1915, Kraków and its surrounding suburban communities were gradually combined into a single administrative unit called Greater Kraków (Wielki Kraków).[70][71]
Following theinvasion of Poland byNazi Germany in September 1939, the city of Kraków became part of theGeneral Government, a separate administrative region of the Third Reich. On 26 October 1939, the Nazi régime set upDistrikt Krakau, one of four districts within the General Government. On the same day, the city of Kraków became the capital of the administration.[80] The General Government was ruled by Governor-GeneralHans Frank, who was based in the city's Wawel Castle. The Nazis envisioned turning Kraków into a completely Germanised city; after removal of all Jews and Poles, renaming of locations and streets into the German language, and sponsorship of propaganda portraying the city as historically German.[81] On 28 November 1939, Frank set upJudenräte ('Jewish Councils') to be run by Jewish citizens for the purpose of carrying out orders for the Nazis. These orders included the registration of all Jewish people living in each area, the collection of taxes, and the formation offorced-labour groups. The PolishHome Army maintained a parallel underground administrative system.[82]
At the outbreak ofWorld War II, some 56,000 Jews resided in Kraków—almost one-quarter of a total population of about 250,000; by November 1939, the Jewish population of the city had grown to approximately 70,000.[83][84] According to German statistics from 1940, over 200,000 Jews lived within the entire Kraków District, comprising more than 5 percent of the district's total population. However, these statistics probably underestimate the situation.[84] In November 1939, during an operation known asSonderaktion Krakau ('special operation Kraków'), the Germans arrested more than 180 university professors and academics, and sent them to theSachsenhausen andDachauconcentration camps, though the survivors were later released on the request of prominent Italians.[85][86]
Before the formation ofghettos, which began in the Kraków District in December 1939, Jews were encouraged to flee the city. For those who remained, the German authorities decided in March 1941 to allocate a then-suburban neighborhood,Podgórze District, to become Kraków's ghetto, where many Jews subsequently died of illness or starvation. Initially, most ghettos were open and Jews were allowed to enter and exit freely, but as security became tighter the ghettos were generally closed. From autumn 1941, theSS developed the policy ofextermination through labour,[87] which further worsened the already bleak conditions for Jews. The inhabitants of theKraków Ghetto were later murdered or sent to Germanextermination camps, includingBełżec andAuschwitz, and toKraków-Płaszów concentration camp.[88] The largest deportations within the Distrikt occurred from June to September 1942. More specifically, mass deportation from Kraków's ghetto occurred in the first week of June 1942,[84] and the ghetto was finally liquidated in March 1943.[89]
The film directorRoman Polanski survived the Kraków Ghetto.Oskar Schindler selected employees from the ghetto to work in his enamelware factoryDeutsche Emailwarenfabrik, saving them from the camps.[90][91] Similarly, many men capable of physical labor were saved from deportation to extermination camps and instead sent to labor camps across the General Government.[84] By September 1943, the last of the Jews from the Kraków Ghetto had been deported. Althoughlooted by occupational authorities, Kraków remained relatively undamaged at the end of World War II,[92] with most of the city's historical and architectural legacy spared. Soviet forces under the command of MarshalIvan Konev entered the city on 18 January 1945 and began arresting Poles loyal to thePolish government-in-exile or those who had served in the Home Army.[93]
Kraków's territorial growth from the late 18th to the 20th century
After the war, under thePolish People's Republic (officially declared in 1952), the intellectual and academic community of Kraków came under complete political control. The universities were soon deprived of their printing rights and autonomy.[94] TheStalinist government of Poland ordered the construction of the country's largeststeel mill in the newly created suburb ofNowa Huta.[95] The creation of the giant Lenin Steelworks (nowSendzimir Steelworks owned byMittal) sealed Kraków's transformation from a university city into an industrial centre.[96]
In an effort that spanned two decades,Karol Wojtyła, the cardinal archbishop of Kraków from 1964 to 1978, successfully lobbied for permission to build the first churches in the newly industrialized suburbs.[96][97] In 1978, the Catholic Church elevated Wojtyła to thepapacy asJohn Paul II, the first non-Italian pope in over 450 years. In the same year,UNESCO, following the application of local authorities, placed Kraków Old Town on the first list ofWorld Heritage Sites.[98]
There are fivenature reserves in Kraków, with a combined area of ca. 48.6 hectares (120 acres).[101] Due to their ecological value, these areas are legally protected.[101] The western part of the city, along its northern and north-western side, borders an area of international significance known as the JurassicBielany-Tyniec refuge.[101] The main motives for the protection of this area include plant and animal wildlife and the area'sgeomorphological features and landscape.[102] Another part of the city is located within the ecological 'corridor' of the Vistula River valley. This corridor is also assessed as being of international significance as part of the Pan-European ecological network.[103]
Due to its geographic location, the city may be under marine influence, sometimesArctic influence, but without direct influence, giving the city variable meteorological conditions over short spaces of time.[110][111] The city lies in proximity to theTatra Mountains and there are often occurrences of afoehn wind calledhalny, causing temperatures to rise rapidly.[112] In relation to Warsaw, temperatures are very similar for most of the year, except that in the colder monthssouthern Poland has a larger daily temperature range, more moderate winds, generally more rainy days and with greater chances of clear skies on average, especially in winter. The higher sun angle also allows for a longergrowing season.[113] In addition, for older data there was less sun than the capital of the country, about 30 minutes daily per year, but both have small differences in relative humidity and the direction of the winds is northeast.[105]
The climate table below presents weather data with averages from 1991 to 2020, sunshine ranges from 1971 to 2000, and valid extremes from 1951 to the present day:
Climate data for Kraków-Airport (KRK), 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1951–present
Kraków provides a showcase setting for many historic forms ofarchitecture developed over the ten centuries, especiallyGothic,Renaissance andBaroque styles.[127] Renowned artisans and skilled craftsmen from present-dayItaly andGermany were brought and sponsored by kings or nobles who contributed toarchitectural wealth and diversity.[127] TheBrick Gothic manner as well as countless structural elements such as the Renaissanceattics with decorativepinnacles became recognisable features of historical buildings in Kraków.[26] Built from its earliest nucleus outward, the city's monuments can be seen in historical order by walking from the city centre out, towards its newer districts.[127]
In addition to the old town, the city's district ofKazimierz is particularly notable for its many renaissance buildings and picturesque streets, as well as the historic Jewish quarter located in the north-eastern part of Kazimierz. Kazimierz was founded in the 14th century to the south-east of the city centre and soon became a wealthy, well-populated area where construction of imposing properties became commonplace. Perhaps the most important feature of medieval Kazimierz was the only major, permanent bridge (Pons Regalis) across the northern arm of the Vistula. This natural barrier used to separate Kazimierz from the Old Town for several centuries, while the bridge connected Kraków to theWieliczka Salt Mine and the lucrative Hungarian trade route. The last structure at this location (at the end of modern Stradom Street) was dismantled in 1880 when the northern arm of the river was filled in with earth and rock, and subsequently built over.[42][131]
By the 1930s, Kraków had 120 officiallyregistered synagogues and prayer houses that spanned across the old city. Much of Jewish intellectual life had moved to new centres likePodgórze.[132] This, in turn, led to the redevelopment and renovation of much of Kazimierz and the development of new districts in Kraków. Most historic buildings in central Kazimierz today are preserved in their original form. Some old buildings, however, were not repaired after the devastation brought by the Second World War, and have remained empty. Most recent efforts at restoring the historic neighborhoods gained new impetus around 1993. Kazimierz is now a well-visited area, seeing a booming growth in Jewish-themed restaurants, bars, bookstores and souvenir shops.[133]
Skałka ("Small Rock") Church, and the adjacent monastery ofPauline Fathers, is a place of burial for distinguished Poles and Cracovians.
As the city of Kraków began to expand further under the rule of theAustro-Hungarian Empire, the new architectural styles also developed. Key buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries in Kraków include the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts, the directorate of the Polish State Railways as well as the original complex ofKraków Główny railway station and the city'sAcademy of Economics. It was also at around that time that Kraków's first radial boulevards began to appear, with the city undergoing a large-scale program aimed at transforming the ancient Polish capital into a sophisticated regional centre of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. New representative government buildings and multi-story tenement houses were built at around that time. Much of the urban-planning beyond the walls of the Old Town was done by Polish architects and engineers trained inVienna. Some major projects of the era include the development of theJagiellonian University's new premises and the building of theCollegium Novum just west of the Old Town. The imperial style planning of the city's further development continued until the return of Poland's independence, following the First World War. Early modernist style in Kraków is represented by such masterpieces asthe Palace of Art byFranciszek Mączyński and the 'House under the Globe'.Secession style architecture, which had arrived in Kraków fromVienna, became popular towards the end ofthe Partitions.[134]
With Poland's regained independence came the major change in the fortunes of Kraków—now the second most important city of a sovereign nation. The state began to make new plans for the city development and commissioned a number of representative buildings. The predominant style for new projects was modernism with various interpretations of the art-deco style.[136] Important buildings constructed in the style ofPolish modernism include the Feniks 'LOT' building on Basztowa Street, the Feniks department store on theMain Square and the Municipal Savings Bank on Szczepański Square. The Józef Piłsudski house is also of note as a particularly good example of interwar architecture in the city.[137]
After the Second World War, new Communist government adoptedStalinist monumentalism. The doctrine ofSocialist realism in Poland, as in other countries of theEastern Bloc, was enforced from 1949 to 1956. It involved all domains of art, but its most spectacular achievements were made in the field of urban design. The guidelines for this new trend were spelled-out in a 1949 resolution of the National Council of Party Architects. Architecture was to become a weapon in establishing the new social order by the communists.[138] The ideological impact of urban design was valued more than aesthetics. It aimed at expressing persistence and power. This form of architecture was implemented in the new industrial district of Nowa Huta with apartment blocks constructed according to a Stalinist blueprint, with repetitious courtyards and wide, tree-lined avenues.[139]
Plac Centralny, the main square of the socialist-realist districtNowa Huta
Since the style of theRenaissance was generally regarded as the most revered in old Polish architecture, it was also used for augmenting Poland'sSocialist national format. However, in the course of incorporating the principles of Socialist realism, there were quite a few deviations introduced by the communists. From 1953, critical opinions in the Party were increasingly frequent, and the doctrine was given up in 1956 marking the end ofStalinism.[140] Thesoc-realist centre of Nowa Huta is considered to be a meritorious monument of the times. This period in postwar architecture was followed by the mass-construction of largePanel System apartment blocks, most of which were built outside the city centre and thus do not encroach upon the beauty of the old or new towns. Some examples of the new style (e.g., Hotel Cracovia) recently listed as heritage monuments were built during the latter half of the 20th century in Kraków.[141]
After theRevolutions of 1989 and the birth of theThird Republic in the latter half of the 20th century,[142] a number of new architectural projects were completed, including the construction of large business parks and commercial facilities such as theGaleria Krakowska, or infrastructure investments like theKraków Fast Tram. A good example of this would be theManggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology designed byArata Isozaki, the 2007-builtPawilon Wyspiański 2000,[143] which is used as a multi-purpose information and exhibition space, or the Małopolski Garden of Arts (Małopolski Ogród Sztuki), a multi-purpose exhibition and theatre complex located in the historic Old Town.[144]
The best-known park in Kraków is the Planty Park. Established between 1822 and 1830 in place of the old city walls, it forms agreen belt around the Old Town and consists of a chain of smaller gardens designed in various styles and adorned with monuments. The park has an area of 21 hectares (52 acres) and a length of 4 kilometres (2.5 mi), forming a scenic walkway popular with Cracovians.[146]
Jordan Park, founded in 1889 byHenryk Jordan, was the first public park of its kind in Europe.[147] Built on the banks of theRudawa, the park was equipped with running and exercise tracks, playgrounds, a swimming pool,amphitheatre, pavilions, and a pond forboat rowing andwater bicycles. It is located in the grounds of one of the city's larger parks, Błonia Park.[148] The less prominent Park Krakowski, founded in 1885 byStanisław Rehman, was a popular destination point for Cracovians at the end of the 19th century, but has since been greatly reduced in size because of rapidreal estate development.[149]
There are fivenature reserves in Kraków with a total area of 48.6 hectares (120 acres).[150] Smaller green zones constitute parts of theKraków-Częstochowa Upland Jurassic Landscape Parks' Board, which deals with the protection areas of the Polish Jura. Under its jurisdiction are: theBielany-Tyniec Landscape Park (Park Bielańsko-Tyniecki),Tenczynek Landscape Park (Park Tencziński) andKraków Valleys Landscape Park (Park Krajobrazowy Dolinki Krakowskie), with their watersheds.[101] The natural reserves of the Polish Jura Chain are part of theCORINE biotopes programme due to their unique flora, fauna, geomorphology and landscape.[151] The western part of Kraków constitutes the so-called Obszar Krakowski ecological network, including the ecological corridor of the Vistula. The southern slopes of limestone hills provide conditions for the development ofthermophilous vegetation, grasslands andshrubs.[151][152]
The city is spaced along an extended latitudinal transect of theVistula River Valley with a network of tributaries including its right tributaryWilga, and left:Rudawa, Białucha,Dłubnia and Sanka.[153] The rivers and their valleys along with bodies of water are some of the most interesting natural wonders of Kraków.[153]
Kraków and its environment, surrounded by mountains, suffer from Europe's dirtiest air pollution because ofsmog, caused by burningcoal for heating, especially in winter.[154]
The entrance to theWielopolski Palace from 1560, the seat of Kraków's mayor, administration and city council
Responsibilities of Kraków's president include drafting and implementing resolutions, enacting city bylaws, managing the city budget, employing city administrators, and preparing against floods andnatural disasters.[156] The president fulfills his duties with the help of the City Council, city managers and city inspectors. In the 1990s, thecity government was reorganised to better differentiate between itspolitical agenda and administrative functions. As a result, the Office of Public Information was created to handle inquiries and foster communication between city departments and citizens at large.[160]
In 2000, the city government introduced a new long-term program called "Safer City" in cooperation with the Police, Traffic, Social Services, Fire,Public Safety, and the Youth Departments. Subsequently, the number of criminal offences dropped by 3 percent between 2000 and 2001, and the rate of detection increased by 1.4 percent to a total of 30.2 percent in the same period.[161] The city is receiving help in carrying out the program from all educational institutions and the local media, including TV, radio and the press.
Kraków is divided into 18 administrative districts (dzielnica) or boroughs, each with a degree of autonomy within its own municipal government.[162] Prior to March 1991, the city had been divided into four quarters which still give a sense of identity to Kraków: the towns ofPodgórze,Nowa Huta andKrowodrza, which were amalgamated into the city as it expanded; and the ancient town centre of Kraków itself.[162]
The oldest neighborhoods of Kraków were incorporated into the city before the late 18th century. These include the Old Town (Stare Miasto), once contained within thecity defensive walls and now encircled by the Planty park; theWawel District, which is the site of the Royal Castle and the cathedral; Stradom andKazimierz with its historic Jewish quarter, the latter originally divided into Christian and Jewish quarters;[163] and the ancient town ofKleparz.
Major districts added in the 19th and 20th centuries includePodgórze—until 1915, a separate town on the southern bank of the Vistula—and Nowa Huta, to the east of the city centre, which was built after World War II.
Among the most notable historic districts of the city are: Wawel Hill, home toWawel Castle andWawel Cathedral, where many historic Polish kings are buried; the medieval Old Town, with its 200-metre-square (660 ft)Main Market Square; dozens of old churches and museums; the 14th-century buildings of the Jagiellonian University; and Kazimierz, the historical centre of Kraków's Jewish social and religious life.[164]
The Old Town district of Kraków is home to about six thousand historic sites and more than two million works of art.[165] Its rich variety of heritage architecture includes Romanesque (e.g.St. Andrew's Church), Renaissance (e.g.Kraków Cloth Hall), Baroque (e.g.Saints Peter and Paul Church) and Gothic buildings. Kraków's palaces, churches, theatres and mansions display a great variety of color, architectural details,stained glass, paintings, sculptures, and furnishings.[166]
In the Market Square stands the GothicSt. Mary's Basilica (Kościół Mariacki). Rebuilt in the 14th century, it features the famous wooden altar (Altarpiece of Veit Stoss), the largest Gothic altarpiece in the world,[167] carved byVeit Stoss. A trumpet call (hejnał mariacki) is sounded every hour from the church's main tower. The melody, which used to announce the opening and closing of city gates, ends unexpectedly in midstream. According to legend, the tune was played during the 13th-centuryTatar invasion by a guard warning citizens against the attack. Whilst playing, he was shot by an archer of the invading Tatar forces and the bugle call broke off at the moment he died.[168] The story is recounted inEric P. Kelly's 1928 bookThe Trumpeter of Krakow, which won aNewbery Award.[169]
The Centre for Business Innovation office complex in Kraków
Kraków is one of Poland's most important economic centres and the economic hub of theLesser Poland (Małopolska) region.[172][173] Since the fall of communism, the private sector has been growing steadily. There are about 50 largemultinational companies in the city, includingGoogle,Uber,IBM,Shell,UBS,HSBC,Motorola,Aptiv,MAN,General Electric,ABB,Aon,Akamai,Cisco,Hitachi,Altria,Capgemini,[174] andSabre Holdings,[175] along with other British, German and Scandinavian-based firms.[172][176] The city is also the global headquarters forComarch, an enterprise software house. Kraków is the second most-visited city in Poland (after Warsaw).[172][173] According to the World Investment Report 2011 by the UN Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Kraków is also the most emergent city location for investment in global BPO projects (Business Process Outsourcing) in the world.[177]
Unity Tower is one of the tallest buildings in the city.
In 2011, thecity budget, which is presented by theMayor of Kraków on 15 November annually, has a projected revenue of 3,500,000,000złoty.[178] The primary sources of revenue were as follows: 14% from the municipal taxation on real estate properties and the use ofamenities, 30% in transfers from the nationalbudget, and 34% in state subsidies. Projected expenditures, totaling 3,520,000,000 złoty, included 21% in city development costs and 79% in city maintenance costs. Of the maintenance costs, as much as 39% were spent on education and childcare. The City of Kraków's development costs included; 41% toward construction of roads, transport, and communication (combined), and 25% for the city's infrastructure and environment.[179] The city has a highbond credit rating, and some 60% of the population is under the age of 45.[173]
Unity Tower was completed in 2020 after almost 30 years, creating a new business and residential centre. It is the second-tallest building in the city afterK1.[180]
InnoEnergy is an integrated alliance of reputable organisations from the education, research and industry sectors. It was created based on long standing links of cooperation as well as the principles of excellence. The partners have jointly developed a strategy to tackle the weaknesses of the European innovation landscape in the field of sustainable energy.[182]
Public transport is based on a fairly dense network of tram and bus routes operated by a municipal company, supplemented by a number of private minibus operators. There is norapid transit system in Kraków, butmetro line is planned. First works are expected to commence in 2028.[183][184] Local trains connect some of the suburbs. The bulk of the city's historic area has been turned into apedestrian zone with rickshaws and horse-drawn carriages; however, the trams run within a three-block radius.[185] The historic means of transportation in the city can be examined at theMuseum of Municipal Engineering in the Kazimierz district, with many old trams, cars and buses.[186]
In Autumn 2016 Poland's oldestBicycle-sharing system was modernized and now offers 1,500 bikes at 169 stations under the name of Wavelo(pl), which is owned by BikeU of the French multinational company Egis.[191]
Kraków had a recorded population of 774,839 in 2019, which increased to 804,237 in 2023.[1] Selected demographic indicators are presented in a table (below), compiled on the basis of only the population living in Kraków permanently. The largermetropolitan area of the city encompasses a territory in which (in 2010) 1,393,893 inhabitants live.[192]
Already in the Middle Ages, the population of Kraków consisting of numerous ethnic groups, began to grow rapidly.[193] It doubled between 1100 and 1300 from 5,000 to 10,000, and in 1400 counted 14,000 inhabitants. By 1550, the population of metropolitan Kraków was 18,000; although it decreased to 15,000 in the next fifty years due to calamity.[194][195] By the early 17th century the Kraków population had reached 28,000 inhabitants.[196]
In the historical 1931 census preceding World War II, 78.1% of Cracovians declared Polish as their primary language, with Yiddish or Hebrew at 20.9%, Ukrainian 0.4%, German 0.3%, and Russian 0.1%.[197] The ravages of history have greatly reduced the percentage ofethnic minorities living in Kraków.
In the last two decades, Kraków has seen a large growth of immigrant population. In the 2002 census, only 0.25% of respondents living in the city declared a non-Polish nationality primarilyUkrainian andRussian.[198] As of 2019, it was estimated that foreigners accounted for as much as 10% of the city's population, with Ukrainians being the most numerous group (between 11,000 and 50,000).[199]
The metropolitan city of Kraków has more than 300 churches[202] and is known as thecity of churches. The abundance of historic landmark temples along with the plenitude of monasteries and convents earned the city a countrywide reputation as the "Northern Rome" in the past. The churches of Kraków comprise over 120 places of worship (2007) of which over 65 were built in the 20th century. More are still being added.[203] In addition toRoman Catholicism, other denominations present includeJehovah's Witnesses,[204]Mariavite Church, Polish Catholic Church,Polish Orthodox Church,Protestantism andLatter-Day Saints.[205] As of 2017, weekly Mass attendance in theArchdiocese of Kraków was 49.9 percent, above the national Polish average of 38.3 percent.[206]
Kraków contains also an outstanding collection of monuments of Jewishsacred architecture unmatched anywhere in Poland. Kraków was an influential centre of Jewish spiritual life before the outbreak of World War II, with all its manifestations of religious observance fromOrthodox toHasidic andReform flourishing side by side. There were at least 90 synagogues in Kraków active before theNazi German invasion of Poland, serving its burgeoning Jewish community of 60,000–80,000 (out of the city's total population of 237,000), established since the early 12th century.[207]
Most synagogues of Kraków were ruined during World War II by theNazis who despoiled them of all ceremonial objects, and used them as storehouses for ammunition, firefighting equipment, as general storage facilities and stables. The post-Holocaust Jewish population of the city had dwindled to about 5,900 before the end of the 1940s. Poland was the onlyEastern Bloc country to allow free Jewishaliyah (emigration to Israel) without visas or exit permits upon the conclusion of World War II.[208] In recent time, thanks to efforts of the local Jewish and Polish organisations including foreign financial aid from theAmerican Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, many synagogues underwent major restorations and serve religious and tourist purposes.[209]
AGH University of Science and Technology, established in 1919, is the largesttechnical university in Poland, with more than 15 faculties and student enrollment exceeding 30,000.[217] It was ranked by the Polish edition ofNewsweek as the best technical university in the country in 2004.[218] During its 80-year history, more than 73,000 students graduated from AGH with master's or bachelor's degrees. Some 3,600 persons were granted the degree ofDoctor of Science, and about 900 obtained the qualification ofDoctor habilitatus.[219]
TheNational Museum in Kraków is one of Poland's finest galleries of art.
As of 2023[update], Kraków hosts approximately 82 museums and various museum branches; the city also has a number of art collections and public art galleries.[228] TheNational Museum, established in 1879, as well as the National Art Collection on Wawel Hill, are all accessible to the general public.[228]
The Royal Chambers at Wawel feature art, period furniture, Polish and European paintings, collectibles, and a major collection of 16th-century monumentalFlemishtapestries.[228] Wawel Treasury and Armoury features Polish royal memorabilia, jewels, applied art, and 15th- to 18th-century arms.[228] The Wawel Eastern Collection featuresTurkish tents and military accessories.[228] The National Museum holds the largest body of artworks in the country with collections consisting of several hundred thousand items kept mostly in the Main Building at 3 Maja Street, although there are eleven other separate divisions of the museum in the city, one of the most popular being theGallery of 19th Century Polish Art at Sukiennice which houses a collection of some of the best-known paintings and sculptures of theYoung Poland movement.[228] Inaugurated in 2013, the latest division of the National Museum is theEuropeum, with works byBrueghel among a hundred Western European paintings.[229]
Kraków Congress Centre, the city's business and cultural flagship
TheRynek Underground museum, situated under the city's main square, showcases Kraków's more than 1,000-year history through its streets, activities and artifacts. The construction of the museum was preceded by extensive excavations starting in 2005,[232] and continuing eventually until 2010, as more and more physical evidence was uncovered.
Krakil, the Museum of illusions, is a space where illusions are combined with scientific inventions and the arts. Physics and optics are displayed together with artworks and classical riddles.[233]
ThePolish Aviation Museum, considered one of the world's best aviation museums byCNN,[234] features over 200 aircraft including aSopwith Camel among other First World War biplanes, a comprehensive display of aero engines, and a complete collection of airplane types developed by Poland after 1945.[235] Activities of smaller museums around Kraków and in the Lesser Poland region are promoted and supported by theMałopolska Institute of Culture, which organises annual Małopolska Heritage Days.[236]
Opera Krakowska[242] one of the leading national opera companies, stages 200 performances each year including ballet, operettas and musicals. It has, in its main repertoire, the greatest world and Polish opera classics. The Opera moved into its first permanent House in the autumn of 2008. It is in charge also of theSummer Festival of Opera and Operetta.
Kraków is home to two major Polish festivals ofearly music presenting forgotten Baroque oratorios and operas:Opera Rara,[243] andMisteria Paschalia.[244] Meanwhile,Capella Cracoviensis runs theMusic in Old Krakow International Festival.[245]
Academy of Music in Kraków, founded in 1888, is known worldwide as thealma mater of the contemporary Polish composerKrzysztof Penderecki and it is also the only one in Poland to have two winners of theInternational Chopin Competition in Warsaw among its alumni. The academy organises concerts of its students and guests throughout the whole year.[246]
Music organisations and venues include: Kraków Philharmonic,[247]Sinfonietta Cracovia (a.k.a. the Orchestra of the Royal City of Kraków), the Polish Radio Choir of Kraków,Organum Academic Choir, the MixedMariański Choir (Mieszany Chór Mariański), Kraków Academic Choir of theJagiellonian University, the Kraków Chamber Choir,Amar Corde String Quartet,Consortium Iagellonicum Baroque Orchestra of theJagiellonian University, Brass Band of T. Sendzimir Steelworks, andCamerata Chamber Orchestra of Radio Kraków.
According to official statistics, in 2019 Kraków was visited by over 14 million tourists including 3.3 million foreign travellers.[248] The visitors spent over 7.5 billion zloty (ca. €1.7 billion) in the city (without travel costs and pre-booked accommodation). Most foreign tourists came from Germany (14.2%), United Kingdom (13.9%), Italy (11.5%), France (11.2%), Spain (10.4%) and Ukraine (5.4%).[248] The Kraków tour-guide from the Lesser Poland Visitors Bureau indicated that not all statistics are recorded due to the considerable number of those who come, staying in readily available private rooms paid for by cash, especially fromEastern Europe.[249]
The main reasons for visiting the city are: its historical monuments, recreation as well as relatives and friends (placing third in the ranking), religion and business. There are 120 quality hotels in Kraków (usually about half full) offering 15,485 overnight accommodations.[250] The average stay lasts for about 4 to 7 nights. The survey conducted among the travelers showed that they enjoyed the city's friendliness most, with 90% of Polish tourists and 87% foreigners stating that they would recommend visiting it.[249] Notable points of interest outside the city include theWieliczka Salt Mine, theTatra Mountains 100 km (62 mi) to the south, the historic city ofCzęstochowa (north-west), the well-preserved former Nazi concentration camp atAuschwitz, andOjcowski National Park,[251] which includes the Renaissance Castle atPieskowa Skała.[252] Kraków has been awarded a number of top international rankings such as the 1st place in theTop city-break destinations 2014 survey conducted by the British consumer associationWhich?.[253]
Football is the most popular sport in the city.[254] The twofootball teams with the largest following are thirteen-time Polish championWisła Kraków,[255] and five-time championCracovia,[256] both founded in 1906 as the oldest still existing in Poland.[257] They have been involved in the most intense rivalry in the country and one of the most intense in all of Europe, known as theHoly War (Święta Wojna).[258] Other football clubs includeHutnik Kraków,Wawel Kraków,Wieczysta Kraków and one-time Polish championGarbarnia Kraków. There is also the first-league rugby clubJuvenia Kraków. Kraków has a number of additional, equally valued sports teams including twelve-time Polishice hockey championsCracovia and the twenty-time women's basketball champions Wisła Kraków.[citation needed] TheCracovia Marathon, with thousands of participants from two dozen countries annually, has been held in the city since 2002.[259]
The construction of a newTauron Arena Kraków began in May 2010; for concerts, indoor athletics, hockey, basketball,futsal and other events. The facility has an area of 61,434 m2, with a maximum arena court area of 4,546 m2. The average capacity is 18,000 for concerts, and 15,000 for sport events, with the maximum number of spectators being 22,000.[260] The Arena boasts Poland's largestLED media façade, with a total surface of 5,200 m2 of LED strip lighting, wrapping around the stadium, and one of Europe's largest LED screens, measuring over 540 m2.[261]
Kraków is referred to by various names in different languages. An old English name for the city isCracow; though it has become less common in recent decades, some sources still use it. The city is known inCzech,Slovak andSerbian asKrakov, in Hungarian asKrakkó, inLithuanian asKrokuva, in Finnish asKrakova, inGerman andDutch asKrakau, inLatin, Spanish and Italian asCracovia, in French asCracovie, inPortuguese asCracóvia and in Russian as Краков.Ukrainian andYiddish languages refer to it asKrakiv (Краків) andKroke (קראָקע) respectively.[266]
^"Główny Urząd Statystyczny" [Central Statistical Office] (in Polish). To search: Select "Miejscowości (SIMC)" tab, select "fragment (min. 3 znaki)" (minimum 3 characters), enter town name in the field below, click "WYSZUKAJ" (Search).
^abcNungovitch, Petro Andreas (2019).Here All Is Poland: A Pantheonic History of Wawel, 1787–2010. Lanham: Lexington Books. pp. 55, 287.ISBN978-1-4985-6913-2.
^Fischinger, Andrzej; Banach, Jerzy; Smólski, Janusz (1991).Cracow: History, Art, Renovation. The Citizen's Committee for the Restoration of Cracow's Historical Monuments. p. 11.OCLC749994485.
^Kraków, Magiczny (May 2012)."History of Kraków". Official website of the City of Kraków.Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved23 December 2012.
^Živković, Tibor; Crnčević, Dejan; Bulić, Dejan (2013).The World of the Slavs. Belgrade: The Institute of History. p. 310.ISBN978-86-7743-104-4.
^Wood, Nathaniel D. (2010).Becoming Metropolitan: Urban Selfhood and the Making of Modern Cracow. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press. p. 272.ISBN978-0-87580-422-4.
^(in Polish)Bohdan Urbankowski,Urbankowski, Bohdan (1997).Józef Piłsudski: marzyciel i strateg (Józef Piłsudski: Dreamer and Strategist). Wydawnictwo ALFA, Warsaw, 1997. pp. 171–172.ISBN978-83-7001-914-3.
^Sinnreich, Helene J. (2023).The Atrocity of Hunger. Starvation in the Warsaw, Lodz, and Krakow Ghettos During World War II. Cambridge: University Press. p. 9.ISBN978-1-009-11767-8.
^Bieberstein: Zagłada Żydów w Krakowie. Kraków 1985. J. Kast, B. Siegler, P. Zinke: Das Tagebuch der Partisanin Justyna. Jüdischer Widerstand in Krakau. Berlin 1999. Articles from Kraków newspapers (mostly from the local "Gazeta Wyborcza") published in March 2003 on the 60th anniversary of the liquidation of the Kraków ghetto. Featuring historical maps."The Kraków Ghetto 1940–1943".Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved11 September 2007.
^Woodward, Simon C.; Cooke, Louise (2022).World Heritage. Concepts, Management and Conservation. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis.ISBN978-1-000-77729-1.
^Bujak, Adam; Rożek, Michał (1989).Kraków (in Polish). Sport i Turystyka. p. 22.ISBN978-83-217-2787-5.Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved27 March 2024.
^abcde"Przyroda".zzm.krakow.pl (in Polish). Zarząd Zieleni Miejskiej w Krakowie. 2016.Archived from the original on 23 February 2024. Retrieved23 February 2024.
^"Poland - Climate".Encyclopedia Britannica.Archived from the original on 2 May 2015. Retrieved10 March 2019.
^Kuchcik, Magdalena; Błażejczyk, Krzysztof; Szmyd, Jakub; Milewski, Paweł; Błażejczyk, Anna; Baranowski, Jarosław (2013).Potencjał leczniczy klimatu Polski (in Polish). Warszawa (Warsaw): Wydawnictwo SEDNO. p. 64.ISBN978-83-7963-001-1.Archived from the original on 27 March 2024. Retrieved27 March 2024.
^"Średnia dobowa temperatura powietrza".Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management.Archived from the original on 3 December 2021. Retrieved20 January 2022.
^"Średnia minimalna temperatura powietrza".Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management.Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved20 January 2022.
^"Miesięczna suma opadu".Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management.Archived from the original on 9 January 2022. Retrieved20 January 2022.
^"Liczba dni z opadem >= 0,1 mm".Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management.Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved20 January 2022.
^"Średnia grubość pokrywy śnieżnej".Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management.Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved20 January 2022.
^"Liczba dni z pokrywą śnieżna > 0 cm".Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management.Archived from the original on 21 January 2022. Retrieved20 January 2022.
^"Średnia suma usłonecznienia (h)".Normy klimatyczne 1991-2020 (in Polish). Institute of Meteorology and Water Management.Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved20 January 2022.
^abWiewióra, Agnieszka (2008)."Kraków okiem 'tischnerowskim'".Informacje ogólne (in Polish and English). Wyższa Szkoła Europejska im. ks. Józefa Tischnera. Archived fromthe original on 24 November 2012. Retrieved4 October 2012.
^"Henryk Jordan's Park".krakow4you.com. 2006. Archived fromthe original on 30 September 2007 – via Grodzka.net.pl.The park, which was initiated by Jordan, was the first of this type in Poland and in Europe. The initiator himself got so engaged in realising his idea that he largely financed its construction and personally brought the most modern sport facilities from Sweden, Germany and Switzerland.
^The oldest mention of Krakówhejnał dates back to 1392 (see:Górska, Katarzyna."Legenda o Hejnale Mariackim". Archived fromthe original on 17 March 2011. Retrieved2 June 2011.) "... though there is probably no direct link (wrote Chris Hann) between thisbugle call and a historical event in 1241, this does not detract from its meaning for Polish people today" (see:Hann, Chris."Discovering Social Anthropology in Galicia".Archived from the original on 21 October 2007. Retrieved19 December 2007.).
^Original Kraków City Hall bylaw Nr XXI/143/91 (unpublished) introduced on 27 March 1991; current municipal borders established according to City bylaw Nr XVI/192/95 for 19 April 1995. Source:"Gazeta Urzędowa Miasta Krakowa Nr 10, poz. 84". Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 5 December 2009. Retrieved14 September 2007.
^(in Polish) Biuro Informacji Publicznej (Office of Public Information)."Budżet Miasta Krakowa na rok 2011".Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved25 June 2011.
^(in Polish) Biuro Informacji Publicznej, Kraków (Office of Public Information, Kraków)."Biuletyn Statystyczny Miasta Krakowa".Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved15 September 2007.
^KIC InnoEnergy. Designated Knowledge and Innovation Community, 16 December 2009. Retrieved 26 December 2009.Archived 22 December 2009 at theWayback Machine
^Sedlar, Jean W. (1994)."Towns and Townspeople".East Central Europe in the Middle Ages: 1000–1500. Vol. 3. University of Washington Press. p. 110.ISBN978-0-295-97291-6.Archived from the original on 18 October 2023. Retrieved2 December 2012.
^Adam Dylewski,Where the Tailor Was a Poet...Archived 12 April 2009 at theWayback Machine website created under the aegis of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, Warsaw; chief editor: Piotr M. A. Cywinski. Editorial assistance: Anna Marta Szczepan-Wojnarska, and Kaja Wieczorek from Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw
^Countrywide ranking of Polish universities, Newsweek (Polish edition), 22 March 2004,"Uczelnie w/g typu. Politechniki".Archived from the original on 27 June 2007. Retrieved11 September 2007.
^(in Polish) List of oldest Polishsports clubs featured in a newspaper retrospective.Chmielewski, Zbigniew (2003)."Obok Czarnych znak Pogoni".Polityka.2414 (33).Archived from the original on 26 October 2003. Retrieved22 July 2009.
^"Konsulaty" (in Polish). Archived fromthe original on 19 September 2024. Retrieved19 September 2024.
^Andrzej Chwalba.Krakow w latach 1939–1945 (Cracow, 1939–1945). Dzieje Krakowa tom 5. Cracow: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 2002. (In Polish.)"Cracow under German Occupation, 1939-1945". Archived fromthe original on 3 December 2007. Retrieved23 September 2007.
^abcd"Kraków – Honorowe Miasta Bliźniacze" [Kraków – Honorary Twin Cities].Miejska Platforma Internetowa Magiczny Kraków (in Polish).Archived from the original on 2 July 2013. Retrieved10 August 2013.
^"Edinburgh – Twin and Partner Cities". 2008 The City of Edinburgh Council, City Chambers, High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1YJ Scotland. Archived fromthe original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved21 December 2008.
Jane Hardy, Al Rainnie,Restructuring Krakow: Desperately Seeking Capitalism. Published 1996 by Mansell Publishing, 285 pages. Business, economics, finance.ISBN0-7201-2231-7.
Edward Hartwig,Kraków, with Jerzy Broszkiewicz (contributor). Published 1980, by Sport i Turystyka, 239 pages.ISBN83-217-2321-7.
Bolesław T. Łaszewski,Kraków: karta z dziejów dwudziestolecia. Published 1985, by Bicentennial Pub. Corp. (original from theUniversity of Michigan), 132 pages.ISBN0-912757-08-6.
Longerich, Peter (2010).Holocaust – The Nazi Persecution and Murder of the Jews. Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-280436-5.
Joanna Markin, Bogumiła Gnypowa,Kraków: The Guide. Published 1996 by Pascal Publishing, 342 pages.ISBN83-87037-28-1.
Tim Pepper, Andrew Beattie,Krakow. Published 2007 by Hunter Pub Inc., 160 pages.ISBN1-84306-308-5. The book includes description of public art galleries and museums.
Scott Simpson,Krakow. Published 2003 byThomas Cook Publishing, 192 pages. Transport, geography, sightseeing, history, and culture. Includes weblinks CD.ISBN1-84157-187-3.
The list includes the 107 urban municipalities governed by acity mayor (prezydent miasta) instead of a town mayor (burmistrz) ·Cities with powiat rights are initalics · Voivodeship cities are inbold
%2c_4_Wawel%2c_Old_Town%2c_Krakow%2c_Poland.jpg)
%2c_Podgorze%2cKrakow%2cPoland.JPG)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
