20 Interesting Facts About Kraków

Facts About Kraków

Facts About Kraków

  1. Kraków Old Town was declared the first UNESCO World Heritage Site in Poland.
  2. The name of Kraków is traditionally derived from Krakus, the legendary founder of Kraków and a ruler of the tribe of Lechitians.
  3. The University of Krakow was founded in 1364 making it the second oldest university in central Europe.
  4. Kraków’s Market Square is the largest medieval commercial square in Europe.
  5. The official name of the city is the Royal Capital City of Krakow.
  6. The city covers a total area of 327 square kilometres.
  7. The average altitude is 219 meters above sea level.
  8. There are about 40 parks in Kraków including dozens of gardens and forests.
  9. Kraków was the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1596 and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Kraków from 1846 to 1918.
  10. In 2000, Kraków was named European Capital of Culture.
  11. On 22 June 2019, The European Olympic Committees at the General Assembly in Minsk, Belarus announced that Kraków will host the 2023 edition.
  12. 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.
  13. In 2013, Kraków was officially approved as a UNESCO City of Literature.
  14. Kraków lies in the southern part of Poland, on the Vistula River, in a valley at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains.
  15. Kraków is divided into 18 administrative districts, each with a degree of autonomy within its own municipal government.
  16. The city hosted the World Youth Day in July 2016.
  17. There are five nature reserves in Kraków with a total area of 48.6 ha (120 acres).
  18. The Population of Kraków is 774,839, as of 2019.
  19. 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.
  20. 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.
 Facts About Kraków
Facts About Kraków