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, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 (2023), with 1,428,363 people living in the Kraków metropolitan area. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 and has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life. Its Old Town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, one of the world's first sites granted the status.
The city began as a fortified settlement on Wawel Hill around the 8th century. However, the city was spared from destruction. In 1978, Karol Wojtyła, archbishop of Kraków, was elevated to the papacy as Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. Kraków is home to Jagiellonian University, one of the oldest universities in the world and often considered Poland's most reputable academic institution of higher learning. The city also hosts a number of institutions of national significance, including the National Museum, Kraków Opera, Juliusz Słowacki Theatre, National Stary Theatre, and the Jagiellonian Library.
Kraków is classified as a global city with the ranking of "high sufficiency" by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. The city is served by John Paul II International Airport, the country's second busiest airport and the most important international airport for the inhabitants of south-eastern Poland. In 2000, Kraków was named European Capital of Culture. In 2013, Kraków was officially approved as a UNESCO City of Literature. The city hosted World Youth Day in 2016, and the European Games in 2023.
Etymology
The name of Kraków is traditionally derived from Krakus (Krak, Grakch), the legendary founder of Kraków and a ruler of the early Medieval tribe of Vistulans. In Polish, is an archaic possessive form of Krak and essentially means "Krak's (town)".
The city's full official name is , Until the 2000s, the English form of the name Cracow substantially led in English prevalence the recent and less-modified borrowings Krakow and Kraków. However, currently the most common variant in English text is the unmodified Kraków.
Foreign names include German and Dutch ; Yiddish (Krake); Czech and Slovak Krakov; Latin, Italian, Spanish and Romanian Cracovia; Portuguese ; French ; Hungarian ; Lithuanian ; Ukrainian (Krakiv); and Russian Краков (Krakov).
Kraków began as a fortified settlement of the Vistulans, a Lechitic tribe, around the 8th century. A legend attributes Kraków's founding to the mythical ruler Krakus, who built it above a cave occupied by a dragon, 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 by Moravia (876–879), but captured by a Bohemian duke Boleslaus I in 955.
In 1038, Kraków became the seat of the Polish government. It was rebuilt practically identically, based on new location act and incorporated in 1257 by the high duke Bolesław V the Chaste who following the example of Wrocław, introduced city rights modelled on the Magdeburg law allowing for tax benefits and new trade privileges for the citizens.
thumb|Woodcut of Kraków from the [[Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493]]
In 1335, King Casimir III the Great () declared the two western suburbs to be a new city named after him, Kazimierz (). The defensive walls were erected around the central section of Kazimierz in 1362, and a plot was set aside for the Augustinian order next to Skałka. businesses, and guilds as science and the arts began to flourish.
Early modern period
The 15th and 16th centuries were known as Poland's or Golden Age. Later in 1707, the city underwent an outbreak of bubonic plague that left 20,000 of the city's residents dead.
19th century
thumb|[[Tadeusz Kościuszko taking the oath of loyalty to the Polish nation in Kraków's market square (Rynek), 1794]]
Already weakened during the 18th century, by the mid-1790s the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had twice been partitioned by its neighbors: Russia, the Habsburg empire and Prussia. From 1796 to 1809, the population of the city rose from 22,000 to 26,000 with an increasing percentage of nobles and officials. Kraków was also an influential centre of Jewish spiritual life, with all its manifestations of religious observance—from Orthodox to Hasidic and Reform Judaism—flourishing side by side.
Following the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in September 1939, the city of Kraków became part of the General Government, a separate administrative region of the Third Reich. On 26 October 1939, the Nazi régime set up , one of four districts within the General Government. On the same day, the city of Kraków became the capital of the administration. The General Government was ruled by Governor-General Hans 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. On 28 November 1939, Frank set up ('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 of forced-labour groups. The Polish Home Army maintained a parallel underground administrative system.
At the outbreak of World 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.
thumb|upright=1.35|Kraków's territorial growth from the late 18th to the 20th century
After the war, under the Polish 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.
Geography
thumb|[[Tyniec|Tyniec Abbey with the Bielany Camaldolese Hermit Monastery in the distance]]
Kraków lies in the southern part of Poland, on the Vistula River, approximately above sea level. The city is located on the border between different physiographic regions: the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland in the north-western parts of the city, the Małopolska Upland in the north-east, the Sandomierz Basin (east) and the Western Beskidian Foothills of the Carpathians (south).
There are five nature reserves in Kraków, with a combined area of ca. . Due to their ecological value, these areas are legally protected. but with winter temperatures on average still below freezing, it is perhaps best defined as having a semicontinental climate. In older reference periods it was classified as a warm summer continental climate (Dfb). By classification of Wincenty Okołowicz, it has a warm temperate climate in the centre of continental Europe with the "fusion" of different features.
Due to its geographic location, the city may be under marine influence, sometimes Arctic influence, but without direct influence, giving the city variable meteorological conditions over short spaces of time. The city lies in proximity to the Tatra Mountains and there are often occurrences of a foehn wind called halny, causing temperatures to rise rapidly. In relation to Warsaw, temperatures are very similar for most of the year, except that in the colder months southern 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 longer growing season. 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.
|source 2 = Meteomodel.pl (records, relative humidity 1991–2020, sunshine 1971–2000)
Cityscape
thumb|The [[Renaissance in Poland|Renaissance Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) in Main Market Square]]
thumb|[[Wawel Castle|Wawel Royal Castle]]
thumb|The [[Kraków Barbican, dating from around 1498, was once a fortified outpost of the inner medieval city.]]
Kraków provides a showcase setting for many historic forms of architecture developed over the ten centuries, especially Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque styles. Renowned artisans and skilled craftsmen from present-day Italy and Germany were brought and sponsored by kings or nobles who contributed to architectural wealth and diversity. 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. The district is bisected by the Royal Road, the coronation route traversed by the Kings of Poland. Several important monuments were lost in the course of history, notably the Ratusz town hall. However, the Gothic Town Hall Tower measuring in height remains standing.
right|thumb|[[Skałka ("Small Rock") Church, and the adjacent monastery of Pauline Fathers, is a place of burial for distinguished Poles and Cracovians.]]
As the city of Kraków began to expand further under the rule of the Austro-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 of Kraków Główny railway station and the city's Academy 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 in Vienna. Some major projects of the era include the development of the Jagiellonian University's new premises and the building of the Collegium 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 as the Palace of Art by Franciszek Mączyński and the 'House under the Globe'. Secession style architecture, which had arrived in Kraków from Vienna, became popular towards the end of the Partitions. 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. a number of new architectural projects were completed, including the construction of large business parks and commercial facilities such as the Galeria Krakowska, or infrastructure investments like the Kraków Fast Tram. A good example of this would be the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology designed by Arata Isozaki, the 2007-built Pawilon Wyspiański 2000,
Parks and gardens
thumb|[[Planty Park surrounds Kraków's Old Town.]]
thumb|A pavilion within the Planty Park during winter
There are about 40 parks in Kraków, including dozens of gardens and forests. Built on the banks of the Rudawa, the park was equipped with running and exercise tracks, playgrounds, a swimming pool, amphitheatre, pavilions, and a pond for boat rowing and water bicycles. It is located in the grounds of one of the city's larger parks, Błonia Park. Smaller green zones constitute parts of the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland Jurassic Landscape Parks' Board, which deals with the protection areas of the Polish Jura. Under its jurisdiction are: the Bielany-Tyniec Landscape Park (Park Bielańsko-Tyniecki), Tenczynek Landscape Park (Park Tenczyński) and Kraków Valleys Landscape Park (Park Krajobrazowy Dolinki Krakowskie), with their watersheds. 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 of thermophilous vegetation, grasslands and shrubs.
The city is spaced along an extended latitudinal transect of the Vistula River Valley with a network of tributaries including its right tributary Wilga, and left: Rudawa, Białucha, Dłubnia and Sanka. The rivers and their valleys along with bodies of water are some of the most interesting natural wonders of Kraków.
Governance
thumb|right|The New Town Hall of [[Podgórze, which used to be a self-governing independent town until its incorporation into Kraków in 1915]]
The Kraków City Council has 43 elected members,
In the Market Square stands the Gothic St. 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,
Knowledge and innovation community
Kraków is one of the co-location centres of Knowledge and Innovation Community (Sustainable Energy) of The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Local trains connect some of the suburbs. The bulk of the city's historic area has been turned into a pedestrian zone with rickshaws and horse-drawn carriages; however, the trams run within a three-block radius.
thumb|left|[[PKP Intercity train at the Main Railway Station]]
Railway connections are available to most Polish cities, e.g. Katowice, Częstochowa, Szczecin, Gdynia and Warsaw. International destinations include Bratislava, Budapest, Vienna, Prague, Berlin, Hamburg, Lviv, Kyiv, and Odesa (June–September).
Kraków's airport, officially named Kraków John Paul II International Airport , is located west of the city. Direct trains cover the route between Kraków Główny train station and the airport in 20 minutes. Kraków Airport served around 5,800,000 passengers in 2017. Also, the Katowice International Airport is located or about 75 minutes from Kraków.
Demographics
thumb|Kraków population pyramid in 2021
Kraków had a recorded population of 774,839 in 2019, which increased to 804,237 in 2023. Selected demographic indicators are presented in a table (below), compiled on the basis of only the population living in Kraków permanently. The larger metropolitan area of the city encompasses a territory in which (in 2010) 1,393,893 inhabitants live. 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. By the early 17th century the Kraków population had reached 28,000 inhabitants.
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%. As of 2019, it was estimated that foreigners accounted for as much as 10% of the city's population.
{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; width:20%;"
|+ Foreign residents (2023)
|-
! scope="column" | Nationality
! scope="column" | Population
|-
! scope="row" |
|45,100
|-
! scope="row" |
| 5,975
|-
! scope="row" |
| 3,640
|-
! scope="row" |
| 2,636
|-
! scope="row" |
| 2,221
|-
! scope="row" |
| 1,512
|}
;Population growth in Kraków since 1791
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Religion
The metropolitan city of Kraków has more than 300 churches and is known as the city 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. Mariavite Church, Polish Catholic Church, Polish Orthodox Church, Protestantism and Latter-Day Saints. As of 2017, weekly Mass attendance in the Archdiocese of Kraków was 49.9 percent, above the national Polish average of 38.3 percent.
Kraków contains also an outstanding collection of monuments of Jewish sacred 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 from Orthodox to Hasidic and Reform flourishing side by side. There were at least 90 synagogues in Kraków active before the Nazi 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. In recent time, thanks to efforts of the local Jewish and Polish organisations including foreign financial aid from the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, many synagogues underwent major restorations and serve religious and tourist purposes. Jagiellonian University, the oldest university in Poland and ranked by the Times Higher Education Supplement as the second-best university in the country, and renamed in 1817 to commemorate the royal Jagiellonian dynasty of Poland and Lithuania.
The Lajkonik, a bearded man dressed as a khan on a hobby horse, is a prominent element of intangible cultural heritage associated with Kraków. The tradition dates back to folklore surrounding the 13th-century Mongol invasion, when the local timber raftsmen successfully repelled a siege on the village of Zwierzyniec. 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 Mongol invasion by a guard warning citizens against the attack. Whilst playing, he was shot by an archer of the invading forces and the bugle call broke off at the moment he died. Obwarzanek, a braided, ring-shaped bread product, holds a distinct status in European culinary heritage, protected under the European Union's Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) framework.
Museums and national art galleries
thumb|left|The [[National Museum, Kraków|National Museum in Kraków is one of Poland's finest galleries of art.]]
, Kraków hosts approximately 82 museums and various museum branches; the city also has a number of art collections and public art galleries. The National Museum, established in 1879, as well as the National Art Collection on Wawel Hill, are all accessible to the general public.
thumb|Kraków Congress Centre, the city's business and cultural flagship
Other notable museums in Kraków include the Manggha Museum of Japanese Art and Technology (at M. Konopnickiej 26), 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.
The Polish Aviation Museum, considered one of the world's best aviation museums by CNN, features over 200 aircraft including a Sopwith 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. Activities of smaller museums around Kraków and in the Lesser Poland region are promoted and supported by the Małopolska Institute of Culture, which organises annual Małopolska Heritage Days.
Performing arts
thumb|Kraków's [[Juliusz Słowacki Theatre]]
The city has several famous theatres, including the Narodowy Stary Teatr (the National Old Theatre),
Music
thumb|left|Concert hall of the [[Kraków Philharmonic]]
Opera Krakowska
Academy of Music in Kraków, founded in 1888, is known worldwide as the alma mater of the contemporary Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki and it is also the only one in Poland to have two winners of the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw among its alumni. The academy organises concerts of its students and guests throughout the whole year. 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 from Eastern Europe.
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.
Sports
Football is the most popular sport in the city. They have been involved in the most intense rivalry in the country and one of the most intense in all of Europe, known as the Holy War ('). Other football clubs include Hutnik Kraków, Wawel Kraków, Wieczysta Kraków and one-time Polish champion Garbarnia Kraków. There is also the first-league rugby club Juvenia Kraków. Kraków has a number of additional, equally valued sports teams including twelve-time Polish ice hockey champions Cracovia and the twenty-time women's basketball champions Wisła Kraków. The Cracovia Marathon, with thousands of participants from two dozen countries annually, has been held in the city since 2002. The Arena boasts Poland's largest LED media façade, with a total surface of 5,200 m<sup>2</sup> of LED strip lighting, wrapping around the stadium, and one of Europe's largest LED screens, measuring over 540 m<sup>2</sup>.
Kraków was the host city of the 2014 FIVB Men's Volleyball World Championship and 2016 European Men's Handball Championship. It was also selected as the European City of Sport for 2014. Kraków was bidding to host the 2022 Winter Olympics with Jasná but the bid was rejected by a majority (69.72%) of the vote in a referendum on 16 May 2014. Krakow and the Malopolska region hosted the 2023 European Games from 21 June to 2 July 2023. More than 7,000 athletes representing 49 countries participated.
Notable people
International relations
Consulates
There are eight consulates general in Kraków – Austria, France, Germany, Hungary, Russia, Slovakia, Ukraine, United States, three honorary consulates general – India, Japan, Turkey, 24 honorary consulates – Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Indonesia, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Uruguay, and a Representative of the Government of Kurdistan Region.
Twin towns and sister cities
Kraków is twinned, or maintains close relations, with 36 cities around the world:
- Batu, Indonesia (2000)
- Fes, Morocco (2004)
- Innsbruck, Austria (1998)
- Liège, Belgium (1978)
- Rome, Italy
Bibliography
- Jane Hardy, Al Rainnie, Restructuring Krakow: Desperately Seeking Capitalism. Published 1996 by Mansell Publishing, 285 pages. Business, economics, finance. .
- Edward Hartwig, Kraków, with Jerzy Broszkiewicz (contributor). Published 1980, by Sport i Turystyka, 239 pages. .
- Bolesław T. Łaszewski, Kraków: karta z dziejów dwudziestolecia. Published 1985, by Bicentennial Pub. Corp. (original from the University of Michigan), 132 pages. .
- Joanna Markin, Bogumiła Gnypowa, Kraków: The Guide. Published 1996 by Pascal Publishing, 342 pages. .
- Tim Pepper, Andrew Beattie, Krakow. Published 2007 by Hunter Pub Inc., 160 pages. . The book includes description of public art galleries and museums.
- Scott Simpson, Krakow. Published 2003 by Thomas Cook Publishing, 192 pages. Transport, geography, sightseeing, history, and culture. Includes weblinks CD. .
- Dorota Wąsik, Emma Roper-Evans, Krakow. Published 2002 by Somerset. Cultural guidebook series, 160 pages. .
- Richard Watkins, Best of Kraków, Published 2006, by Lonely Planet, 64 pages, complemented by fold-out maps. .
External links
- on Virtual Shtetl