Kraków

Kraków (Polish pronunciation: [ˈkrakuf]  listen ), also Cracow or Krakow (US English /ˈkrɑːkaʊ/, UK English /ˈkrækɒv/), is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River (Polish: Wisła) in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. Kraków has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life and is one of Poland's most important economic hubs. It was the capital of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland from 1038 to 1569; the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1596; the Free City of Kraków from 1815 to 1846; the Grand Duchy of Cracow from 1846 to 1918; and Kraków Voivodeship from the 14th century to 1998. It has been the capital of Lesser Poland Voivodeship since 1999.

The city has grown from a Stone Age settlement to Poland's second most important city. It began as a hamlet on Wawel Hill and was already being reported as a busy trading centre of Slavonic Europe in 965. With the establishment of new universities and cultural venues at the emergence of the Second Polish Republic in 1918 and throughout the 20th century, Kraków reaffirmed its role as a major national academic and artistic centre. The city has a population of approximately 760,000, with approximately 8 million additional people living within a 100 km (62 mi) radius of its main square.

Kraków (parliamentary constituency)

Kraków is a Polish parliamentary constituency that is coterminous with the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It elects thirteen members of the Sejm and four members of the Senate. It is the only constituency that covers different areas for elections to the Sejm to elections to the Senate, as it includes the Sejm constituency of Chrzanów for elections to the Senate.

The district has the number '13' for elections to the Sejm and '12' for elections to the Senate, and is named after the city of Kraków. For elections to the Sejm, it includes the counties of Brzeg, Kraków, Miechów, and Olkusz and the city county of Kraków. For elections to the Senate, it also includes the counties of Chrzanów, Myślenice, Oświęcim, Sucha, and Wadowice.

List of members

Senate

Sejm

Footnotes

Coordinates: 50°03′41″N 19°56′18″E / 50.061389°N 19.938333°E / 50.061389; 19.938333

Krakow (disambiguation)

Kraków is a city in southern Poland.

Krakow may also refer to:

See also

Plaza

A plaza /ˈplɑːzə/ is an open urban public space, such as a city square.

Throughout Spanish America and the Spanish East Indies, the plaza mayor of each center of administration held three closely related institutions: the cathedral, the cabildo or administrative center, which might be incorporated in a wing of a governor's palace, and the audiencia or law court. The plaza might be large enough to serve as a military parade ground. At times of crisis or fiesta, it was the space where a large crowd might gather. Like the Italian piazza, the plaza remains a center of community life that is only equaled by the market-place.

Most colonial cities in Spanish America and the Philippines were planned around a square plaza de armas, where troops could be mustered, as the name implies, surrounded by the governor's palace and the main church. A plaza de toros is a bullring.

In modern usage, a plaza can be any gathering place on a street or between buildings, a street intersection with a statue, etc. Today's metropolitan landscapes often incorporate the "plaza" as a design element, or as an outcome of zoning regulations, building budgetary constraints, and the like. Sociologist William H. Whyte conducted an extensive study of plazas in New York City: his study humanized the way modern urban plazas are conceptualized, and helped usher in significant design changes in the making of plazas.

Plaza (surname)

Plaza is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:

Plaza (disambiguation)

Plaza is a Spanish word for a city square; it may more specifically refer to:

People

Places

See also