Kraków (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkrakuf] listen ), also Cracow or Krakow (US English /ˈkrɑːkaʊ/, 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. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life and is one of Poland's most important economic hubs. It was the capital of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1038 to 1569; the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1596; the 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 1998.
Population: 755,050
Latitude: 50° 03' 41.15" N
Longitude: 19° 56' 11.69" E
The Cloth Hall (Polish: Sukiennice) in Kraków, Lesser Poland, dates to the Renaissance and is one of the city's most recognizable icons. It is the central feature of the main market square in the Kraków Old Town (listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Si…
Wieliczka [vʲɛˈlʲit͡ʂka] is a town (2006 population: 19,128) in southern Poland in the Kraków metropolitan area, and situated (since 1999) in Lesser Poland Voivodeship; previously, it was in Kraków Voivodeship (1975–1998).
The Czartoryski Museum and Library (Polish: Muzeum Książąt Czartoryskich w Krakowie) is a museum located in Kraków, Poland, founded in Puławy in 1796 by Princess Izabela Czartoryska. The Puławy collections were partly destroyed after the November up…
History of Poland during the Jagiellonian dynasty is the period in the history of Poland that spans the late Middle Ages and early Modern Era. Beginning with the Lithuanian Grand Duke Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło), the Jagiellonian dynasty (1386–1…
Szkieletor (Skeletor) is the unofficial name of a 92 metre high-rise building in Kraków, Poland, originally intended to become the regional office of the Main Technical Organization (Naczelna Organizacja Techniczna, NOT) and be named the NOT Tower. …
Kościuszko Mound (Polish: kopiec Kościuszki) in Kraków, Poland, erected by Cracovians in commemoration of the Polish national leader Tadeusz Kościuszko, is an artificial mound modeled after Kraków's prehistoric mounds of Krak and Wanda. A serpentine…
The Botanic Garden of the Jagiellonian University (Polish: Ogród Botaniczny Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego) is a botanical garden, founded in 1783 in Kraków. It is located east of the Old Town (Stare Miasto) and occupies 9.6 hectares.
Ojców National Park (Polish: Ojcowski Park Narodowy) is a national park in Kraków County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, established in 1956. It takes its name from the village of Ojców, where it also has its headquarters.
The Kraków Barbican (Polish: barbakan krakowski) is a barbican – a fortified outpost once connected to the city walls. It is a historic gateway leading into the Old Town of Kraków, Poland. The barbican is one of the few remaining relics of the compl…
The National Museum in Kraków (Polish: Muzeum Narodowe w Krakowie), popularly abbreviated as MNK, established in 1879, is the main branch of Poland's National Museum, which has several independent branches with permanent collections around the count…
The Polish Aviation Museum (Polish: Muzeum Lotnictwa Polskiego w Krakowie) is a large museum of old aircraft and aircraft engines in Kraków, Poland. It is located at the site of the no-longer functional Kraków-Rakowice-Czyżyny Airport. This airfield…
Hujowa Górka (sometimes Chujowa Górka) is a place near the site of Kraków-Płaszów concentration camp, where in April 1944 the Nazis exhumed and incinerated the bodies of around ten thousand previously killed Jews, to hide the evidence of the crime b…
Marszałek Piłsudski Stadium (formerly Stadion Cracovia or Stadion Cracovii) is a football stadium located in Kraków, Poland. It is used mostly for football matches and it is the home ground of Cracovia. Originally, the first Cracovia stadium was bui…
Juliusz Słowacki Theatre in Kraków, Poland, (Polish: Teatr im. Juliusza Słowackiego w Krakowie), erected in 1893, was modeled after some of the best European Baroque theatres such as the Paris Opera designed by Charles Garnier, and named after Polis…
The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts, or the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts (Polish: Akademia Sztuk Pięknych w Krakowie im. Jana Matejki, usually abbreviated to ASP) is a public institution of higher learning located in downtown Kraków, Poland.
Kraków University of Economics (CUE; Polish: Uniwersytet Ekonomiczny w Krakowie) is one of the five Polish public economics universities. CUE came into existence in 1925. It is the biggest university of economic sciences in Poland. Kraków University…
The Church of St. Adalbert or the Church of St. Wojciech (Polish: Kościół św. Wojciecha), located on the intersection of the Main Market Square and Grodzka Street in Old Town, Kraków, is one of the oldest stone churches in Poland. Its almost 1000-ye…
Skawina [skaˈvʲina] is a town in southern Poland with 27,328 inhabitants (2008). Situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999), previously in Kraków Voivodeship (1975–1998). The town is located on the Skawinka river, in close proximity to t…