Kraków From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other uses, see Krakow (disambiguation) and Cracow (disambiguation). Kraków Royal Capital City of Kraków Stołeczne Królewskie Miasto Kraków Main Market Square, Wawel Castle, Barbican, St. Marys Basilica, St. Peter and Paul Church, Collegium Maius Main Market Square, Wawel Castle, Barbican, St. Marys Basilica, St. Peter and Paul Church, Collegium Maius Flag of Kraków Flag Coat of arms of Kraków Coat of arms Kraków is located in Poland Kraków Kraków Coordinates: 50°3′41″N 19°56′18″E Country Poland Voivodeship Lesser Poland County Kraków County City rights 5 June 1257 Government • Mayor Jacek Majchrowski (I) • Deputy Mayor Tadeusz Trzmiel (I) Area • City 327 km2 (126 sq mi) • Metro 1,023.21 km2 (395.06 sq mi) Elevation 219 m (719 ft) Population (31 December 2012) • City 758,334 • Density 2,300/km2 (6,000/sq mi) • Metro 1,725,894 Demonym Cracovian Time zone CET (UTC+1) • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2) Postal code 30-024 to 31–962 Area code(s) +48 12 Website krakow.pl Kraków (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkrakuf] ( listen)) also Cracow, or Krakow (US English /ˈkrækaʊ/, UK English /ˈkrækɒv/) is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River (Polish: Wisła) in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century.[1] Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life and is one of Polands most important economic hubs. It was the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1569; the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1596;[2] Free City of Kraków from 1815 to 1846; the Grand Duchy of Cracow from 1846 to 1918; and Kraków Voivodeship from the 14th century to 1999. It is now the capital of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. The city has grown from a Stone Age settlement to Polands second most important city. It began as a hamlet on Wawel Hill and was already being reported as a busy trading centre of Slavonic Europe in 965.[1] With the establishment of new universities and cultural venues at the emergence of the Second Polish Republic in 1918 and throughout the 20th century, Kraków reaffirmed its role as a major national academic and artistic centre. The city has a population of approximately 760,000 whereas about 8 million people live within a 100 kilometres (62 miles) radius of its main square.[3] After the invasion of Poland at the start of World War II, Kraków became the capital of Germanys General Government. Poles and Jews were classified as Untermenschen by the Nazis and were targeted for eventual extermination. The Jewish population of the city was moved into a walled zone known as the Kraków Ghetto, from which they were sent to German extermination camps such as the nearby Auschwitz and the concentration camps like Płaszów. In 1978, Karol Wojtyła, archbishop of Kraków, was elevated to the papacy as Pope John Paul II – the first Slavic pope ever, and the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.[4] Also that year, UNESCO approved the first ever sites for its new World Heritage List, including the entire Old Town in inscribing Cracows Historic Centre.[5][6] Kraków is classified as a global city by GaWC, with the ranking of High sufficiency.[7] Cited as one of Europes most beautiful cities,[8] its extensive cultural heritage across the epochs of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture includes the Wawel Cathedral and the Royal Castle on the banks of the Vistula river, the St. Marys Basilica and the largest medieval market square in Europe, the Rynek Główny. Kraków is home to Jagiellonian University, one of the oldest universities in the world and traditionally Polands most reputable institution of higher learning. In 2000, Kraków was named European Capital of Culture. The city will also host the next World Youth Day in 2016.
Posted on: Fri, 22 Aug 2014 02:28:49 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015