Facts About Kraków
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Kraków Old Town was declared the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Poland.
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The name of Kraków is traditionally derived from Krakus, the legendary founder of Kraków and a ruler of the tribe of Lechitians.
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The University of Krakow was founded in 1364 making it the second oldest university in central Europe.
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Kraków’s Market Square is the largest medieval commercial square in Europe.
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The official name of the city is the Royal Capital City of Krakow.
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The city covers a total area of 327 square kilometres.
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The average altitude is 219 meters above sea level.
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There are about 40 parks in Kraków including dozens of gardens and forests.
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Kraków was the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1596 and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Kraków from 1846 to 1918.
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In 2000, Kraków was named European Capital of Culture.
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On 22 June 2019, The European Olympic Committees at the General Assembly in Minsk, Belarus announced that Kraków will host the 2023 edition.
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In 1978, Karol Wojtyła, archbishop of Kraków, was elevated to the papacy as Pope John Paul II, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.
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In 2013, Kraków was officially approved as a UNESCO City of Literature.
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Kraków lies in the southern part of Poland, on the Vistula River, in a valley at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains.
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Kraków is divided into 18 administrative districts, each with a degree of autonomy within its own municipal government.
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The city hosted the World Youth Day in July 2016.
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There are five nature reserves in Kraków with a total area of 48.6 ha (120 acres).
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The Population of Kraków is 774,839, as of 2019.
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Kraków is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. On the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Province, the city dates back to the 7th century.
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Kraków is twinned, or maintains close relations, with Batu, Indonesia; Bordeaux, France; Bratislava, Slovakia; Budapest, Hungary; Cambridge, Massachusetts, US; Curitiba, Brazil; Cusco, Peru; Edinburgh, Scotland; Fes, Morocco; Florence, Italy; Frankfurt, Germany; Göteborg, Sweden; Grozny, Chechnya; Guadalajara, Mexico; Innsbruck, Austria; Kyiv, Ukraine; La Serena, Chile; Leipzig, Germany; Leuven, Belgium; Lviv, Ukraine; Malang, Indonesia; Milan, Italy; Nuremberg, Germany; Orléans, France; Pécs, Hungary; Quito, Ecuador; Rochester, New York, United States; Rome, Italy; San Francisco, United States; Seville, Spain; Solothurn, Switzerland; Split, Croatia; Tbilisi, Georgia; Veliko Tarnovo, Bulgaria; Vilnius, Lithuania & Zagreb, Croatia.
