Cracow with its seventy fifty thousand inhabitants, is among the biggest Polish cities. Yet its renown, which has reached beyond Poland and Europe, is based neither on its size nor on its economic significance. The city on the Vistula, the cradle and center of Polish statehood, has been known predominantly as the nucleus of Polish national culture, as a city of thousands of unique old buildings which have survived numerous wars, and as a dynamic center of science, its tradition going back six centuries.(Podleski, J. 1995) Ward (1989) states that in the early Middle Ages Cracow was the main seat of the Slav of the Vistulanians, and it was probably then, in the 7th century, that the two mounds, of Krak and Wanda, were erected. In the tenth century Prince Mieszko I annexed Cracow and the land of the Vistulanians to the Polish State. In 1000 a bishopric was established in Cracow and the construction of the first cathedral was begun. As year 1038 began Prince Casimir the Restorer made Cracow his capital, and first stone buildings were built on Wawel Hill. In 1138 Boleslaus III Wrymouth chose the town as the seat of the Senior Prince when Poland was split into several provinces. After ravages by the Tartars in 1241, Prince Boleslaus the Chaste granted a charter to Cracow in 1257 and drew the city plan which has survived unchanged, with a regular grid of streets and a central square market place. From the 13th to the 15th centuries the stone and brick City Walls were built, surrounding the city and joining it with Wawel Castle.(Podleski, J. 1995)

In the reign of King Casimir the great the city and Wawel were thoroughly rebuilt in the Gothic style. The King settled the borough of Kazimierz to the south of Cracow and founded Cracow Academy, the predecessor of the oldest Polish university, the Jagellonian University. The city flourished in the 16th century under the last kings of the Jagellon dynasty, when a number of fine Renaissance buildings were erected. The period of the Vasa dynasty, particularly the reign of King Sigismund III Vasa, was marked by the lavish distinction of the Baroque.(Podleski, J. 1995) In 1609 Sigismund III Vasa moved the royal seat to Warsaw, yet Cracow remained the place of the coronation of the Polish kings and of their burial as it retained the title of the royal capital city. In the mid – 17th century Cracow was attacked by Swedish troops, which did again in the early 18th century. The year 1734 saw the last coronation in Wawel Cathedral, of Augustus III of the Saxon dynasty. (Podleski, J. 1995) After the First Partition of Poland in 1772 Cracow found itself near the country’s border. After the Second Partition, in 1794, a national insurrection started in Cracow, and its leader, Tadeusz Kosciuszko, took an oath to the nation in the Market Square. After the suppression of the Insurrection and the Third Partition the city was taken over by Austria. In 1809 it was joined with the Grand Duchy of Warsaw. After Napoleon’s defeat, the Congress of Vienna proclaimed Cracow a Free City. After Cracow’s autonomy was abolished in 1846, the Austrians turned Wawel Castle into military barracks again, encircled Wawel Hill with fortifications and built a line of defenses around the city. (Podleski, J. 1995) Cracow 4

In 1918, after over a century of foreign rule, Cracow became independent again. The years of World War II were marked by the extinction of the Jews in Kazimierz and the rule of Governor General Hans Frank, who resided at Wawel Castle. On 18th of January 1945 the city was liberated by Soviet troops. In the post war period it expanded rapidly and developed into a large industrial center, with large steel works. In 1978 the UNESCO Organization listed Cracow as a monument of world cultural heritage. (Podleski, J. 1995) The high limestone Wawel Hill, which rises in the center of the city, holds a treasure of historical monuments which are a symbol of Poland’s history and culture. The first traces of human residence at Wawel go back fifty thousand years. Until the 17th century it was the seat of the Polish kings. The Royal Castle, of predominantly Renaissance character, was built by Italian architects. The north-eastern part of the Castle contains the Treasury and the Armory, and in the western part a collection of Eastern art is exhibited. The Gothic Cathedral is another fine building on Wawel Hill. It is surrounded by a ring of chapels, with the pearl of Renaissance art, the Sigismund Chapel. Almost all Polish kings, beginning with Ladislaus the Short, were crowned in the Cathedral. It was also the place of royal funerals and burials, and later received the remains of national heroes and great poets. In the Wawel fortifications the most impressive are the Senators’ Tower, the Sandomierz Tower and the Thieves’ Tower, as well as the brick walls which run along the hill perimeter. At the western part of the Hill there is an entrance which leads down to the Dragon’s Cave, which
Cracow 5

features in the ancient legend about the dragon once residing at the foot of Wawel. ( Ward, P. 1989)

The Old City holds most of the finest monuments and museums in Cracow. The oldest part of Cracow is outlined by the Gardens, a four kilometer long green belt which in the 19th century replaced the demolished medieval city walls which once encircled the city. Some elements of those fortifications have survived, namely the unique 15th century Barbican and a section of the walls with four towers and St. Florian’s Gate. Podleski, 1995 describes the Market Square is particularly remarkable, this largest and most beautiful square in Cracow for seven centuries, witnessed a number of historic events. Among the most important buildings are the Gothic St. Mary’s Church, with the High Altar carved by Wit Stwosz, the Cloth Hall, a busy trading center which dates from the reign of Casimir the Great and was later rebuilt in the Renaissance style, the 13th century Town Hall Tower, as well as many mainly Renaissance and Baroque houses and palaces. Other famous historic buildings in the Old Town are the 15th century Collegium Maius, the oldest seat of the Jagellonian University, and St. Anne’s Church, the finest baroque church in Cracow. Among the many museums in the Old Town the most recommended are the Czartoryski Museum, with its fine collections of paintings, crafts, items which once belonged to the monarchs. (Ward, P. 1989)
Cracow 6

The old borough of Kazimierz, now within the city center, was founded in 1335 by King Casimir the Great. Its center was a vast market place, not much smaller than the Cracow one, and the borough was encircled by walls, whose remains can still be seen. In the late 15th century Jews were moved from Cracow to Kazimierz. They lived there for centuries, until World War II, enjoying autonomy. Therefore, apart from monuments of Polish history and culture, Kazimierz is particularly rich in the evidence of a specific and unique Jewish material and spiritual culture. (Podleski, J. 1995) Polish history and tradition is best symbolized in the Church Na Skalce. According to legend, Stanislaus, Bishop of Cracow, was killed there. The Polish kings used to make a pilgrimage to that church before their coronation. The crypt now contains the tombs of distinguished Poles. In Wolnica Square, which is what has remained of the original vast market place, stands the 15th century Town Hall. Jewish history and culture is represented by the Old Synagogue, the oldest synagogue in Poland, originally Gothic but later rebuilt in the Renaissance style. (Wikipedia Encyclopedia, 2006) As seen through the eyes of history, Cracow and its provinces hold the most powerful meanings of Polish culture and tradition. Its renown for unbelievable showcases of Polish history that goes back about six centuries. Amazingly among the biggest cities in Poland, it’s worthwhile to be seen through your own eyes, and be not forgotten with memories for years to come.