2 October 2023 Krakow
Poland
Krakow is
Poland’s second largest city and one of its oldest. It also miraculously did not sustain much
damage during WWII, so it still appears as it did in the 13th
century. Located in the southern part of
the country on the Vistula River, its history dates back to a Stone Age
settlement, but as a city it dates back to the 7th century. By 965 it was already one of Central Europe’s
leading trade centers.
There are two
sides to the story on how Krakow got its name.
Legend has it that during the reign of King Krak, there once lived a
monstrous dragon, Smok Wawelske, in the caves at the bottom of Wawel Hill. The town folk were tired of appeasing the
dragon with a regular supply of cattle and livestock. It was also said that the dragon like to
feast on young maidens. Finally, it was
time to sacrifice the King’s only daughter, Wanda. Unable to comply, the King decided to put an
end to the menace. Here the legend
splits into two versions. The most
popular one is about a young shoemaker, Dratewka, who, when the brave knights
of the region were unable to slay the dragon, skillfully outsmarted the
creature by offering it a ram stuffed with sulfur. On devouring the ram, the dragon instantly
felt thirsty and went to the river to quench his thirst, but no amount of water
could satisfy his parched throat.
Bloated from all the excess water, the dragon finally exploded and
died. In the other version, it was the
king’s son Krakus who devised this devious plan and thus the city was named in
his honor. In any regard, this is one of
Poland’s most famous stories.
In 1930, King
Wladyslaw I united Poland and declared Krakow its capital. Wawel Castle became the official residences
of the kings and the Wawel Cathedral the site of their burials. However, in 1596, King Sigmund III Waza moved
the capital to Warsaw.
From 1795 thru
1918, no independent Polish state existed.
Its territory was partitioned between the Kingdom of Prussia, the
Russian Empire, and Austria. After WWI,
Poland regained its independence, only to lose it again during WWII.
After the Nazi
invasion during WWII, Poland became the capital of Germany’s General
Government. The Jewish population of
Krakow was forced into a ghetto area and subsequently transported to
concentration camps, primarily Auschwitz, where many died. It is estimated that 55,000 Jews were sent to
these camps. Following Germany’s defeat
in WWII and the downfall of Communism, Poland became a Republic again 1989.
On a religious
note, in 1978, the first Slavic archbishop, Karol Wojtyla, became Pope John
Paul II, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. Today Krakow is known as Poland’s cultural
capital.
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