Culture
Veit Stoss Altar, St. Mary’s Church
Veit Stoss Altar, St. Mary’s Church
Ulica Floriańska (Florian Street) with the view of St. Mary’s Church
Ulica Floriańska (Florian Street) with the view of St. Mary’s Church

If you you want to go to Krakow you need the krakow tour operator.
Now, I told you few things about culture in Krakow.
Main article: Culture of Kraków

Kraków is considered by many to be the cultural capital of Poland. It was named the European Capital of Culture for the year 2000 by the European Union. Kraków has 28 museums and public art galleries. Among them are the main branch of Poland’s National Museum and the Czartoryski Museum, the latter featuring works by Leonardo and Rembrandt. The city has several famous theaters, including: National Stary Theatre, a.k.a. The Old Theatre, Juliusz Słowacki Theatre, Bagatela Theatre, The Ludowy Theatre, and Groteska Theatre of Puppetry, as well as Kraków Opera and Kraków Operetta.

Points of interest outside the city include the Wieliczka salt mine, the Tatra Mountains 100 kilometers (62 mi) to the south, the historic city of Częstochowa, the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, and Ojcowski National Park, which includes Pieskowa Skała Castle.

Kraków hosts many annual and biannual artistic events, some of international significance, such as the Festival of Short Feature Films, Biennial of Graphic Arts, and the Jewish Culture Festival. It became the residence of two Polish Nobel laureates in literature: Wisława Szymborska and Czesław Miłosz; a third Nobel laureate, the Yugoslav writer Ivo Andric also lived and studied in Krakow. Other former residents include famous Polish film directors Andrzej Wajda and Roman Polanski.

Parks
In Krakow you can find:

Fountain in Planty park
Fountain in Planty park

Planty is the best-known park in Kraków. It was established between 1822 and 1830 in place of the old city walls, forming a green belt around the Old Town. It consists of a chain of smaller gardens designed in various styles and adorned with monuments. The park has an area of 21 hectares (52 acres) and a length of 4 kilometers (2.5 miles), forming a scenic walkway popular with Cracovians.
Zakrzówek Nature Park
Zakrzówek Nature Park

The first public park equipped with exercise fixtures was founded by Dr Henryk Jordan on the banks of the Rudawa river in 1889. The Jordan Park, equipped with running and exercise tracks, playgrounds, swimming pool, amphitheatre, pavilions, and a pond for boat rowing and water bicycles, is on the grounds of Kraków’s Błonia. The less prominent Park Krakowski was founded in 1885 by Stanisław Rehman but has since been greatly reduced in size because of rapid real estate development. It was a popular destination point with many Cracovians at the end of the 19th century.

Sports in Krakow

Football (soccer) is one of the most popular games locally, as it is in Poland as a whole. The teams with considerable following are Cracovia Kraków and Wisła Kraków. Other football clubs include Hutnik Kraków, Wawel Kraków, Garbarnia Kraków and Juvenia Kraków (soccer and rugby team). Kraków has a number of additional, equally valued sports teams including six-time Polish ice hockey champions Cracovia Kraków and the women’s basketball team Wisła Kraków.

The Cracovia Marathon, with over a thousand participants from two dozen countries annually, has been held in the city since 2002.

Hi, today, I want to show you few movie’s from Krakow.

Auschwitz-Birkenau (Konzentrationslager Auschwitz (help·info)) was the largest of Nazi Germany’s concentration camps. Located in German-occupied southern Poland, it took its name from the nearby town of Oświęcim (Auschwitz in German), situated about 50 kilometers west of Kraków and 286 kilometers from Warsaw. Following the German occupation of Poland in September 1939, Oświęcim was incorporated into Germany as part of the Katowice District (Regierungsbezirk Kattowitz), or unofficially East Upper Silesia (Ost-Oberschlesien), and renamed Auschwitz tour. The word Birkenau means ‘Birch tree’ of which there are many surrounding the Birkenau area of the complex.

The complex consisted of three main camps: Auschwitz I, the administrative center; Auschwitz II (Birkenau), an extermination camp or Vernichtungslager; and Auschwitz III (Monowitz), a work camp. There were also around 40 satellite camps, some of them tens of kilometers from the main camps, with prisoner populations ranging from several dozen to several thousand. [1]

The camp commandant, Rudolf Höss, testified at the Nuremberg Trials that up to 2.5 million people had died at Auschwitz. The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum revised this figure in 1990, and new calculations now place the figure at 1.1–1.6 million, [2][3] about 90 percent of them Jews from almost every country in Europe. [4] Most of the dead were killed in gas chambers using Zyklon B; other deaths were caused by systematic starvation, forced labor, lack of disease control, individual executions, and so-called medical experiments.

Warsaw (Polish: Warszawa [varˈʂava] (Image:Ltspkr.png listen); also known by other names) is the capital of Poland and its largest city. It is located on the Vistula River roughly 370 kilometers (230 mi) from both the Baltic Sea coast and the Carpathian Mountains. Its population as of 2006 was estimated at 1,700,536, with a metropolitan area of approximately 3,350,000. The city area is 516.9 square kilometers (199.6 sq mi), with an agglomeration of 6,100.43 square kilometers (2,355.4 sq mi) (Warsaw Metro Area — Obszar Metropolitalny Warszawy). Warsaw is the 8th largest city in the European Union.

Warsaw gave its name to the Warsaw Pact, Warsaw Convention, Treaty of Warsaw and the Warsaw Uprising.
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Etymology
* 2 Geography
o 2.1 Location
o 2.2 Climate
o 2.3 Districts
* 3 History
* 4 Demographics
* 5 Municipal government
o 5.1 The mayor (the President of Warsaw)
o 5.2 Municipal government
* 6 Politics
* 7 Transport
o 7.1 Roads and highways
o 7.2 Airports
o 7.3 Public transport
+ 7.3.1 Buses
+ 7.3.2 Trams
+ 7.3.3 Metro
o 7.4 Railway
* 8 Sports
o 8.1 Football
o 8.2 Basketball
o 8.3 Volleyball
o 8.4 Handball
* 9 Culture
o 9.1 Theatre in the past
o 9.2 Theatre
o 9.3 Music
o 9.4 Museums and art galleries
o 9.5 Film
* 10 Education
* 11 Economy
o 11.1 Business and commerce
o 11.2 Warsaw Stock Exchange
o 11.3 Industry
* 12 Tourist attractions
* 13 Warsaw in rankings
* 14 Sister Cities
* 15 Famous people
* 16 Miscellanea
* 17 See also
* 18 References
o 18.1 Notes
* 19 External links

[edit] Etymology

An older spelling of Warsaw in Polish is Warszewa or Warszowa, meaning “owned by Warsz”. Folk etymology attributes the city name to a fisherman Wars and his wife Sawa.[1] Actually, Warsz was a nobleman (12th/13th century) who owned a village located at the site of today’s Mariensztat neighbourhood.[2]

The official city name in full is The Capital City of Warsaw (Polish: Miasto Stołeczne Warszawa). Warsaw has been known in Latin as Varsovia. A native or resident of Warsaw is called Varsovian. See wiktionary:Warsaw for the name in other languages.

[edit] Geography

[edit] Location

Warsaw straddles the Vistula River. It is located in the heartland of the Masovian Plain, and its average altitude is 100 metres (330 ft) above sea level, although there are some hills (mostly artificial) located within the confines of the city.

[edit] Climate

Warsaw’s climate is continental humid. The average temperature is −2 °C (28 °F) in January and 18 °C (64 °F) in July. Temperatures may often reach 30 °C (86 °F) in the summer. Yearly rainfall averages 680 millimeters (26.8 in), the most rainy month being July.

[hide]Weather averages for Warsaw
Month     Jan     Feb     Mar     Apr     May     Jun     Jul     Aug     Sep     Oct     Nov     Dec     Year
Average high °C (°F)     2 (33)     5 (34)     11 (44)     12 (54)     18 (65)     24 (70)     30 (73)     31 (73)     28 (64)     15 (54)     10 (42)     5 (36)     12 (53)
Average low °C (°F)     -12 (24)     -15 (24)     -1 (31)     3 (37)     9 (47)     15 (52)     16 (55)     18 (54)     9 (47)     2 (40)     0 (33)     -15 (27)     4 (39)
Precipitation cm (inches)     2.8 (1.1)     2.6 (1)     3 (1.2)     3.8 (1.5)     5 (2)     6.6 (2.6)     7.6 (3)     7.1 (2.8)     4.6 (1.8)     4 (1.6)     3.8 (1.5)     3.6 (1.4)     54.9 (21.6)
Source: Weatherbase[3] 11 February, 2008

[edit] Districts

Warsaw is a powiat (county), and is further divided into 18 boroughs, each one known as a dzielnica (map), each one with its own administrative body. Each of the boroughs includes several neighbourhoods which have no legal or administrative status. The best known neighbourhoods are the Old Town (Stare Miasto) and New Town (Nowe Miasto) in the borough of Śródmieście.[citation needed]
Districts of Warsaw (since 2002)
Districts of Warsaw (since 2002)
Old Town
Old Town
District     Population     Area
Mokotów     226,911     35.4 km² (13.7 sq mi)
Praga Południe     185,077     22.4 km² (8.6 sq mi)
Ursynów     143,935     44.6 km² (17.2 sq mi)
Wola     142,025     19.26 km² (7.4 sq mi)
Bielany     135,307     32.3 km² (12.5 sq mi)
Śródmieście     134,306     15.6 km² (6 sq mi)
Targówek     122,872     24.37 km² (9.4 sq mi)
Bemowo     107,197     24.95 km² (9.6 sq mi)
Ochota     91,643     9.7 km² (3.7 sq mi)
Białołęka     76,999     74 km² (28.6 sq mi)
Praga Północ     73,207     11.4 km² (4.4 sq mi)
Wawer     66,094     79.71 km² (30.8 sq mi)
Żoliborz     49,275     8.5 km² (3.3 sq mi)
Ursus     47,285     9.35 km² (3.6 sq mi)
Włochy     39,778     28.63 km² (11.1 sq mi)
Rembertów     22,688     19.30 km² (7.5 sq mi)
Wesoła     20,749     22.6 km² (8.7 sq mi)
Wilanów     15,188     36.73 km² (14.2 sq mi)
Total     1,700,536     517.90 km² (200 sq mi)

[edit] History

Main article: History of Warsaw

Adam Mickiewicz monument, about 1900
Adam Mickiewicz monument, about 1900
City Hall, about 1900
City Hall, about 1900
St. Alexander’s Church, about 1900
St. Alexander’s Church, about 1900

The first fortified settlements on the site of today’s Warsaw were Bródno (9th/10th century) and Jazdów (12th/13th century). After Jazdów was raided, a new similar settlement was established on the site of a small fishing village called Warszowa. In the beginning of the 14th century it became one of the seats of the Dukes of Masovia, becoming the capital of Masovia in 1413. Upon the extinction of the local ducal line, the duchy was reincorporated into the Polish Crown in 1526. In 1529 Warsaw for the first time became the seat of the General Sejm, permanent since 1569. In 1573 Warsaw gave its name to the Warsaw Confederation, formally establishing religious freedom in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

Due to its central location between the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth’s capitals of Kraków and Vilnius, Warsaw became the capital of the Commonwealth and at the same time of the Polish Crown in 1596, when King Sigismund III Vasa moved the court from Kraków. Warsaw remained the capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth until 1795, when it was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia to become the capital of the province of South Prussia. Liberated by Napoleon’s army in 1807, Warsaw was made the capital of the newly created Duchy of Warsaw. Following the Congress of Vienna of 1815, Warsaw became the centre of the Congress Poland, a constitutional monarchy under a personal union with Imperial Russia. The Royal University of Warsaw was established in 1816.

Following the repeated violations of the Polish constitution by the Russians, the 1830 November Uprising broke out. However, the Polish-Russian war of 1831 ended in the uprising’s defeat and in the curtailment of the Kingdom’s autonomy. On 27 February 1861 a Warsaw crowd protesting the Russian rule over Poland was fired upon by the Russian troops. Five people were killed. The Underground Polish National Government resided in Warsaw during January Uprising in 1863–4.

Warsaw flourished in the late nineteenth century under Mayor Sokrates Starynkiewicz (1875–92), a Russian-born general appointed by Tsar Alexander III. Under Starynkiewicz Warsaw saw its first water and sewer systems designed and built by the English engineer William Lindley and his son, William Heerlein Lindley, as well as the expansion and modernization of trams, street lighting and gas works.

Warsaw became the capital of the newly independent Poland in 1918. In the course of the Polish-Bolshevik War of 1920, the huge Battle of Warsaw was fought on the Eastern outskirts of the city in which the capital was successfully defended and the Red Army defeated.
During World War II 85% of buildings in Warsaw were destroyed
During World War II 85% of buildings in Warsaw were destroyed

During the Second World War central Poland, including Warsaw, came under the rule of the General Government, a Nazi colonial administration. All higher education institutions were immediately closed and Warsaw’s entire Jewish population — several hundred thousand, some 30% of the city — herded into the Warsaw Ghetto. When the order came to annihilate the Ghetto as part of Hitler’s “final solution”, Jewish fighters launched the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Despite being heavily outgunned and outnumbered, the Ghetto held out for almost a month. When the fighting ended, almost all survivors were massacred, only few managed to escape or hide.
Historical buildings reconstructed after WW II, 2006
Historical buildings reconstructed after WW II, 2006

By July 1944 the Red Army was deep into Polish territory pursuing the Germans toward Warsaw. Knowing that Stalin was hostile to the idea of an independent Poland, the Polish government-in-exile based in London gave orders to the underground Home Army (AK) to try to seize the control of Warsaw from the Nazis just before the Red Army’s arrival. Thus, on 1 August 1944, as the Soviet army was nearing the city very fast, the Home Army and the civilian population started the Warsaw Uprising. The armed struggle, planned to last 48 hours, went on for 63 days, and eventually the Home Army fighters were forced to capitulate. They were transported to the POW camps in Germany, while the entire civilian population was expelled. Hitler, ignoring the agreed terms of the capitulation, ordered the entire city to be razed to the ground, and the library and museum collections taken to Germany or burned. About 85% of the city had been destroyed, including the historic Old Town and the Royal Castle. After the war, large prefabricated housing projects were erected in Warsaw to address the housing shortage. The city resumed its role as the capital of Poland and the country’s centre of political and economic life. Many of the historic streets, buildings, and churches were restored to their original form. In 1980 Warsaw’s historic Old Town was inscribed onto UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

In 1995 the Warsaw Metro opened, and with the entry of Poland into the European Union in 2004, Warsaw is currently experiencing the biggest economic boom of its history. The opening match of the UEFA Euro 2012 is scheduled to take place in Warsaw.
1573

1617

1656

1770

[edit] Demographics

Warsaw has historically been a destination of internal and foreign immigration, especially from Eastern Europe. For nearly 300 years it was known as the Paris of Eastern Europe. Demographically it was the most diverse city in Poland, with as much as 20% of its population being either Jewish Poles or foreign born. World War II changed all of this, and to this day there is much less ethnic diversity than in the previous 300 years of the city’s history. Most of the modern day population growth is based on internal migration and urbanization.
Population 1880–2006
Population 1880–2006
Comparison of modern city’s boundaries with those of 1939
Comparison of modern city’s boundaries with those of 1939

* 1700: 30,000 (est.)
* 1792: 120,000
* 1800: 63,400
* 1830: 139,700
* 1850: 163,600
* 1882: 383,000
* 1900: 686,000
* 1925: 1,003,000
* 1939: 1,300,000

* 1945: 422,000 (September)
* 1950: 803,800
* 1960: 1,136,000
* 1970: 1,315,600
* 1980: 1,596,100
* 1990: 1,655,700
* 2000: 1,672,400
* 2002: 1,688,200
* 2006: 1,702,100

[edit] Municipal government
Belweder
Belweder
Rococo Branicki Palace houses city government.
Rococo Branicki Palace houses city government.

[edit] The mayor (the President of Warsaw)

Main article: President of Warsaw

According to the Warsaw Act (Ustawa warszawska) of October 27, 2002, the President of Warsaw carries out the executive duties in the city. The president’s prerogative is, among others, governing the city-owned property that constitutes a major part of the city. The current President of Warsaw is Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz.

[edit] Municipal government

The Warsaw Act abolished all the former counties around Warsaw and formed one city powiat with a unified municipal government.

Legislative power in Warsaw is vested in a unicameral Warsaw City Council (Rada Miasta), which comprises 60 members. Council members are elected directly every four years. Like most legislative bodies, the City Council divides itself into committees which have the oversight of various functions of the city government. Bills passed by a simple majority are sent to the mayor (the President of Warsaw), who may sign them into law. If the mayor vetoes a bill, the Council has 30 days to override the veto by a two-thirds majority vote.

Each of the 18 separate city districts has its own council (Rada dzielnicy). Their duties are focused on aiding the President and the City Council, as well as supervising various municipal companies, city-owned property and schools. The head of each of the District Councils is named the Mayor (Burmistrz) and is elected by the local council from the candidates proposed by the President of Warsaw.

[edit] Politics

Main article: Members of Sejm from Warsaw constituency

The Sejm building
The Sejm building

As the capital of Poland, Warsaw is the political centre of the country. All state agencies are located there, including the Polish Parliament, the Presidential Office and the Supreme Court. In the Polish parliament the city and the area are represented by 31 MPs (out of 460). Additionally, Warsaw elects two MEPs.

[edit] Transport

Although many streets were widened, and new ones created, during rebuilding of Warsaw in 1950s, the city is currently plagued with traffic problems.[citation needed]. Public transport in Warsaw is ubiquitous, serving the city with buses, tramways, and metro.

[edit] Roads and highways
Warsaw Centrum
Warsaw Centrum

Warsaw lacks a good circular road system and most traffic goes directly through the city centre. Currently two circular roads are under consideration. The first (called OEW, or Obwodnica Etapowa Warszawy) is planned to run approximately 10 kilometers (6 mi) from the city centre through the city streets and across two new bridges. The other is planned to become a part of both the A-2 motorway (itself a part of the European route E30 from Berlin to Moscow) and the S-7 (Gdańsk–Kraków) express road, and will run through a tunnel under the southern area of Ursynów. It is to be completed between 2010 and 2012.

[edit] Airports
Terminal 2 façade
Terminal 2 façade

Warsaw has one airport, Warsaw Frederic Chopin Airport (usually referred to as Okęcie airport), located just 10 kilometers (6 mi) from the city centre. With over 70 international and domestic flights a day and with over 8,270,000 passengers served in 2006, it is by far the biggest airport in Poland. Immediately adjacent to the main terminal complex Terminal 1, is the Etiuda terminal, serving routes flown by low-cost carriers. Domestic flights operate from a domestic terminal, adjoining Terminal 1. A new Terminal 2 has been opened in March 2008 in order to alleviate current overcrowding, and to extend the airport’s capacity by another 6 million passengers.

There are plans to convert disused military Modlin Airport, 35 kilometers (22 mi) north of the city centre, into the second Warsaw airport, mainly for low-cost carriers. It will not be ready for use before 2010 at the earliest.

There also are long-term plans to build an entirely new international airport. Its location has not yet been decided.

[edit] Public transport
Świętokrzyski Bridge
Świętokrzyski Bridge

Public transport in Warsaw includes, buses, trams (streetcars), metro and regional rail. The first three are operated by the ZTM (Zarząd Transportu Miejskiego, the Warsaw Transport Authority). There are also some suburban bus lines run by private operators.

There are three tourist routes: “T”, a vintage tram running in July and August; bus “100″ which runs on weekends and which operates the only double-decker bus owned by the city; and the “180″ bus, a regular scheduled service that follows the “Royal Route” from the War Cemetery in the North, near the Old Town and down city’s most prestigious thoroughfares – Krakowskie Przedmiescie, Nowy Swiat and Aleje Ujazdowskie – and terminating at Wilanów Palace.

[edit] Buses

Bus service covers the entire city, with approx. 170 routes totalling about 2,603 kilometers (1,617 mi) in length, and with some 1,600 vehicles. Between midnight and 5 am the city and suburbs are served by night lines.

[edit] Trams
A modern tram in Warsaw
A modern tram in Warsaw
Plac Wilsona metro station
Plac Wilsona metro station

The first tram (streetcar) line in Warsaw was opened on 11 December 1866. The last horse-drawn tram run on 26 March 1908. In the period between the world wars, the tram network was nationalized and extended significantly. After the German invasion of September 1939 the service was halted for approximately three months due to war damage, but the trams were back in service by 1940. In 1941 the present colours of the cars were introduced (yellow and red, in the colours of the Flag of Warsaw. Previously, trams were painted either white and red, or entirely red).

During the Warsaw Uprising the tram system was destroyed. The first tram line was reopened on 20 June 1945. Following the Second World War the tram network in Warsaw underwent fast development. The tracks reached all the principal parts of the city. However, in the sixties the official policy of both Polish and Soviet authorities promoted the use of Soviet oil, hence more buses were purchased and the tram network was shortened.

Currently the Tramwaje Warszawskie company runs 863 cars on almost 470 kilometers (292 mi) of track. Twenty-odd lines run across the city with additional lines opened on special occasions (such as All-Saints Day).

[edit] Metro

Main article: Warsaw Metro

See also Warsaw Trolleybuses for the history of this type of transport. Trolleybuses no longer operate in Warsaw.

[edit] Railway

The first railway opened in Warsaw in 1845 (the Warsaw-Vienna Railway). Nowadays Warsaw is one of the main railway hubs in Poland.

The main railway station is Warszawa Centralna serving both domestic traffic to almost every major city in Poland, and international connections mainly to Germany, Czech Republic and former Soviet Union countries. There are also 5 other major railway stations and a number of smaller suburban stations.

The main railway line crosses the city in a tunnel (tunel średnicowy) approximately 2.2 kilometers (1.4 mi) long and running directly under the city centre. It is part of an east-west line connecting the Warszawa Zachodnia, Warszawa Centralna and Warszawa Wschodnia stations through the tunnel and a railway bridge over the Vistula River.

The principal railway stations are:

* Warszawa Centralna and Warszawa Śródmieście
* Warszawa Gdańska
* Warszawa Wileńska
* Warszawa Zachodnia
* Warszawa Wschodnia

[edit] Sports

Main article: Sports in Warsaw

[edit] Football

Legia Warszawa — men’s football team (est. 1916), (Polish Champion: 1955, 1956, 1969, 1970, 1993,1994, 1995, 2002, 2006; Polish Cup winner: 1955, 1956, 1964, 1966, 1973, 1980, 1981, 1989, 1990, 1995, 1995, 1997; Polish SuperCup winner: 1989, 1994, 1997; 1st league in 2006/2007 season)
Polonia Warszawa — men’s football team (est. 1911), (Polish Champion: 1946, 2000; Polish Cup winner: 1952, 2001; Polish SuperCup winner: 2000; 2nd league in 2006/2007 season)

[edit] Basketball

Polonia Warbud Warszawa - men’s basketball team, 3rd in Era Basket Liga in 2003/2004 season.

Legia Warszawa (basketball) - basketball team

[edit] Volleyball

AZS Politechnika Warszawa - men’s volleyball team playing in Polish Volleyball League (Polska Liga Siatkówki, PLS), 5th place in season 2003/2004.

[edit] Handball

Warszawianka - handball

AZS AWF Warszawa - handball

[edit] Culture

[edit] Theatre in the past
Teatr Wielki, home of National Theatre and Opera
Teatr Wielki, home of National Theatre and Opera

From 1833 to the outbreak of World War II, Plac Teatralny (Theatre Square) was the country’s cultural hub and home to the various theatres.

The main building housed the Teatr Wielki from 1833–4, the Rozmaitości Theatre from 1836 to 1924 and then the National Theatre, the Reduta Theatre from 1919 to 1924, and from 1928 to 1939 — the Nowy Theatre, which staged productions of contemporary poetical drama, including those directed by Leon Schiller.

Nearby, in Ogród Saski (Saxon Garden), the Summer Theatre was in operation from 1870 to 1939, and in the inter-war period, the theatre complex also included Momus, Warsaw’s first literary cabaret, and Leon Schiller’s musical theatre Melodram. The Wojciech Bogusławski Theatre (1922–6), was the best example of “Polish monumental theatre”. From the mid-1930s, the Teatr Wielki building housed the State Institute of Dramatic Arts — the first state-run academy of dramatic art, with an Acting Department and a Stage Directing Department.

Plac Teatralny and its environs was the venue for numerous parades, celebrations of state holidays, carnival balls, and concerts.

[edit] Theatre

Warsaw is home to over 30 major theatres spread throughout the city, including the National Theatre (founded in 1765) and the Grand Theatre in Warsaw (established 1778).[4]
Palace of Culture and Science
Palace of Culture and Science

Warsaw also attracts many young and off-stream directors and performers who add to the city’s theatre culture. Their productions may be viewed mostly in smaller theatres and Houses of Culture (Domy Kultury), mostly outside Śródmieście (downtown Warsaw). Warsaw hosts the International Theatrical Meetings.
Chopin Museum
Chopin Museum
Stanisław Kostka Potocki mausoleum
Stanisław Kostka Potocki mausoleum

[edit] Music

Thanks to numerous musical venues, including the Teatr Wielki, the Polish National Opera, the Chamber Opera, the National Philharmonic Hall and the National Theatre, as well as the Roma and Buffo music theatres and the Congress Hall in the Palace of Culture and Science, Warsaw hosts many events and festivals. Among the events worth particular attention are: the International Frederick Chopin Piano Competition, the International Contemporary Music Festival Warsaw Autumn, the Jazz Jamboree, Warsaw Summer Jazz Days, the International Stanisław Moniuszko Vocal Competition, the Mozart Festival, and the Festival of Old Music.

[edit] Museums and art galleries

There are many museums and art galleries in Warsaw, the most notable are:

* National Museum - Muzeum Narodowe
* Zachęta Art Gallery - Zachęta Narodowa Galeria Sztuki
* Centre for Contemporary Art - Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej
* Museum of the Polish Army - Muzeum Wojska Polskiego
* Royal Castle - Zamek Królewski
* Warsaw Uprising Museum - Muzeum Powstania Warszawskiego
* Fryderyk Chopin Museum - Muzeum Fryderyka Chopina

[edit] Film

Main article: List of films featuring Warsaw

Palace on the Water in Łazienki Park
Palace on the Water in Łazienki Park

Since World War II Warsaw has been the second most important centre of film production in Poland. It has also been featured in numerous movies, both Polish and foreign, for example

* Kanał and Korczak by Andrzej Wajda
* Eroica by Andrzej Munk
* The Decalogue by Krzysztof Kieślowski
* Miś by Stanisław Bareja
* The Pianist by Roman Polański

[edit] Education
Main gate of Warsaw University
Main gate of Warsaw University
Warsaw University old library building
Warsaw University old library building

For a full list of Warsaw-based institutions of higher education see: Education in Warsaw

Warsaw is one of the most important education centers of Poland. It is home to four major universities and over 62 smaller schools of higher education. The most important are:

* University of Warsaw (Uniwersytet Warszawski)
* Warsaw University of Technology (Politechnika Warszawska)
* Warsaw School of Economics (Szkoła Główna Handlowa)
* Warsaw University of Life Science (Szkoła Główna Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego)
* Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University (Uniwersytet Kardynała Stefana Wyszyńskiego)
* Medical University of Warsaw (Warszawski Uniwersytet Medyczny)
* Military University of Technology (Wojskowa Akademia Techniczna)
* Academy of National Defence (Akademia Obrony Narodowej)
* Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw (Akademia Wychowania Fizycznego w Warszawie)
* Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music (Akademia Muzyczna im. Fryderyka Chopina)
* The Aleksander Zelwerowicz State Theatre Academy (Akademia Teatralna im. Aleksandra Zelwerowicza)

See also: List of universities in Poland

The overall number of students of all grades of education in Warsaw is almost 500,000 (29% of the city population; 2002). The number of university students is over 255,000.

[edit] Economy

In 2007 Warsaw was ranked[5] the 67th world’s most expensive city to live in. It was classified as a gamma world city (also known as a ‘minor world city’) on par with cities such as Rome and Beijing by Globalization and World Cities (GaWC) Study Group and Network from Loughborough University.[6]

[edit] Business and commerce
Downtown in Warsaw
Downtown in Warsaw
Złote Tarasy
Złote Tarasy

shopping center]]

Warsaw, especially its city center (Śródmieście), is home not only to many national institutions and government agencies, but also to many domestic and international companies. In 2003, 268,307 companies were registered in the city. Foreign investors’ financial participation in the city’s development was estimated in 2002 at over 650 million euro. Warsaw produces 13.3% of Poland’s national income which per capita is estimated at around 290 % of Polish average. The nominal GDP (PPP) per capita in Warsaw was about $28,000 in 2005 and $ 38,000 in 2007.

At the same time the unemployment rate is one of the lowest in Poland, not exceeding 3%, according to the official figures.

The city itself collects around 8,740,882,000 złotys in taxes and direct government grants.

It has been said that Warsaw, together with Frankfurt, London and Paris, is one of the tallest cities in Europe. 11 of the tallest skyscrapers in Poland, 9 of which are office buildings, are located in Warsaw. The tallest structure, the centrally located Palace of Culture and Science, is the 4th tallest building in the European Union.

Warsaw hosts the headquarters of Frontex, the EU’s border control agency.

[edit] Warsaw Stock Exchange

Although Warsaw was home to a stock exchange from 1817, because of political changes after World War II, it could not be reopened after 1945. The WSE only started operating again in April 1991, after the reintroduction of the free-market economy. It is now the biggest stock exchange in the country, with more than 300 companies listed. Ironically enough, from 1991 until 2000 the stock exchange was located in the building previously used as the headquarters of the PZPR (Polish Communist Party). The capitalization of the exchange was US$440.92 billion (as at 28 December 2007).

[edit] Industry

During Warsaw’s reconstruction after World War II, the communist authorities decided that the city would become a major industrial center. Numerous large factories were built in the city or just outside it. The largest were the Huta Warszawa Steel Works and two car factories.

As the communist economy deteriorated, these factories lost significance and most went bankrupt after 1989. Today, the Arcelor Warszawa Steel Mill (formerly Huta Warszawa) is the only major factory remaining. The FSO car factory produces cars mostly for export.

[edit] Tourist attractions

Main article: Tourist attractions in Warsaw

Plac Zamkowy - Castle Square
Plac Zamkowy - Castle Square
Historic Centre of Warsaw*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party     Flag of Poland Poland
Type     Cultural
Criteria     ii, vi
Reference     30
Region†     Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription     1981  (4th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
† Region as classified by UNESCO.

* Although today’s Warsaw is a fairly young city, it has a lot of tourist attractions. Apart from the Warsaw Old Town quarter, carefully reconstructed after World War II, each borough has something to offer. Among the most notable landmarks of the Old Town are the Royal Castle, King Sigismund’s Column, Market Square, and the Barbican.

* Further south is the so-called Royal Route, with many classicist palaces, the Presidential Palace and the Warsaw University campus. Also the popular Nowy Świat Street is worth mentioning.

* Warsaw’s oldest public park, the Ogród Saski, is located within 10 minutes’ walk from the old town.

* Warsaw’s biggest public park and said to be the most beautiful is the Łazienki Park. It is also very old — established in the 17th century and given its current classical shape in late 18th century — is located further south, on the Royal Route, about 3 km from the Warsaw Old Town

* The Powązki Cemetery is one of the oldest cemeteries in Europe,[7] full of sculptures, some of them by the most renowned Polish artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. Since it serves the religious communities of Warsaw, be it Catholics, Jews, Muslims or Protestants, it is often called a necropolis. Nearby is the Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery, one of the largest Jewish cemeteries in Europe.

* To the north of the city centre is the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto.

* The borough of Żoliborz is famous for its architecture from the 1920s and 1930s. Between Żoliborz and the Vistula is the Warsaw Citadel, a monument of 19th century military architecture.

* Former royal residence of king Jan III Sobieski — Wilanów Palace is notable for their baroque architecture and beautiful parks.

* Notable examples of contemporary architecture include the Palace of Culture and Science, a Soc-realist skyscraper located in the city center, the Stadion Dziesięciolecia which used to be the biggest open-air market in Europe and the Plac Konstytucji with its monumental Social realism architecture. The central part of the right-bank (east) Praga borough it is a place where very run-down houses stand right next to modern apartment buildings and shopping malls.

* Ulica Kubusia Puchatka, probably the only street in the world named after Winnie-the-Pooh and located in the very centre of a metropolis.
* The modern architecture in Warsaw is represented by:
o Metropolitan Office Building at Plac Piłsudskiego (Pilsudski Square) by Sir Norman Foster
o Warsaw University Library (BUW) by Marek Budzyński and Zbigniew Badowski with a garden on the roof and beautiful view on the Vistula river
o Rondo 1 office building by SOM
o Zlote Tarasy retail and business center

* Planned:
o Museum of the History of Polish Jews
o Museum of Modern Art
o “Kopernik” Science Center (Copernicus)
o Złota 44 — Apartment tower of unique shape by Daniel Libeskind
o Lilium Tower - Apartment tower by Zaha Hadid

* Planned reconstructions:
o Saxon Palace
o Brühl Palace

Fryderyk Chopin monument

Skyscrapers of Warsaw

Saxon Garden

St. Kazimierz Church

[edit] Warsaw in rankings

* Largest cities of the European Union - ranked 8th
* Most expensive cities - ranked 62nd out of 144
* Best cities in terms of quality of living - ranked 86th out of 100
* Best cities in terms of health and sanitation - ranked 100th out of 215

[edit] Sister Cities

* Flag of Kazakhstan — Astana, Kazakhstan (2002)
* Flag of Germany — Berlin, Germany (1991)
* Flag of Finland — Turku, Finland (2007)
* Flag of Ukraine — Lviv, Ukraine (2005)
* Flag of Finland — Helsinki, Finland (2002)
* Flag of Norway — Narvik, Norway (2005)
* Flag of Albania — Tirana, Albania (2005)
* Flag of Greece — Athens, Greece (2005)
* Flag of Hungary — Budapest, Hungary (2005)
* Flag of Ukraine — Kotowsk, Ukraine (2005)
* Flag of Iran — Teheran, Iran (2005)
* Flag of Sweden — Norrkoping, Sweden (2002)
* Flag of Georgia (country) — Tbilisi, Georgia (2005)
* Flag of Ireland — Dublin, Ireland (1957)
* Flag of the United States — Chicago, United States (1960)
* Flag of the United Kingdom — Coventry, United Kingdom (1957)
* Flag of Norway — Bergen, Norway (1957)
* Flag of Cuba — Havana, Cuba (1957)
* Flag of Germany — Düsseldorf, Germany (1989)
* Flag of Ukraine — Odessa, Ukraine (1989)
* Flag of Sweden — Goteborg, Sweden (2002)
* Flag of Chechnya — Grozny, Chechnya (1997)
* Flag of the Netherlands — The Hague, Netherlands (1991)
* Flag of Japan — Hamamatsu, Japan (1990)
* Flag of Vietnam — Hanoi, Vietnam (2000)
* Flag of Thailand — Bangkok, Thailand (2000)
* Flag of Bhutan — Thimphu, Bhutan (2000)
* Flag of Serbia — Beograd, Serbia (1994)
* Flag of India — Delhi, India (2002)
* Template:Country data Erytrea — Asmara, Nederlands(2000)
* Flag of Portugal — Porto, Portugal (2000)
* Flag of the People’s Republic of China — Harbin, China (1993)
* Flag of Belgium — Bruges, Belgium (1994)
* Flag of the United Kingdom — Glasgow, UK (1990)
* Flag of France — Île-de-France, France (1990)
* Flag of Turkey — Istanbul, Turkey (1991)

* Flag of Ukraine — Kyiv, Ukraine (1994)
* Flag of South Africa — Pretoria, RSA (2002)
* Flag of Russia — Sochi, Russia (1976)
* Flag of Croatia — Pag, Croatia (2007)
* Flag of Spain — Bilbao, Spain (2000)
* Flag of Russia — Moscow, Russia (1993)
* Flag of Uruguay — Montevideo, Uruguay (2002)
* Flag of Australia — Sydney, Australia (2002)
* Flag of Finland — Kotka, Finland (2001)
* Flag of Malta — Valetta, Malta (1993)
* Flag of Norway — Oslo, Norway (2005)
* Flag of Denmark — Aalborg, Denmark (2000)
* Flag of Nepal — Katmandu, Nepal (1993)
* Flag of Bahrain — Al Manama, Bahrain (2002)
* Flag of France — Paris, France (1999)
* Flag of Croatia — Zagreb, Croatia (2000)
* Flag of Latvia — Riga, Latvia (2002)
* Flag of Italy — Torino, Italy (1970)
* Flag of France — Saint-Étienne, France (1995)
* Flag of South Korea — Seoul, South Korea (1996)
* Flag of Russia — St. Petersburg, Russia (1997)
* Flag of the Republic of China — Taipei, Taiwan (1995)
* Flag of Israel — Tel Aviv, Israel (1992)
* Flag of Canada — Toronto, Canada (1990)
* Flag of Egypt — Cairo, Egypt (1999)
* Flag of Estonia — Tallinn, Estonia (2007)
* Flag of Austria — Vienna, Austria (2001)
* Flag of Austria — Linz, Austria (2004)
* Flag of Lithuania — Vilnius, Lithuania (1998)

[edit] Famous people
Maria Skłodowska-Curie, was born in Warsaw
Maria Skłodowska-Curie, was born in Warsaw

Further information: Category:People from Warsaw

[edit] Miscellanea
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

* Every member of the Queen’s Royal Hussars of the United Kingdom light cavalry wears the Maid of Warsaw, the crest of the City of Warsaw, on the left sleeve of his No. 2 (Service) Dress.
* Members of 651 Squadron Army Air Corps of the United Kingdom also wear the Maid of Warsaw, the crest of the City of Warsaw, on the left sleeve of their No. 2 (Service) Dress.
* In August 2007, a band from Norway, Superfamily, recorded a song ‘Warszawa’, with video shot in the city’s notable places
* Leo Gerstenzang invented cotton swabs in Warsaw.
* The Miss World 2006 competition took place in Warsaw, in the Palace of Culture and Science, Congress Hall.
* The mermaid, or syrenka, is the symbol of Warsaw.[8] This symbol can be found on the coat of arms of Warsaw and on statues throughout the city.

Krakow tour [ˈkrakuf] (Image:Ltspkr.png listen), in English also spelled Krakow or Cracow (pronounced /ˈkrækaʊ/, M-W: krăk’ou, krāk’ō), is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland, with a population of 756,336 in 2007 (1,403,247 in the Kraków-Tarnów sub-region).[1] Situated on the Vistula river (Polish: Wisła) in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century.[2] It was the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1596, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Kraków from 1846 to 1918, and the capital of Kraków Voivodeship from the 14th century to 1999. It is now the capital of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship.

Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish scientific, cultural and artistic life. As the former national capital with a history encompassing more than a thousand years, the city remains the spiritual heart of Poland. It is a major attraction for local and international tourists, attracting seven million visitors annually. Famous landmarks include the Main Market Square with St. Mary’s Basilica and the Sukiennice Cloth Hall, the Wawel Castle, the National Art Museum, the Zygmunt Bell at the Wawel Cathedral, and the medieval St Florian’s Gate with the Barbican along the Royal Coronation Route. In 1978, UNESCO added Kraków’s historic centre, which includes the Old Town, Kazimierz and the Wawel Castle to the list of World Heritage Sites.

Etymology

The name of Kraków is traditionally derived from Krakus (Krak, Grakch), the legendary founder of Kraków and a ruler of the tribe of Lechitians (Poles). In Polish, Kraków is an archaic possessive form of Krak and essentially means “Krak’s (town)”. Krakus’s name may derive from “krakula”, a Proto-Slavic word[3] meaning a judge’s staff, or a Proto-Slavic word “krak” meaning an oak, once a sacred tree most often associated with the concept of genealogy. The first mention of Prince Krakus (then written as Grakch) dates back to 1190, although the town existed as early as the 7th century, inhabited by the tribe of Wiślanie.[2]

The city’s full official name, used on ceremonial occasions, is Royal Capital City of Kraków (Polish: Królewskie Stołeczne Miasto Kraków).[4] A person born, or living, in Kraków is called a Cracovian (Polish: Krakowianin).

The city is known in Czech and Slovak as Krakov, in French as Cracovie, in German as Krakau, in Latin as Cracovia, and in Lithuanian as Krokuva. Ukrainian and Yiddish languages refer to it as Krakiv and Kroke (קראָקע) respectively.[5] Names of Kraków in different languages are also available.

History

Main article: History of Kraków

[edit] Middle Ages

Archaeological evidence suggests that a settlement had been established in the Stone Age on the present site of the Wawel Hill.[6] A legend attributes its founding to the mythical ruler Krakus, who built it above a cave occupied by a ravenous dragon, Smok Wawelski. Many knights unsuccessfully attempted to oust the dragon by fighting it, but Krakus fed it a poisoned breakfast, which killed the dragon. He then was able to build the city on top of the hill. The bones are displayed at the entrance of the Wawel Cathedral.[7] The first written record of the city’s name dates back to 966, when a Sephardi Jewish traveller, Abraham ben Jacob, described Kraków as a notable commercial centre.[2]

By the end of the 10th century, the city was a leading trading centre, incorporated into the holdings of the Piast dynasty. Brick buildings were constructed, including the Wawel Castle, Romanesque churches such as St. Adalbert’s, a cathedral, and a basilica.[2] The city was almost entirely destroyed during the Tatar invasions of 1241, 1259 and 1287.[8] It was rebuilt and incorporated in 1257, based on the Magdeburg law, with tax benefits and trade privileges for its citizens.[9] The city again rose to prominence in 1364, when Casimir III of Poland founded the University of Kraków,[10] the second oldest university in central Europe after the University of Prague. The city continued to grow under the joint Lithuanian-Polish Jagiellon dynasty (1386–1572). As the capital of a powerful state and a member of the Hanseatic League, the city attracted many craftsmen, businesses, and guilds as science and the arts began to flourish.[11]

[edit] Golden age
Wawel Cathedral on Wawel Hill
Wawel Cathedral on Wawel Hill

The 15th and 16th centuries were known as Poland’s Złoty Wiek, the Golden Age.[12] Many works of Polish Renaissance art and architecture were created there during that time,[13][14] including ancient synagogues in Kraków’s Jewish quarter of Kazimierz, such as the renown Old Synagogue.[15] During the reign of Casimir IV, crowned King of Poland in 1447, numerous artists, from as far as Nuremberg and Italy, came to work and live in Kraków. The king’s children were taught by an Italian humanist, Filip Callimachus. In 1488, the Holy Roman Emperor’s Poet Laureate Conrad Celtes founded the Sodalitas Litterarum Vistulana (Vistula Literary Society), which was based on Roman Academies. In 1489, sculptor Veit Stoss finished his work on the High Altar of the St. Mary’s Church,[16] followed by a marble sarcophagus for King Casimir IV. Johann Haller established a printing press in the city[17] after Kasper Straube had printed the Calendarium Cracoviense, the first work printed in Poland, in 1473.[18][19]

In 1520, the most famous church bell in Poland, named Zygmunt after Sigismund I of Poland, was cast by Hans Behem.[20] At that time, Hans Dürer, a younger brother of Albrecht Dürer, was Sigismund’s court painter.[21] Hans von Kulmbach made altarpieces for several churches.[22] In 1572, King Sigismund II, the last of the Jagiellons, died childless. The Polish throne passed to Henry III of France and then to other foreign-based rulers in rapid succession, causing a decline in the city’s importance that was worsened by pillaging during the Swedish invasion and by an outbreak of plague that left 20,000 of the city’s residents dead. In 1596, Sigismund III, of the Swedish House of Vasa, moved the capital of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from Kraków to Warsaw.[23]

[edit] 18th and early 19th century
Cracow’s Historic Centre*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Wawel Castle, Old Town, Kraków
Type Cultural
Criteria IV
Reference 29
Region† Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription 1978 (2nd Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List.
† Region as classified by UNESCO.

Already weakened during the 18th century, by mid-1790 the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth had been twice partitioned by its neighbors: Russia, the Habsburg empire, and Prussia.[24] In 1794, Tadeusz Kościuszko initiated an unsuccessful insurrection in the town’s Main Square that resulted in the third partition of Poland.[25] Kraków became part of the Austrian province of Galicia. In 1809, Napoleon Bonaparte captured former Polish territories from Austria and made the town part of the Duchy of Warsaw, an independent, though subordinate, Polish state ruled by the King of Saxony, Frederick Augustus I. Following Napoleon’s defeat in Russia, the Congress of Vienna in 1815 mostly restored earlier structures, although it also created the partially independent Free City of Kraków. As in 1794, the city again became the center of an insurrection, the Kraków Uprising of 1846, which failed to spread outside the city and was put down. Again, it resulted in an annexation by Austria, on 16 November 1846. The former Free City region became the Grand Duchy of Cracow (German: Großherzogtum Krakau, Polish: Wielkie Księstwo Krakowskie).
Chapel of St. Bronisława adjacent to Kościuszko Mound, erected in 1820 to commemorate the death of Tadeusz Kościuszko
Chapel of St. Bronisława adjacent to Kościuszko Mound,[26] erected in 1820 to commemorate the death of Tadeusz Kościuszko

In 1866, Austria granted a degree of autonomy to Galicia after the Austro-Prussian War.[27] As this form of Austrian rule was more benevolent than that exercised either by the Russian Empire in Congress Poland or by Prussia,[28] Kraków became a Polish national symbol and a center of culture and art, sometimes known in Polish as Polskie Ateny (”Polish Athens”), to which Poles would flock to revere the symbols and monuments of Poland’s past.[29] Several important celebrations took place in Galicia[30] during the period from 1866 to 1914, including the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald in 1910. Many leading Polish artists of that period resided in Kraków, [31] among them the seminal painter Jan Matejko,[32] and the founder of modern Polish drama, Stanisław Wyspiański.[33]

Fin de siècle Kraków evolved into a modern metropolis;[34] running water and electric streetcars were introduced in 1901,[35] and between 1910 and 1915, Kraków and surrounding suburban communities were gradually combined into a single administrative unit called Greater Kraków (Wielki Kraków).

At the outbreak of World War I on August 3, 1914, Józef Piłsudski formed a small cadre military unit, the First Cadre Company—the predecessor of the Polish Legions—which set out from Kraków to fight for the liberation of Poland.[36] The city was briefly besieged by Russian troops in November 1914, but they were pushed back afterwards.[37] The Austrian rule in Kraków ended on 31 October 1918, when the Polish Liquidation Committee assumed power.

[edit] 1918 to the present
St. Mary’s Square with St. Mary’s Basilica (left)
St. Mary’s Square with St. Mary’s Basilica (left)

With the emergence of the Second Polish Republic, Kraków restored its role as a major academic and cultural centre with the establishment of new universities such as the AGH University of Science and Technology and the Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts, including a number of new and essential vocational schools.[38] It became an important cultural centre for Polish Jews and had a Zionist youth movement that was relatively strong among the city’s Jewish population.[39] However, after invading Poland in September 1939, the Nazi German forces turned the town into the capital of the General Government, a colonial authority headed by Hans Frank and seated in Wawel Castle. In an operation called “Sonderaktion Krakau”, more than 180 university professors and academics were arrested and sent to Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps, though the survivors were later released on the request of prominent Italians.[40][41] The Jewish population was first confined to a ghetto and later murdered or sent to concentration camps, including Płaszów and Auschwitz in Oświęcim.[42]

Kraków remained relatively undamaged at the end of World War II.[43] Allegedly Germans planned to destroy it with massive amounts of explosives,[44][45] but according to the most popular of several versions of the story,[46] Soviet Marshal Ivan Konev, after being informed by the Polish patriots of the German plan,[45][47] tried to preserve Kraków from destruction by ordering a lightning attack on the city.[48] The credibility of these accounts has been recently questioned by Polish historian Andrzej Chwalba, who in his recent works finds no evidence for any German plan of massive destruction and portrays Konev’s strategy as ordinary, only accidentally resulting in reduced damage to Kraków, a fact that was later exaggerated into the myth of “Konev, savior of Kraków” by Soviet propaganda.[49][50][49]

After the war, under the Stalinist regime the intellectual and academic community of Kraków was put under total political control. The universities were soon deprived of their printing rights as well as their autonomy.[51] The communist government of the People’s Republic of Poland ordered construction of the country’s largest steel mill in the newly-created suburb of Nowa Huta.[52] The creation of the giant Lenin Steelworks (now Sendzimir Steelworks owned by Mittal) sealed Kraków’s transformation from a university city to an industrial centre.[53] The new working class, drawn by the industrialization of the city, contributed to its rapid population growth. Also, in an effort that spanned two decades, Karol Wojtyła, cardinal archbishop of Kraków, successfully lobbied for permission to build the first churches in the new industrial suburbs.[53]

[edit] Geography and climate
Vistula River meander with the view of Dębnicki Bridge, downtown Kraków
Vistula River meander with the view of Dębnicki Bridge, downtown Kraków

Kraków lies in the southern part of Poland, on the Vistula River in a valley at the foot of the Carpathian Mountains, 219 meters (719 ft) above sea level, between the Jurassic Rock Upland (Polish: Jura Krakowsko-Częstochowska) to the north and the Tatra Mountains 100 kilometers (62 mi) to the south. There are five nature reserves in Kraków, with a combined area of ca. 48.6 hectares (120 acres). Due to their ecological value, these areas are legally protected. Kraków has also 192 nature monuments characterized by their unique scientific, historical and aesthetic value. The western part of the city, along its northern and north-western side, borders an area of international significance known as the Jurassic Bielany-Tyniec refuge. The main motives for the protection of this area include plant and animal wildlife and the area’s geomorphological features and landscape.[54] Another part of the city is located within the ecological ‘corridor’ of the Vistula River valley. This corridor is also assessed as being of international significance as part of the Pan-European ecological network.[55] The city centre is situated on the left (northern) bank of the river.

Kraków has a temperate climate. Average temperatures in summer range from 17 °C (63 °F) to 19 °C (66 °F) and in winter from 0 °C (32 °F) to 5 °C (41 °F). The average annual temperature fluctuates between 6 °C (43 °F) and 10 °C (50 °F). Kraków usually sees between 23 and 58 days per year with below-freezing temperatures. Predominantly western winds, conducive to rainfall, are typical of summer months, whereas eastern winds, decreasing the amount of precipitation, blow mostly in winter.[56]
[hide]Weather averages for Kraków
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
Average high °C (°F) -1 (31) 2 (35) 7 (44) 13 (56) 18 (65) 21 (70) 23 (73) 23 (73) 18 (65) 13 (56) 7 (44) 2 (35)
Average low °C (°F) -7 (19) -5 (23) -2 (29) 3 (37) 7 (45) 11 (51) 12 (54) 12 (53) 8 (47) 4 (39) 0 (32) -4 (24)
Precipitation mm (inch) 33.0 (1.3) 33.0 (1.3) 33.0 (1.3) 48.3 (1.9) 83.8 (3.3) 96.5 (3.8) 86.4 (3.4) 86.4 (3.4) 53.3 (2.1) 45.7 (1.8) 45.7 (1.8) 40.6 (1.6)
Source: The Weather Channel [57]

[edit] Districts
The steeple of St. Mary’s Basilica as seen from St. Mary’s Square, Old Town
The steeple of St. Mary’s Basilica as seen from St. Mary’s Square, Old Town

The oldest neighborhoods of Kraków were incorporated into the city before the late 18th century. They include the Old Town (Stare Miasto), once contained within the city defensive walls and now encircled by the Planty park; the Wawel District, which is the site of the Royal Castle and the cathedral; Stradom and Kazimierz, the latter originally divided into Christian and Jewish quarters;[58] as well as the ancient town of Kleparz. Major districts added in the 19th and 20th centuries include Podgórze, which until 1915 was a separate town on the southern bank of the Vistula, and Nowa Huta, east of the city centre, built after World War II.
The 18 districts of Kraków, with the Vistula River running from west to east
The 18 districts of Kraków, with the Vistula River running from west to east
Inner courtyard of the Wawel Castle
Inner courtyard of the Wawel Castle

Since March 27, 1991, Kraków has been divided into 18 administrative districts, each with a degree of autonomy within its own municipal government (Rada Dzielnicy). The current divisions were introduced by the Kraków City Hall on April 19, 1995. Districts were assigned Roman numerals as well as the current name:[59] Stare Miasto (I), Grzegórzki (II), Prądnik Czerwony (III), Prądnik Biały (IV), Krowodrza (V), Bronowice (VI), Zwierzyniec (VII), Dębniki (VIII), Łagiewniki-Borek Fałęcki (IX), Swoszowice (X), Podgórze Duchackie (XI), Bieżanów-Prokocim (XII), Podgórze (XIII), Czyżyny (XIV), Mistrzejowice (XV), Bieńczyce (XVI), Wzgórza Krzesławickie (XVII), and Nowa Huta (XVIII).

Among the most notable historic districts of the city are: Wawel Hill, home to Wawel Castle and Wawel Cathedral, where many Polish kings are buried; the medieval Old Town, with its Main Market Square (200 metres, or 656 feet, square); dozens of old churches and museums; the 14th-century buildings of the Jagiellonian University; and Kazimierz, the historical centre of Kraków’s Jewish social and religious life.[60]

The Old Town district of Kraków is home to about six thousand historic sites and more than two million works of art.[61] Its rich variety of historic architecture includes Renaissance, Baroque and Gothic buildings. Kraków’s palaces, churches and mansions display great variety of color, architectural details, stained glass, paintings, sculptures, and furnishings.

In the Market Square stands the Gothic St. Mary’s Basilica (Kościół Mariacki). It was built in the 14th century and features the famous wooden altar carved by Veit Stoss. A trumpet call, hejnał mariacki, is sounded from the church’s main tower every hour. The melody played ends unexpectedly in midstream. According to legend, the tune was played during a 13th-century Tatar invasion by a guard warning citizens against the attack. He was shot by a Tatar warrior while playing, the melody breaking off at the moment he died.[62] This story, however, has its origin in a book by an Irish writer, published in the USA in the late 1920s [63].

[edit] Transport
Kraków Main station
Kraków Main station

Public transport is based around a fairly dense network of tramway and bus lines operated by a municipal company, supplemented by a number of private minibus operators. Local trains connect some of the suburbs. The bulk of the city’s historic area has been turned into a pedestrian zone with rickshaws and horse buggies; however, the tramlines run within a three-block radius.[64]

Rail connections are available to most Polish cities. Trains to Warsaw depart every hour. International destinations include Berlin, Budapest, Prague, Hamburg, Lvov, Kiev, and Odessa (June–September).[65] The main railway station is located just outside the Old Town District and is well-served by public transport.

Kraków airport, (John Paul II International Airport Kraków-Balice, Polish: Międzynarodowy Port Lotniczy im. Jana Pawła II Kraków-Balice) is 11 km (7 mi) west of the city. Direct trains cover the route between Kraków Główny train station and the airport in 15 minutes. The annual capacity of the airport is estimated at 1.3 million passengers; however, in 2007 more than 3,042 million people used the airport, giving Kraków Airport 15 percent of all air passenger traffic in Poland. The passenger terminal is undergoing extension and is being adapted to meet the requirements of the Schengen Treaty.[66]

[edit] Economy
Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) at the Main Market Square
Cloth Hall (Sukiennice) at the Main Market Square

Kraków is one of Poland’s most important economic centres. Its population has quadrupled since the end of World War II. Following the collapse of communism, history and tradition intermingled with the general trend toward a market economy. The private sector is growing. Offshoring of information technology (IT) work in recent years has become important to the economy of Kraków and to that of Poland in general. There are about 20 large multinational companies in Kraków, including Google, IBM, General Electric, Capgemini,[67] Motorola, and Sabre Holdings,[68] along with other British and German-based firms.[69] The unemployment rate in Kraków was 4.8 percent in May 2007, well below the national average of 13 percent.[70] Since the joining of the European Union in 2004, there has been a sense of a defined future and a solid economic base for the city and the region. International investment, tourism and the property market have grown toward the Western European average. Residential prices in Kraków have doubled in three years, reaching those of Warsaw and attracting developers and banks with their exponential growth.[71]

The city budget, which is presented by the Mayor of Kraków on the 15th of November each year, had a projected revenue of 2,150 billion złoty in 2006.[72] The primary sources of revenue were as follows: 14% from the municipal taxation on real estate properties and the use of amenities, 30% in transfers from the national budget, and 34% in state subsidies. Projected expenditures, totaling 2,349 billion złoty, included 21% in city development costs and 79% in city maintenance costs. Of the maintenance costs, as much as 39% were spent on education and childcare. City of Kraków development costs included 41% toward road building, transport, and communication (combined), and 25% for the city’s infrastructure and environment.[73]

[edit] Government
Main Market Square with Church of St. Wojciech (right)
Main Market Square with Church of St. Wojciech (right)

The Kraków City Council has 43 elected members,[74] one of whom is the mayor, or President of Kraków, elected every four years. The election of the City Council and of the local head of government,[75] which takes place at the same time, is based on legislation introduced on 20 June 2002. The current President of Kraków, re-elected for his second term in 2006, is Prof. Jacek Majchrowski.

The responsibilities of Kraków’s president include drafting and implementing resolutions, enacting city bylaws, managing the city budget, employing city administrators, and preparing against floods and natural disasters.[75] The president fulfills his duties with the help of the City Council, city managers and city inspectors. In the 1990s, the city government was reorganized to better differentiate between its political agenda and administrative functions. As a result, the Office of Public Information was created to handle inquiries and foster communication between city departments and citizens at large.[76]

In the year 2000, the city government introduced a new long-term program called “Safer City” in cooperation with the Police, Traffic, Social Services, Fire, Public Safety, and the Youth Departments. Subsequently, the number of criminal offences went down by 3 percent between 2000 and 2001, and the rate of detection increased by 1.4 percent to a total of 30.2 percent in the same period.[77] The city is receiving help in carrying out the program from all educational institutions and the local media, including TV, radio and the press. (See also: List of mayors of Kraków, and the Members of Polish national Parliament (Sejm) elected from Kraków constituency.)

[edit] Demographics
Demographic indicators[78] Years Kraków
Population
in thousands

1970
1978
1988
1995
2002

588,0
693,6
746,6
732,9
758,5
Population density
persons/km²

1970
1978
1988
1995
2002

2,556
2,156
2,285
2,243
2,320
Number of women
per 100 men

1970
1978
1988
1995
2002

110
110
110
112
113
Population growth
per 1000

1998
1999
2000
2001

−1.3
−1.7
−1.5
−1.5

According to the 2006 data,[78] the population of Kraków comprised about 2% of the population of Poland and 23% of the population of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Selected demographic indicators are presented in a table (below), compiled on the basis of only the population living in Kraków permanently.

In the 1931 census, 78.1% of Cracovians declared Polish as their primary language, with Yiddish or Hebrew at 20.9%, Ukrainian 0.4%, German 0.3%, and Russian 0.1%.[79] The ravages of history have greatly reduced the percentage of ethnic minorities living in Kraków. The official and unofficial numbers differ, as in the case of Romani people. According to the 2002 census,[80] among those who have declared their national identity (irrespective of language and religion) in Kraków Voivodeship, 1,572 are Slovaks, followed by Ukrainians (472), Jews (50) and Armenians (22). Romani people, officially numbered at 1,678, are estimated at over 5,000. According to statistics collected by the Ministry of Education, even though only 1% of adults (as per above) claim their official status, as many as 3% of students participate in programmes designed for ethnic minorities.[81]

[edit] Education

Main article: Education in Kraków

Collegium Maius, the oldest building of the Jagiellonian University
Collegium Maius, the oldest building of the Jagiellonian University

Kraków is a major center of education. Eleven university or academy-level institutions offer courses in the city, with 170,000 students and 10,000 faculty, plus about a dozen colleges.

Jagiellonian University, the oldest and best known university in Poland and ranked by the Times Higher Education Supplement as the best university in the country,[82][83] was founded in 1364 as the Cracow Academy and renamed in 1817 to commemorate the Jagiellonian dynasty of Polish-Lithuanian kings.[84] Its principal academic asset is the Jagiellonian Library, with more than 4 million volumes, including a large collection of medieval manuscripts[85] like Copernicus’ De Revolutionibus and the Balthasar Behem Codex. With 42,325 students (2005) and 3,605 academic staff, the Jagiellonian University is also one of the leading research centres in Poland. Famous historical figures connected with the University include Saint John Cantius, Jan Długosz, Nicolaus Copernicus, Andrzej Frycz Modrzewski, Jan Kochanowski, King John III Sobieski, Pope John Paul II and Nobel laureates Ivo Andric and Wisława Szymborska.[86]

AGH University of Science and Technology, established in 1919, is the second-largest technical university in Poland, with more than 15 faculties and student enrollment exceeding 30,000.[87] It was ranked by the Polish edition of Newsweek as the best technical university in the country for the year 2004.[88] During its 80-year history, more than 73,000 students graduated from AGH with master’s or bachelor’s degrees. Some 3,600 persons were granted the degree of Doctor of Science, and about 900 obtained the qualification of Habilitated Doctor.[89]

Other institutions of higher learning include Cracow University of Economics, established in 1925;[90] Academy of Music in Kraków, first conceived as a conservatory in 1888; Pedagogical University, in operation since 1946;[91] Agricultural University of Cracow, offering courses since 1890 (initially as a part of Jagiellonian University);[92] Academy of Fine Arts, the oldest Fine Arts Academy in Poland, founded by the Polish painter Jan Matejko; Ludwik Solski Academy for the Dramatic Arts;[93] The Pontifical Academy of Theology;[94] and Cracow University of Technology, which has more than 37,000 graduates.

[edit] Culture
Veit Stoss Altar, St. Mary’s Church
Veit Stoss Altar, St. Mary’s Church
Ulica Floriańska (Florian Street) with the view of St. Mary’s Church
Ulica Floriańska (Florian Street) with the view of St. Mary’s Church

Main article: Culture of Kraków

Kraków is considered by many to be the cultural capital of Poland.[95] It was named the European Capital of Culture for the year 2000 by the European Union. Kraków has 28 museums and public art galleries. Among them are the main branch of Poland’s National Museum and the Czartoryski Museum, the latter featuring works by Leonardo and Rembrandt. The city has several famous theaters, including: National Stary Theatre, a.k.a. The Old Theatre,[96] Juliusz Słowacki Theatre, Bagatela Theatre, The Ludowy Theatre, and Groteska Theatre of Puppetry, as well as Kraków Opera and Kraków Operetta.

Kraków hosts many annual and biannual artistic events,[97] some of international significance, such as the Festival of Short Feature Films, Biennial of Graphic Arts, and the Jewish Culture Festival. It became the residence of two Polish Nobel laureates in literature: Wisława Szymborska and Czesław Miłosz; a third Nobel laureate, the Yugoslav writer Ivo Andric also lived and studied in Krakow. Other former residents include famous Polish film directors Andrzej Wajda and Roman Polanski.

Points of interest outside the city include the Wieliczka salt mine, the Tatra Mountains 100 kilometers (62 mi) to the south, the historic city of Częstochowa, the former Nazi concentration camp at Auschwitz, and Ojcowski National Park,[98] which includes Pieskowa Skała Castle.[99]

[edit] Parks
Fountain in Planty park
Fountain in Planty park

Planty is the best-known park in Kraków. It was established between 1822 and 1830 in place of the old city walls, forming a green belt around the Old Town. It consists of a chain of smaller gardens designed in various styles and adorned with monuments. The park has an area of 21 hectares (52 acres) and a length of 4 kilometers (2.5 miles), forming a scenic walkway popular with Cracovians.[100]
Zakrzówek Nature Park
Zakrzówek Nature Park

The first public park equipped with exercise fixtures was founded by Dr Henryk Jordan on the banks of the Rudawa river in 1889. The Jordan Park, equipped with running and exercise tracks, playgrounds, swimming pool, amphitheatre, pavilions, and a pond for boat rowing and water bicycles, is on the grounds of Kraków’s Błonia.[101] The less prominent Park Krakowski was founded in 1885 by Stanisław Rehman but has since been greatly reduced in size because of rapid real estate development. It was a popular destination point with many Cracovians at the end of the 19th century.[102]

[edit] Sports

Football (soccer) is one of the most popular games locally, as it is in Poland as a whole. The teams with considerable following are Cracovia Kraków[103] and Wisła Kraków.[104] Other football clubs include Hutnik Kraków, Wawel Kraków, Garbarnia Kraków and Juvenia Kraków (soccer and rugby team). Kraków has a number of additional, equally valued sports teams including six-time Polish ice hockey champions Cracovia Kraków and the women’s basketball team Wisła Kraków.

The Cracovia Marathon, with over a thousand participants from two dozen countries annually, has been held in the city since 2002.[105]

[edit] Symbols and twin cities

Main article: Symbols of Kraków

Banner of Kraków
Banner of Kraków

The city’s official symbols are the coat of arms, the flag (see top of this page), the seal, and the banner (right).[4] In addition to these, a number of semi-official and unofficial symbols, such as the “Cracovia” logo used in Kraków’s promotional materials, or an image of the Wawel dragon wearing a Kraków cap, are also used.

Kraków is twinned, or maintains close relations with, more than 30 cities around the world: Bordeaux, Bratislava, Curitiba, Cuzco, Edinburgh, Fes, Florence, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Grozny, Innsbruck, Kiev, Lahore,[106] La Serena, Leipzig, Leuven, Lviv, Milan, Niš, Nuremberg, Orléans, Pécs, Rochester (NY), Seville, Solothurn, Vilnius and Zagreb

Polish culture has been influenced by both Eastern and Western influences. Today, these influences are evident in Polish architecture, folklore, and art. Poland is the birthplace of some world famous individuals, including Pope John Paul II, Marie Skłodowska Curie, Kazimierz Pułaski, Nicolaus Copernicus and Frederic Chopin.

The character of Polish art always reflected world trends. The famous Polish painter, Jan Matejko included many significant historical events in his paintings. Also a famous person in history of Polish art was Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz. He was an example of a Polish Renaissance Man. Polish literature dates back to 1100s[26] and includes many famous poets and writers such as Jan Kochanowski, Adam Mickiewicz, Bolesław Prus, Juliusz Słowacki, Witold Gombrowicz, Stanisław Lem and, Ryszard Kapuściński. Writers Henryk Sienkiewicz, Władysław Reymont, Czesław Miłosz, Wisława Szymborska have each won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Many world renowned Polish movie directors include Academy Awards winners Roman Polański, Andrzej Wajda, Zbigniew Rybczyński, Janusz Kamiński and, Krzysztof Kieślowski. The traditional Polish music composers include world-renowned pianist Frederic Chopin as well as famous composers such as Krzysztof Penderecki, Henryk Mikołaj Górecki, Karol Szymanowski, and others.

Notable foods in Polish cuisine include Polish sausage, red beet soup, Polish dumplings, flaczki (tripe soup), cabbage rolls, Oscypek, Polish pork chops, Polish traditional stew, various potato dishes, a fast food sandwich zapiekanka, and many more. Traditional Polish desserts include Polish doughnuts, Polish gingerbread and others.

Education

The education of Polish society was a goal of rulers as early as the 12th century, and Poland soon became one of the most educated European countries. The library catalogue of the Cathedral Chapter of Kraków dating back to 1110 shows that already in the early 12th century Polish intellectuals had access to the European literature. In 1364, in Kraków, the Jagiellonian University, founded by King Casimir III, became one of Europe’s great early universities. In 1773 King Stanisław August Poniatowski established his Commission on National Education (Komisja Edukacji Narodowej), the world’s first state ministry of education.

Current situation

Today Poland has more than a hundred tertiary education institutions; traditional universities to be found in its major cities of Białystok, Bydgoszcz, Gdańsk, Katowice, Kraków, Lublin, Łódź, Olsztyn, Opole, Poznań, Rzeszów, Szczecin, Toruń, Warsaw, Wrocław and Zielona Góra as well as technical, medical, economic institutions elsewhere, employing around 61,000 workers. There are also around 300 research and development institutes, with about 10,000 more researchers. In total, there are around 91,000 scientists in Poland today.

According to Frost & Sullivan’s Country Industry Forecast the country becoming an interesting location for research and development investments.[20] Multinational companies such as: ABB, Delphi, GlaxoSmithKline, Google, Hewlett–Packard, IBM, Intel, LG Electronics and Microsoft, set up their R&D centres in Poland. Motorola in Kraków, Siemens in Wrocław and Samsung in Warszawa are one of the largest owned by those companies.[21] Over 40 R&D centres, and 4,500 of researchers makes Poland biggest R&D hub in the Central and Eastern Europe.[22] Companies chose Poland because of the availability of highly qualified labor force, presence of universities, support of authorities, and the largest market in Central Europe.[23]

According to KPMG report[24] 80% of Poland’s current investors are contented with their choice and willing to reinvest. In 2006 Intel decided to double the number of employees in its R&D centre.[25]

The Programme for International Student Assessment, coordinated by the OECD, currently ranks Poland’s education as the 23rd best in the world, being neither significantly higher nor lower than the OECD average.[2]

Telecommunication and IT
For a more detailed treatment of this topic, see the subarticles Communications in Poland and Software development in Poland.

The share of the telecom sector in the GDP is 4.4% (end of 2000 figure), compared to 2.5% in 1996. Nevertheless, despite high expenditures for telecom infrastructure (the coverage increased from 78 users per 1000 inhabitants in 1989 to 282 in 2000).

The value of the telecommunication market is zl 38.2bn (2006), and it grew by 12.4% in 2007 PMR [3]

the coverage mobile cellular is over 1000 users per 1000 people (2007)

* Telephones—mobile cellular: 38.7 million (Onet.pl & GUS Report, 2007)
* Telephones—main lines in use: 12.5 million (Telecom Team Report, 2005)

Poland is considered to have one of the healthiest economies of the post-communist countries, with GDP growing by 6.1% in 2006.[10] Since the fall of communism, Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of liberalising the economy and today stands out as a successful example of the transition from a state-directed economy to a primarily privately owned market economy.

The privatisation of small and medium state-owned companies and a liberal law on establishing new firms have allowed the development of an aggressive private sector. As a consequence, consumer rights organizations have also appeared. Restructuring and privatisation of “sensitive sectors” such as coal, steel, railways, and energy has been continuing since 1990. Between 2007 and 2010, the government plans to float twenty public companies on the Polish stock market, including parts of the coal industry. To date (2007), the biggest privatisations have been the sale of the national telecoms firm Telekomunikacja Polska to France Telecom in 2000, and an issue of 30% of the shares in Poland’s largest bank, PKO Bank Polski, on the Polish stockmarket in 2004.

Poland has a large number of private farms in its agricultural sector, with the potential to become a leading producer of food in the European Union. Structural reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have resulted in larger-than-expected fiscal pressures. Warsaw leads in the Central Europe in foreign investment.[11] GDP growth had been strong and steady from 1993 to 2000 with only a short slowdown from 2001 to 2002. The prospect of closer integration with the European Union has put the economy back on track,[citation needed] with growth of 3.7% annually in 2003, a rise from 1.4% annually in 2002. In 2004, GDP growth equaled 5.4%, in 2005 3.3% and in 2006 6.2%. For 2007, the government has set a target for GDP growth at 6.5 to 7.0%.[citation needed]
A one hundred złoty note
A one hundred złoty note

Although the Polish economy is currently undergoing economic development, there are many challenges ahead. The most notable task on the horizon is the preparation of the economy (through continuing deep structural reforms) to allow Poland to meet the strict economic criteria for entry into the European Single Currency (Euro). According to the minister of finance Jacek Rostowski Poland is likely to join ERM in 2009 and adopt Euro in 2012[12] or 2013.[13]

Average salaries in enterprise sector in January 2008 were around 3000PLN (equals to 840 euro or 1300 US dollars)[14] and growing sharply.[15] Salaries varies between the regions: median wage in the capital city Warsaw was 4600 PLN (1200 euro or 2000 US dollars) while in Bialystok only 2400 (670 euro or 1000 US dollars).[16]

Since joining the European Union, many workers have left to work in other EU countries (particularly Ireland and the UK) because of high unemployment, which was the second-highest in the EU (14.2% in May 2006).[17] However, with the rapid growth of the salaries, booming economy, strong value of Polish currency, and quickly decreasing unemployment (8% in March 2008[18]) exodus of Polish workers seems to be over. In 2008 people who came back outnumbered thoses leaving the country.[19]
Leopard sport-style car designed and produced in Poland
Leopard sport-style car designed and produced in Poland

Commodities produced in Poland include: electronics, cars (including the luxurious Leopard car), buses (Autosan, Jelcz SA, Solaris, Solbus), helicopters (PZL Świdnik), transport equipment, locomotives, planes (PZL Mielec), ships, military engineering (including tanks, SPAAG systems), medicines (Polpharma, Polfa), food, clothes, glass, pottery (Bolesławiec), chemical products and others.

Poland is a social democracy, with a President as a Head of State, whose current constitution dates from 1997. The government structure centres on the Council of Ministers, led by a prime minister. The president appoints the cabinet according to the proposals of the prime minister, typically from the majority coalition in the Sejm. The president is elected by popular vote every five years. The current president is Lech Kaczyński, the current prime minister is Donald Tusk.

Polish voters elect a bicameral parliament consisting of a 460-member lower house (Sejm) and a 100-member Senate (Senat). The Sejm is elected under proportional representation according to the d’Hondt method, a method similar to that used in many parliamentary political systems. The Senate, on the other hand, is elected under a rare plurality bloc voting method where several candidates with the highest support are elected from each constituency. With the exception of ethnic minority parties, only candidates of political parties receiving at least 5% of the total national vote can enter the Sejm. When sitting in joint session, members of the Sejm and Senate form the National Assembly (the Zgromadzenie Narodowe). The National Assembly is formed on three occasions: when a new President takes the oath of office; when an indictment against the President of the Republic is brought to the State Tribunal (Trybunał Stanu); and when a President’s permanent incapacity to exercise his duties due to the state of his health is declared. To date, only the first instance has occurred.

The judicial branch plays an important role in decision-making. Its major institutions include the Supreme Court of Poland (Sąd Najwyższy); the Supreme Administrative Court of Poland (Naczelny Sąd Administracyjny); the Constitutional Tribunal of Poland (Trybunał Konstytucyjny); and the State Tribunal of Poland (Trybunał Stanu). On the approval of the Senate, the Sejm also appoints the Ombudsman or the Commissioner for Civil Rights Protection (Rzecznik Praw Obywatelskich) for a five-year term. The Ombudsman has the duty of guarding the observance and implementation of the rights and liberties of Polish citizens and residents, of the law and of principles of community life and social justice.

Prehistory

Main article: Prehistory of Poland (until 966)

Historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now known as Poland. The exact ethnicity and linguistic affiliation of these groups has been hotly debated; in particular the time and route of the original settlement of Slavic peoples in these regions has been the subject of much controversy.

The most famous archeological find from Poland’s prehistory is the Biskupin fortified settlement (now reconstructed as a museum), dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, around 700 BC.

Piast dynasty

Main article: History of Poland (966-1385)

Poland around 1020
Poland around 1020

Poland began to form into a recognizable unitary and territorial entity around the middle of the tenth century under the Piast dynasty. Poland’s first historically documented ruler, Mieszko I, was baptized in 966, adopting Catholic Christianity as the nation’s new official religion, to which the bulk of the population converted in the course of the next centuries. In the twelfth century, Poland fragmented into several smaller states. In 1320, Władysław I became the King of a reunified Poland. His son, Kazimierz III, is remembered as one of the greatest Polish kings.

Poland was also a centre of migration of peoples and the Jewish community began to settle and flourish in Poland during this era (see History of the Jews in Poland). The Black Death which affected most parts of Europe from 1347 to 1351 did not reach Poland.[9]

Jagiellon dynasty

Main article: History of Poland (1385-1569)

Under the Jagiellon dynasty Poland forged an alliance with its neighbour, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1410, a Polish-Lithuanian army inflicted a decisive defeat on the Teutonic Knights, both countries’ main adversary, in the battle of Grunwald. After the Thirteen Years War, the Knight’s state became a Polish vassal. Polish culture and economy flourished under the Jagiellons, and the country produced such figures as astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus and poet Jan Kochanowski. Compared to other European nations, Poland was exceptional in its tolerance of religious dissent, allowing the country to avoid the religious turmoil that spread over Western Europe in that time.

Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

Main article: History of Poland (1569-1795)

The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at its greatest extent
The Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth at its greatest extent

A golden age ensued during the sixteenth century after the Union of Lublin which gave birth to the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The szlachta (nobility) of Poland, far more numerous than in Western European countries, took pride in their freedoms and parliamentary system. During the Golden Age period, Poland expanded its borders to become the largest country in Europe.

In the mid-seventeenth century, a Swedish invasion (”The Deluge”) and Cossack’s Chmielnicki Uprising which ravaged the country marked the end of the golden age. Numerous wars against Russia coupled with government inefficiency caused by the Liberum Veto, a right which had allowed any member of the parliament to dissolve it and to veto any legislation it had passed, marked the steady deterioration of the Commonwealth from a European power into a near-anarchy controlled by its neighbours. The reforms, particularly those of the Great Sejm, which passed the Constitution of May 3, 1791, the world’s second modern constitution, were thwarted with the three partitions of Poland (1772, 1793, and 1795) which ended with Poland’s being erased from the map and its territories being divided between Russia, Prussia, and Austria.

Partitions of Poland

Main article: History of Poland (1795-1918)

Poles would resent their fate and would several times rebel against the partitioners, particularly in the nineteenth century. In 1807 Napoleon recreated a Polish state, the Duchy of Warsaw, but after the Napoleonic wars, Poland was again divided in 1815 by the victorious Allies at the Congress of Vienna. The eastern portion was ruled by the Russian Czar as a Congress Kingdom, and possessed a liberal constitution. However, the Czars soon reduced Polish freedoms and Russia eventually de facto annexed the country. Later in the nineteenth century, Austrian-ruled Galicia, particularly the Free City of Kraków, became a centre of Polish cultural life.

Reconstitution of Poland

Main article: History of Poland (1918-1939)

Poland between 1922 and 1938
Poland between 1922 and 1938

During World War I, all the Allies agreed on the reconstitution of Poland that United States President Woodrow Wilson proclaimed in Point 13 of his Fourteen Points. Shortly after the surrender of Germany in November 1918, Poland regained its independence as the Second Polish Republic (II Rzeczpospolita Polska). It reaffirmed its independence after a series of military conflicts, the most notable being the Polish-Soviet War (1919–1921) when Poland inflicted a crushing defeat on the Red Army.

The 1926 May Coup of Józef Piłsudski turned the reins of the Second Polish Republic over to the Sanacja movement.

World War II

Main article: History of Poland (1939-1945)

The Sanacja movement controlled Poland until the start of World War II in 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded on September 1 and the Soviet Union followed on September 17. Warsaw capitulated on September 28, 1939. As agreed in the Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact, Poland was split into two zones, one occupied by Germany while the eastern provinces fell under the control of the Soviet Union.

Of all the countries involved in the war, Poland lost the highest percentage of its citizens: over six million perished, half of them Polish Jews. Poland made the fourth-largest troop contribution to the Allied war effort, after the Soviets, the British and the Americans. The Polish expeditionary corps played an important role in the Italian Campaign, particularly at the Battle of Monte Cassino. At the war’s conclusion, Poland’s borders were shifted westwards, pushing the eastern border to the Curzon line. Meanwhile, the western border was moved to the Oder-Neisse line. The new Poland emerged 20% smaller by 77,500 square kilometres (29,900 sq mi). The shift forced the migration of millions of people, most of whom were Poles, Germans, Ukrainians, and Jews. The main German Nazi death camps were in Poland. Of a pre-war population of 3,300,000 Polish Jews, 3,000,000 were killed during the Holocaust.

Postwar Communist Poland

Main article: History of Poland (1945-1989)

At the end of World War II, the gray territories were transferred from Poland to the Soviet Union, and the pink territories from Germany to Poland
At the end of World War II, the gray territories were transferred from Poland to the Soviet Union, and the pink territories from Germany to Poland

The Soviet Union instituted a new Communist government in Poland, analogous to much of the rest of the Eastern Bloc. Military alignment within the Warsaw Pact throughout the Cold War was also part of this change. The People’s Republic of Poland (Polska Rzeczpospolita Ludowa) was officially proclaimed in 1952. In 1956, the régime of Władysław Gomułka became temporarily more liberal, freeing many people from prison and expanding some personal freedoms. Similar situation repeated itself in the 1970s under Edward Gierek, but most of the time persecution of communist opposition persisted.

Labour turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union “Solidarity” (”Solidarność”), which over time became a political force. Despite persecution and imposition of martial law in 1981, it eroded the dominance of the Communist Party and by 1989 had triumphed in parliamentary elections. Lech Wałęsa, a Solidarity candidate, eventually won the presidency in 1990. The Solidarity movement heralded the collapse of communism across Eastern Europe.

Democratic Poland

Main article: History of Poland (1989-present)

A shock therapy programme of Leszek Balcerowicz during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into a market economy. As with all other post-communist countries, Poland suffered temporary slumps in social and economic standards, but became the first post-communist country to reach its pre-1989 GDP levels.[citation needed] Most visibly, there were numerous improvements in other human rights, such as free speech. In 1991, Poland became a member of the Visegrad Group and joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) alliance in 1999 along with the Czech Republic and Hungary. Poles then voted to join the European Union in a referendum in June 2003, with Poland becoming a full member on May 1, 2004.