Among the cities which have had the greatest influence on the development of European culture, Cracow is always mentioned. This historical town developed on the Vistula at the foot of Wawel hill. The former capital of Poland, centre of science, culture and art cherishing a thousand years`s - long tradition, it is a great treasure - house of national relics and also plays an important part in the economy of the country. After the last war, large, new industrial works were constructed here, among them the Lenin Steel Works, around which a huge residential area developed called Nowa Huta. Cracow is still developing and today has more than 700,000 residents. It is a large centre of education, with young people studying at 11 schools of higher learning. Several theatres are active here, including the most renowned ones: The Old Theatre (Stary Teatr) and the Slowacki Theatre; there are several dozen museums and art galleries, an opera and operetta; many artistic events are held here, some of international significance (i. a. festival of Short Feature Films, Biennial of Graphics). The great cultural traditions of Cracow inspire the creative efforts of modern Polish artists, among whom Krzysztof Penderecki and Tadeusz Kantor have gained world renown. Cracow is also a large centre of local and foreign tourism. Every year the city is visited by more than 2,000,000 tourists. The history of the town goes back to the days before the formation of the Polish state, when it was the ducal capital of the Vislane tribe.

There are legends that tell of the founder of the town, duke Krak, and his daughter Wanda, and the sinister dragon from the cave of Wawel Hill. Cracow became more important at the beginning of the 11th century, when it became the capital of the entire Polish state and played this role till the beginning of the 17th century. Despite the destruction caused by Tatar raids in the 13th century (in memory of one of which each June an amusements called Lajkonik is held), the town continued to develop. The Cracow Academy (now the Jagiellonian University), the second oldest university in Europe, was founded here in 1364. Many architectural relics from that time have been preserved. Cracow experienced its "golden age" during the reign of the Jagiellonian dynasty (1386-1572). As the capital of a powerful state it became the flourishing centre of sciences and the arts, admired by foreigners and extolled by poets. Famous artists left the products of their talent here. When the royal residence was transferred to Warsaw at the end of the 16th century, the importance of Cracow began to decline. Not until the period of the partitions of Poland, when the Polish state disappeared from the map of Europe for more than 120 years, did Cracow once again became a national symbol, the centre of Polish culture and art. Famous painters, poets and writers worked here: Jan Matejko, Stanislaw Wyspianski, Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz, Stanislaw Przybyszewski, Jan Kasprowicz, Juliusz and Wojciech Kossak. Cracow became the main centre of Polish modernism (Young Poland), whose greatest representatives were Wyspianski and Przybyszewski. Here and in Warsaw national liberation movements began. It was at the Cracow Market Place that Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Poland`s national hero, in 1794 took his famous oath, which initiated the uprising against the invaders, and in 1846 Cracow once again took up arms. The defeat of this outburst led to a loss of the remnants of autonomy of the so-called Cracow Republic.
After Poland regained her independence in 1918, the Jagiellonian Library, National Museum, and Mining and Metallurgy Academy were built here. During World War II, the German authorities of the so-called General Government resided here. The residents of the city shared the fate of other Poles. Many perished. Professors and scientific workers of the Jagiellonian University were deceitfully summoned to a meeting and sent to a concentration camp. Relics and monuments of national culture were destroyed and plundered. However, the walls escaped serious destruction during the tragic war years thanks to a manoeuvre by Soviet forces that prevented the blowing up of the city. In 1978 the historical architectural section of Cracow was placed by UNESCO on the list of the 12 most precious world monuments. The renovation of Old Town has been in progress for several years, which will restore the former splendour of the ancient relics (there are more than 3500 of them) and make them even more beautiful. It is difficult to describe the unique charm and harmony of edifies created for centuries, hiding within their walls the most precious works of art. Surrounded by precious relics is the vast Market Place, whose central part is occupied by Clothiers`Hall (a former covered market, presently the seat of tourist and business agencies and the Gallery of Polish Painting). Colourful crowds come and go throughout the entire day around Clothiers`Hall, the famous Cracow flower vendors spread out at the base of the Adam Mickiewicz monument, and here every year in December is held the great competition of Cracow Christ-child`s cribs, famous at home and abroad.

Some of them in their shape remind one of the Gothic St Mary`s Church, built in the 14th c., standing by the market Place. Inside is the famous altar carved by Wit Stwosz. In the main scene, depicting the dropping off to sleep of the Virgin Mary, the figures are of natural size and rendered with unbelievable realism. On 18 bas-reliefs the artist has also presented scenes from the Bible. From the tower of this church every hour there resounds a bugle-call from the Middle Ages. Every burgher`s house at the Market Place has its own rich history, to mention only the famous "Wierzynek" restaurant, where according to tradition, a great Charles IV, kings and dukes who were attending a congress in Cracow. The entire Old Town complex, surrounded by the green Plant belt, is bewitchingly rich in architectural styles. Here at every step and in every corner something new appears. Everything here has its own historical climate. The fragment of town walls with St Florian`s gate and several towers along with the Barbakan is a remnant of medieval fortifications, one of the few still extant in Europe. The cultural richness of Cracow is highlighted by the collections of 28 museums, among which the National Museum has famous collections of painting (i.a. Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt), sculptures, goldsmith's works, documents. The Jagiellonian Museum in the Gothic Collegium Maius has collections that document the history of the university and also mementos of its most famous alumnus - Nicholas Copernicus.

The interiors of palaces, churches, old burghers` houses of Cracow are astonishing in the richness of their architectural details, polychromy, stained-glass windows, painting and sculptures, furnishings. Wawel Hill with the royal palace and the cathedral are complex of buildings that have the greatest importance for the history and culture of the Polish nation. The church contains the graves of Polish Kings, the works of famous artists such as Wit Stwosz and Santi Gucci, and in its vaults - graves of such famous Polish leaders as Prince Jozef Poniatowski and Marshal Jozef Pilsudski as well as the poets Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Slowacki. Among the 18 chapels of the cathedral, remarkable for its beauty is King Sigismund`s Chapel, regarded as one of the outstanding Renaissance works in central Europe (the work of the Florentine artist Bartolommeo Berrecci). Five bells hang in the belfry of the cathedral, among which the largest is "Sigismund" (diameter 2.5 m, height 1.95 m) - cast in 1520. The Royal Palace at Wawel was built in the 14th c. and then rebuilt at the beginning of the 16th Renaissance style. Today it contains National Art Collections (rich collections of tapestries, period furniture, Polish and European paintings, military accessories, and in the treasury - the royal insignia). Oriental art is presented in the permanent exhibition "The East Wawel Collections" (i.a. a rich collection of Turkish tents and military accessories).
There are also other priceless relics in Cracow. An interesting complex is the oldest part of the Kazimierz district, where besides the town hall, churches of St. Catherine and Corpus Christi are also relics of Jewish culture. In the Old Synagogue (originally Gothic, rebuilt in the 16th c.) is the Judaic Museum, containing relics, religious objects, works of art and handicrafts, books and manuscripts. Nearby is the Remu`h cemetery, established in the 16th c.

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