Kraków

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This article is about the city in Poland. There is also Krakow, Wisconsin in the United States of America.
Kraków
Coat of Arms of Kraków
(Coat of Arms of Kraków)
Flag of Kraków
(Flag of Kraków)
Motto: none
Kraków on a map
Voivodship Lesser Poland Voivodship
Municipal Government Rada miasta Kraków
Mayor Jacek Majchrowski
Area 326,8 km²
Latitude
Longitude
50°04' E
19°57' N
Population
 - total
 - density

757 500
2317.93/km²
-
Area code (+48) 12
Car registration marks KR OOO1 to KR 99999
Official website (in Polish)

Kraków (sometimes also Krakow or Cracow, in full Royal Capital City of Kraków; Polish: Kraków, Królewskie Stołeczne Miasto Kraków) is one of the oldest and largest cities of Poland, with a population of 741,000 (as of 2001). This historic city is situated on the Vistula (Wisła) River at the foot of Wawel Hill in the southerly region of Little Poland (Małopolska). It is the capital of the Lesser Poland Voivodship (województwo małopolskie) (since 1999); previously it was the capital of Kraków Voivodship (since the 14th century).

Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading scientific, cultural and artistic centres of the country. It was once the national capital and is considered by many to still be the heart of Poland, due to its history of more than a thousand years. Kraków is also a major centre of local and international tourism, with more than two million visitors annually.

Modern landmarks

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

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

The Gothic St Mary's Church stands by the market place. It was built in the 14th century, and its famous wooden altar was carbed by Veit Stoss. Every hour, a trumpet call called the hejnał is sounded from the church's main tower.

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

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

File:Krakau Marienkirche 300px.jpg
St Mary's Church

Kraków contains 28 museums and art galleries, such as the National Museum (Kraków) and Czartoryski Museum (Muzeum Czartoryskich).

Kraków is a major centre of education. Today there are 12 university-level institutions with about 10,000 faculty and 51,000 students.

Notable modern artists living in Kraków include:

Historical districts

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

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

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

Administrative districts

  1. Stare Miasto
  2. Grzegórzki
  3. Prądnik Czerwony
  4. Prądnik Biały
  5. Łobzów
  6. Bronowice
  7. Bieńczyce
  8. Zwierzyniec
  9. Dębniki
  10. Łagiewniki
  11. Swoszowice
  12. Wola Duchacka
  13. Prokocim-Bieżanów
  14. Podgórze
  15. Czyżyny
  16. Mistrzejowice
  17. Grębałów
  18. Nowa Huta

Politics

Kraków constituency

Members of Parliament (Sejm) elected from Kraków constituency

Municipal politics

to be written yet

History

Medieval

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

Before the Polish state existed, Kraków was the capital of the tribe of the Vistulians, probably linked to the larger polity of Greater Moravia. Kraków's first appearance in historical records dates back to the 8th century, and notes that the prince of the Vistulians was baptized.

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

In 1038, Kraków became the seat of the Polish government. Two hundred years later, it was almost entirely destroyed in the Tatar invasions. In 1257, the city was rebuilt, in a form which has remained practically unaltered, and received city rights under Magdeburg Law. 1308 saw a rebellion of German-speaking citizens in Kraków. The rebellion cost Poland the city of Gdansk, which was taken by the Teutonic Orders, but German-speakers lost their political ambitions and began to Polonize.

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

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

Renaissance

In 1488 the imperial Poet Laureate and humanist Conrad Celtes founded the Sodalitas Litterarum Vistulana, a learned society based on the Roman Acadiemies. In 1489 Veit Stoss of Nuremberg finished his work on the Great Altar of the Church of St. Mary. He later also wrought a marble sarcophagus for Casimir IV. Numerous other artists, mainly from Nuremberg, worked in Kraków. By 1500, Haller had established a printing press in the city.

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

Decline

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

After the partition of Poland

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

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

After the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, Austria granted autonomy to Galicia, making Polish a language of government and establishing a provincial diet. As this form of Austrian rule was more benevolent than that exercised by Russia and Prussia, Kraków became a Polish national symbol and a center of culture and art. Famous painters, poets and writers of this period include Jan Matejko, Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, Jan Kasprowicz, Juliusz Kossak, Wojciech Kossak Stanislaw Wyspianski, and Stanislaw Przybyszewski. The latter two were leaders of Polish modernism.

20th century

During the First World War, Kraków Legions led by Jozef Pilsudski set out to fight for the liberation of Poland, in alliance with Austrian and German troops. The Austrians and Germans lost the war, but the terms of the Treaty of Versailles (1919) established the first sovereign Polish state in over a century.

Poland was partitioned again in 1939, at the outset of the Second World War, and Nazi German forces entered Kraków in September of that year. It became the capital of the General Government, a colonial authority under the leadership of Hans Frank. The occupation took a heavy toll, particularly on the city's cultural heritage. On one occasion, over 150 professors and other academics of the Jagiellonian University were summoned to a meeting, arrested and dispatched to the concentration camp at Sachsenhausen (see also Sonderaktion Krakau). Many relics and monuments of national culture were destroyed or looted. Major concentration camps near Kraków included Plaszow and Auschwitz.

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

Kraków's population has quadrupled since the end of the war, and it is still regarded as the cultural capital of Poland. In 1978, UNESCO placed Kraków on the list of World Heritage Sites.

Sports

Wisła Kraków 1906, Polish football team
Wisła Kraków 1906, Polish football team

See also:

External links

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