The City.
Krakow, once the capital of Poland for almost six centuries and still considered by some as the secret capital of this country, is situated in the southern region Lesser Poland on the river Vistula.
It is not only one of the oldest cities in Poland, with origins dating back to the 7th century, but also the second largest with over 750,000 inhabitants and a population of 1, 400, 00 living in the metropolitan area. By the end of the 10th century, already a leading trace centre in this part of Europe, Krakow was incorporated into the newly emerging kingdom of the Piast dynasty. Destroyed almost completely by the Tatars during the 13th century it finally regained its power in the following and once again became an important cultural centre when the Jagiellonian University was founded in 1364, the second university in Central Europe after Prague.
The city continued to grow under the joint Lithuanian-Polish Jagiellon dynasty, 1386–1572. The 14th and 15th centuries were the Golden Age in Poland and many foreign artists and poets came to work and live in Krakow. With the death of king Sigismund II in 1572 the era of the election kings had begun and the capital was finally moved from Krakow to Warsaw in 1596 by Sigismund III, of the Swedish House of Vasa, moved the capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from Kraków to Warsaw. After the third partition of Poland Krakow became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and later a Free City. Because it remained relatively undamaged at the end of World War II the city’s historic centre, which includes the Old Town, Kazimierz and the Wawel Castle were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978 and attracts millions of tourist every year.