Krakow

Krakow (in Polish: Kraków [^krakuf] (?·i)) is the capital of the voivodato of Small Poland (Województwo małopolskie) and one of the largest, ancient and most important cities in Poland. Located on the margins of the Vistula River, it has a population of 766 000 inhabitants (3 million in its metropolitan area), which makes it the second most populous city in Poland.

Krakow has traditionally been one of the economic, scientific, cultural and artistic centers of the country. For much of Polish history it was the capital. Therefore, it is still the heart of Poland for many citizens. Currently, Krakow is a very important center of local and international tourism, with more than eight million tourists a year. The historic center of Krakow was declared, together with the historic center of Quito, as a World Heritage Site by Unesco in 1978. It was also the European Capital of Culture in 2000.

Krakow was the venue for the 2014 Volleyball World Championship and the 2016 European Handball Championship. The city has also been chosen as the European City of Sport in 2014 and as the venue for the World Youth Day Youth of the year 2016.

Etymology

Krakow's name derives from Krakus (Krak, Grakch), the city's legendary founder and ruler of the Lechita tribe. In Polish, Kraków is an archaic possessive form of Krak and essentially means "(the city) of Krak". Krakus' name may derive from "krakula", a Proto-Slavic word for a judges staff, or from the Proto-Slavic word "krak", meaning oak, a tree considered sacred and often associated with the concept of genealogy.

The first mention of Prince Krakus (then spelled Grakch) dates from 1190, although the city existed as early as the 17th century VII, inhabited by the tribe of the Vistulans.

The official full name of the city, used on ceremonial occasions, is Royal Capital City of Krakow. His demonym is Cracovian.

The city is known in Czech and Slovak as Krakov, in Lithuanian as Krokuva, in Hungarian as Krakkó, in German as Krakau, in Latin, Spanish and Italian as Cracovia and in French as Cracovie. In Ukrainian and Yiddish it is known as Krakiv and Kroke, respectively.

History of Krakow

There is archaeological evidence to suggest that a Stone Age settlement was established at the present location of Wawel. A legend attributes its foundation to the mythical ruler Krakus, who built it on top of a cave occupied by a voracious Wawel Dragon. Many knights tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the dragon by fighting it, until a shoemaker named Dratewka gave him a sheep full of brimstone; the dragon ate it, drank the water of the Vistula river and burst.

The Middle Ages

Barbecue of Krakow, built in 1498

The first written record of the city's name dates from the year 966, when a Sephardic traveler, Ibrahim ibn Ya'qub, described Krakow as a notable center of commerce.

At the end of the X century, the city was an important center of trade, forming part of the interests of the dynasty of the Piasts. Brick buildings were built, including the royal castle, Romanesque churches such as St. Adalbert's, a cathedral, and a basilica. The city was almost completely destroyed during the Mongol invasions of 1241, 1259 and 1287. It was rebuilt and a Municipal Corporation was established in 1257, according to the Magdeburg law, with tax benefits and trade privileges for its citizens. The city rose to prominence in 1364, when Casimir III of Poland founded the University of Kraków, the second oldest university in Central Europe after the University of Prague.

The city continued to grow under the Lithuanian-Polish union of the Jogalia dynasty (1386-1572). As the capital of a powerful state and a member of the Hanseatic League, the city attracted multitudes of artisans, businesses, and guilds as science and the arts began to flourish. After the creation of the Republic of Two Nations in 1569, Krakow continued to be the capital of the new state until 1596, when Warsaw became the capital.

Modern Age

The history of Krakow is pretty much the same as that of all of Poland. Notable is the fact that after the divisions of Poland in the 18th century, Krakow, like all of Lesser Poland, passed into the hands of the Austrian Empire.

In 1809 it was incorporated into the fleeting Grand Duchy of Warsaw ("protectorate" or satellite state of the French Empire created by Napoleon Bonaparte). After Napoleon was defeated and the Congress of Vienna took place in 1815, the city of Krakow and its surroundings formed a Free City of Krakow, the only meager Polish territory that maintained some remnant of independence, however after the rebellions of 1846 the Free City of Krakow was again annexed to Austria and then to the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Under Austrian rule, much more tolerant than the Prussian and Russian rule in other parts of Poland, Krakow became the main Polish cultural center. During the First World War, and especially in 1917, Krakow became the headquarters of a German headquarters.

From 1918 to the present day

At the end of the First World War, Krakow was one of the constituent areas of the resurgent independent Poland, then called the Second Polish Republic.

After the start of World War II and the invasion of Poland in September 1939, the city became part of the General Government, a special administrative region within the territory of Nazi Germany, and from November 4, 1939 became its capital. The head of the General Government was held by Hans Frank, who had his headquarters in Wawel Castle.

The Nazis envisioned the conversion of Kraków into a fully German city after the removal of all Jewish and Polish inhabitants, renaming places and streets according to German propaganda or attempting to present it as a historic German city. dubbed Sonderaktion Krakau, more than 180 university professors and academics were arrested and sent to the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps, although the survivors were later released at the request of prominent Italians. The Jewish population first they were confined in a ghetto, in which many of them died of disease and starvation. Those who survived were later killed or sent to concentration camps, including the Kraków-Płaszów and Auschwitz camps.

Deportation of Jews from the ghetto of Krakow by the SS, in 1943.

The story of Oskar Schindler, a German businessman who settled in the city and bought a factory where he employed Jews from the ghetto for his new military utensils factory, the Deutsche Emailwaren Fabrik, is famous., which in turn saved them from ending up in the death camps. Likewise, the film director Roman Polanski was a survivor of the ghetto. Although it was looted by the German authorities, Kraków remained relatively unscathed until the end. of the war, saving a good part of its historical and architectural legacy. Soviet forces entered the city on 18 January 1945 and began arresting those Poles loyal to the Polish government-in-exile, pro-Nazi collaborators or those who had served in the Armia Krajowa.

After the war, Krakow's intellectual and academic community came under the control of the new authorities of the Polish People's Republic. The communist government ordered the construction of the largest steel plant in the country, in the newly created neighborhood of Nowa Huta. (now Sendzimir Steel Works owned by the Mittal company) marked the transformation of Krakow from a university town to an industrial center. As a consequence, the new working class that developed in the city contributed to a significant increase in population.

In 1978 UNESCO added Krakow's Old Town to the list of World Heritage Sites for the first time.

Culture

Podgórze Town Hall, initially a small settlement, now a district of Krakow

Krakow's Old Town (Stare Miasto) has a very rich architecture, with beautiful examples of Renaissance, Baroque, and Gothic architecture. Krakow's cathedrals and palaces display a wealth of color with architectural details such as stained glass, paintings and sculptures.

The most prominent buildings in the city are the Royal Castle and the cathedral on Wawel Hill, where King Władysław Jagiełło was buried; the medieval city (Stare Miasto) with its beautiful square; the market square (200 meters each side); dozens of old churches and museums; the 14th century buildings of the Jagiellonian University; and Kazimierz, the historic center of Krakow's Jews.

Royal Castle of Krakow (Wawel)

Built in the lowercase">14th century, the Gothic St. Mary's Basilica borders the market square and has a very famous altar of Veit Stoss. Every hour, the trumpet call (hejnal) is heard from the tower of the cathedral. Catholic Archbishop: Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz.

Table The lady of the armor by Leonardo da Vinci, Czartoryski Museum, Krakow.

The city has 28 museums, divided into national and municipal museums, it also has a number of art collections and public art galleries. The National Museum established in 1879, which is the main branch of the National Museum of Poland, with permanent collections from all over the country, as well as the national art collection on Wawel Hill are accessible to the general public. The Czartoryski Museum houses works by Rembrandt and Leonardo da Vinci.

• The Wawel Castle National Art Collection is located on Wawel Hill, the former residence of three Polish monarch dynasties. The royal chambers houses works of art, period furniture, paintings by Polish and European authors, collection objects, and a large sample of monumental flamenco tapestry of the centuryXVI.
• The National Museum is the richest museum in the country, with collections containing several hundreds of thousands of articles that are largely found in the main building in Ul. 3 Maja, however, currently there are nine separate divisions of the museum in the city, one of the most popular is the Polish Art Gallery of the centuryXIX in Sukiennice, with the collection of paintings and sculptures best known to the young Polish movement.

Other important museums of special interest in Krakow include the Manggha Museum of Japan Art and Technology (M. Konopnickiej 26), the Museum of Stanisław Wyspiański (Szczepanska St 11), Jan Matejko Manor in Krzesławice, a museum dedicated to the master of painting, Emeryk Hutten; Czapski Museum, and Józef Mehoffer Manor.

Climate

Average climate parameters of Krakow-Balice (1991-2020)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	16.6	19.8	24.1	30.0	32.6	34.2	35.7	37.3	34.8	27.1	22.5	19.3	37.3
Average temperature (°C)	1.6	3.6	8.3	15.1	19.8	23.3	25.3	25.0	19.4	14.0	7.6	2.7	13.8
Average temperature (°C)	-1.6	-0.2	3.5	9.3	14.0	17.6	19.3	18.9	13.9	8.8	3.8	-0.5	8.9
Temp. medium (°C)	-4.7	-3.6	-0.8	3.7	8.5	12.2	13.8	13.4	9.1	4.7	0.6	-3.4	4.5
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	-29.9	-29.5	-26.7	-7.5	-3.2	-0.1	5.4	2.7	-3.1	-7.4	-17.2	-29.5	-29.9
Total precipitation (mm)	37.9	32.3	38.1	46.4	79.0	77.0	98.2	72.5	65.8	51.2	41.4	33.4	673.2
Nevadas (cm)	162.3	138.3	31.5	3.9	0	0	0	0	0	0.7	23.8	72.7	433.2
Days of rain (≥ 1 mm)	9.1	8.4	8.9	8.2	10.3	9.2	11.1	8.5	8.6	8.3	8.6	7.8	107
Days of snowfall (≥ 1 mm)	17.9	14.1	5.6	0.8	0	0	0	0	0	0.3	4.3	11.9	54.9
Hours of sun	46.8	66.6	108.2	160.9	226.7	216.3	237.1	226.8	153.2	101.6	48.2	35.9	1628.3
Relative humidity (%)	85.8	82.5	76.3	69.9	72.0	72.7	73.2	74.5	80.2	83.8	87.7	87.5	78.8
Source: Average and total monthly

Average climate parameters of Krakow-Obserwatorium (1991-2020)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	17.3	21.0	24.7	31.2	33.7	35.3	36.3	38.3	35.8	27.9	24.0	19.9	38.3
Average temperature (°C)	2.3	4.4	9.1	15.8	20.6	24.0	26.0	25.8	20.2	14.6	8.2	3.3	14.5
Average temperature (°C)	-1.0	0.4	4.1	9.8	14.6	18.3	20.0	19.3	14.2	9.2	4.4	0.2	9.5
Temp. medium (°C)	-3.5	-2.6	0.3	4.8	9.5	13.2	14.9	14.4	10.1	5.7	1.7	-2.2	5.5
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	-26.1	-26.8	-23.2	-4.6	-1.8	2.3	6.6	4.5	-2.6	-5.7	-16.1	-25.7	-26.8
Total precipitation (mm)	37.9	33.3	38.3	48.4	82.6	81.1	98.6	75.1	70.3	53.1	41.8	32.4	692.9
Nevadas (cm)	177.3	161.3	48.3	3.3	0	0	0	0	0	1.0	25.1	75.4	491.7
Days of rain (≥ 1 mm)	9.5	7.7	8.8	8.2	10.7	10.0	10.9	9.1	8.8	8.4	8.1	7.9	108.1
Relative humidity (%)	82.2	78.9	73.0	66.1	68.4	68.9	70.0	72.4	79.3	82.7	84.8	83.9	75.9
Source: Average and total monthly

District administration

Kraków is divided into 18 administrative districts (dzielnica), each with a degree of autonomy from municipal government. The current system assigns a Roman numeral to each district along with its name.

Until March 1991, the city was divided into four districts: the towns of Podgórze, Nowa Huta and Krowodrza, which had been absorbed into Kraków, and the Old Town (called Śródmieście in Polish) of Kraków itself.

Distrital Organization of Krakow	Districts
	I. Stare Miasto II. Grzegórzki III. Prądnik Czerwony IV. Prądnik Biały V. Krowodrza VI. Bronowice VII. Zwierzyniec VIII. Dębniki IX. Łagiewniki-Borek Fałęcki	X. Swoszowice XI. Podgórze Duchackie XII. Bieżanów-Prokocim XIII. Podgórze XIV. Czyyny XV. Mistrzejowice XVI. Bieńczyce XVII Wzgórza Krzesławickie XVIII. Nowa Huta

Tourism

La Lonja de los Paños y la Torre del Ayuntamiento en la Plaza del Mercado de Cracovia.

Krakow is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world.^{[who?][citation needed]< /sup> Most of the city's tourist attractions are concentrated in the neighborhoods that make up the historic center, that is: Stare Miasto and Kazimierz.}

• Historic Center of Krakow
• Rynek Główny Square
• Wawel
• Wawel Castle
• Wawel Cathedral
• Czartoryski Museum
• Kazimierz
• Basilica of Saint Mary
• Church of Saint Andrew
• District of Podgórze, where the Jewish ghetto and the Schindler Factory were located.
• Polish Museum of Aviation
• Jacobea Route of Small Poland
• Río Vístula

Transportation

Tram de Bombardier Transportation in Krakow

Airports

Krakow has one international airport, John Paul II Krakow Airport (usually called Balice Airport), located 11 km from the city center. With around 126 international and domestic flights per day and with more than 5 million passengers in 2017, it is the second airport in Poland.

The Krakow John Paul II - Balice Airport has 2 terminals, T1, for international flights, and T2, for domestic flights, connected by a Minibus service.

There are various means of transport to get from the airport to the center of Krakow: train, public bus, private minibus and taxi.

95 kilometers northwest of the city center is also the Katowice International Airport.

Railway

Kraków Station Główny

Krakow is linked by rail to all major Polish cities via Intercity trains, as well as to other European cities via international trains such as Prague, Vienna and Budapest.

It is also the center of important regional train traffic. An efficient shuttle train service connects the city center with the Balice airport.

The most important station in Kraków is Kraków Główny (main station), located a short distance from the historic center, very well located. The second most important station in Kraków is Płaszów, located on the other side of the Vistula River, to the south of the city.

Sports

The star sport in Krakow is soccer, represented in the Ekstraklasa (First Division) of the Polish soccer league by two teams: Wisła Cracovia and KS Cracovia. Both teams, founded in 1906, have an intense rivalry that is measured every year in the so-called Holy War in Krakow, the derby between the two teams.

KS Cracovia ice hockey and handball are two of the best teams in each sport. While Wisła Cracovia for women's basketball was champion of the Polish league in 2012 and 2013. Juvenia Kraków for rugby and the Kraków Tigers for American football are also teams from the city.

Kraków applied as the venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics, although a referendum held by the inhabitants came back negative, and they withdrew their candidacy.

Predecessor: Minsk

European City 2023

Successor: -

Universities

Collegium Maius of Jaguelonic University.

Collegium Novum

• Uniwersytet Jagielloński
• Universidad Pedagógica/Uniwersytet Pedagogiczny
• Akademia Górniczo-Hutnicza
• Politechnika Krakowska
• Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny
• Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego
• Akademia Muzyczna
• Akademia Sztuk Pięknych
• Uniwersytet Rolniczy
• Uniwersytet Papieski Jana Pawła II
• Akademia Sztuk Teatralnych im. Stanisława Wyspiańskiego
• Krakowska Akademia im. A. Frycza-Modrzewskiego
• Krakowska Wyższa Szkoła Promocji Zdrowia
• Małopolska Wyższa Szkoła Zawodowa
• Wyższa Pedagogiczna Szkoła Zawodowa im. Św. Rodziny
• Wyższa Szkoła Ekonomii i Informatyki
• Wyższa Szkoła Europejska im. Ks. Józefa Tischnera
• Wyższa Szkoła Filozoficzno-Pedagogiczna Ignatianum
• Wyższa Szkoła Handlowa
• Wyższa Szkoła Ochrony Środowiska, Turystyki i Rekreacji
• Wyższa Szkoła Ubezpieczeń
• Wyższa Szkoła Zarządzania i Bankowości

Sister cities

Notable people

Succession

Predecessor: Weimar	European Capital of Culture along with Avignon Bergen Bologna Brussels Prague Helsinki Reikiavik Santiago de Compostela 2000	Successor: Rotterdam Porto
Predecessor: Istanbul	Headquarters of the Sessions of the World Heritage Committee 2017	Successor: