Kraków timeline

5th c. AD – Slavs settle in the basins of the Vistula and the Warta

9th c. AD – the tribal state of the Vistulanians is established; a fortified bailey established in Kraków, on Wawel Hill

end of 9th c. AD – the Vistulanian state becomes a part of Great Moravia until its fall early in the 10th century, to become independent from the Bohemian monarchs in the mid-10th century

c. 965 AD – the first preserved written mention of Kraków by the merchant Ibrahim ibn Jacob who was travelling in Central Europe

c. 990 AD – the Vistulanian state with its capital in Kraków becomes a dominion of the developing Polish state

1000 AD – bishopric established in Kraków; the construction of the first cathedral at the Wawel begins

1138 – in his testament, Prince Boleslaus the Wry-Mouthed (Bolesław Krzywousty) divides the country into principalities: each is given to one of the Prince’s sons; Kraków and its surrounding area acquires the status of the senior principality and becomes the seat of the overlord of the state

1241 – the first Tartar (Mongol) raid on Kraków seriously damages the city; the successive incursions of 1260 and 1287 bring much less destruction

1257 (5th June) – the Great Charter of Kraków founded on the power of the Law of Magdeburg by Prince Boleslaus the Modest (Bolesław Wstydliwy) grants Kraków city rights, its authorities – a formal structure modelled on the one in Magdeburg; connected to the above is the staking out of the Main Square, and the development of a spatial design for the city, which has survived to this day

1320 – Ladislaus the Elbow-High (Władysław Łokietek) is the first Polish king to be crowned in Wawel Cathedral, which becomes the site of coronation for 37 monarchs (19 kings and 18 queens), and of the burial of 15 kings and their families

1335 – the city of Kazimierz, bearing the name of its founder, King Casimir the Great (Kazimierz Wielki) is chartered near Kraków. Kraków’s other satellite city is Kleparz (1366)

1364 – King Casimir the Great establishes the Academy of Kraków, Poland’s first university which will briefly cease to operate after the death of the King in 1370

1400 – thanks to the testament legacy of Queen Jadwiga, and the funds presented by King Ladislaus (Władysław) Jagiełło, the Academy of Kraków reopens; to commemorate their donation, the academy will be renamed as the Jagiellonian University in the 19th century

1477–1489 – Wit Stwosz (Veit Stoss) makes his famous wooden altar for the main parish church of Kraków

1492 – Nicolas Copernicus (Mikołaj Kopernik) begins to study mathematics and astronomy at the Academy of Kraków

1518 – the Italian Queen Bona Sforza arrives in Kraków; and with her comes Italian influence that touches everything: art, architecture, customs, clothes, music, and even cuisine changes; Wawel cooks begin using parsley, leek, and savoy cabbage

1525 – formerly the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, now, the first duke of the Duchy of Prussia ruling the laicised Teutonic State (Ordensstaat), Albrecht Hohenzollern swears a solemn oath to King Sigismund the Old (Zygmunt Stary); the homage by the Prussian overlord in the Main Square of Kraków to the Polish king was a symbol of the political power of Poland and the final victory over the Ordensstaat after 300 years of strife
1609 – King Sigismund III Vasa moves together with his court to Warsaw. For good. Warsaw is made the seat of the rulers of Poland

1655 – during the Swedish invasion known as the “Deluge”, Kraków is captured, looted, and devastated. The city is left with one in four buildings standing, and 25% of its population

1702 – the Swedish recapture Kraków during the Northern War; until 1711, the city will change hands many times and be occupied by Swedes, Saxons, and Russians, which will lead to the ruin of the city

1734 – the coronation of King August III, Elector of Saxony is the last to be held in the Wawel cathedral

1772 – the First Partition of Poland; despite the annexations of Polish territory by Prussia, Russia, and Austria, Kraków remains a part of Poland

1784 – the new city of Podgórze is founded by the Austrian Archduke on the border with Poland

1794 – Kraków is the capital of the Kościuszko Uprising directed against the three partitioning powers

1795 – the Third and final Partition of Poland; Kraków is taken over by Austria; the first Austrian occupation lasts until the capture of the city by Prince Józef Poniatowski in 1809 who integrated it into the Duchy of Warsaw

1815 – the Congress of Vienna establishes the Republic of Kraków (known also as Free City of Kraków and officially named The Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Kraków with its Territory); a miniature state composed of Kraków and its immediate vicinity; formally self-governing, it is actually under the “protectorate” of the partitioning powers

1846 – the failed Kraków Revolution, lasting only nine days, provides Austria with a pretext to devour the Republic of Kraków

1850 (18th July) – the Great Fire of Kraków; the churches and monasteries of the Franciscans and Dominicans, a number of palaces including the Bishops’ Palace with its precious collection of art, and 153 other buildings fall victim to the fire

c. 1866 – Galicia, that is Poland under Austrian rule, begins gradually to acquire increasing political and social rights as a part of the so-called Galician autonomy; this allows e.g. the organisation of patriotic events in Kraków, which included the reburials of King Casimir the Great (1874) and the poet Adam Mickiewicz (1890), and the celebration of the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Grunwald in 1910

1914 – outbreak of the first world war; First Cadre Company – the first Polish military detachment leaves Kraków to fight under Józef Piłsudski

1918 (31st October) – Kraków is the first city of the Polish lands to win back its independence after the period of the partitions

1939 (6th September) – second world war: Germans in Kraków, the Nazi occupation, lasting for 1869 days (to 18th January 1945), begins

1941 – following the decision of the German occupiers, the Jewish Residential District is established in Podgórze to be liquidated in 1943; after the liquidation of the ghetto, its residents are murdered, transported to Auschwitz, or at best – marched to the Labour Camp in Płaszów

1949 – construction of the residential district of Nowa Huta begins, a year later ground will be broken for the V.I. Lenin Steelworks (today, the steel mills owned by ArcelorMittal Poland)

1967 – the construction of the first church in Nowa Huta begins; the Ark or the Lord will be built for 10 years

1978 – Karol Wojtyła, the Archbishop of Kraków, elected Pope John Paul II; a year later, he will come on a pilgrimage to his homeland, and celebrate a Holy Mass in Kraków’s Błonia Common Green

1996 – Wisława Szymborska, a poet living in Kraków since her childhood, becomes the winner of the Nobel prize for literature

2000 – Kraków is one of the first two cities of Central and Eastern Europe to be awarded the title of European City of Culture

2007 – Kraków celebrates the 750th anniversary of its Great Charter