Free City of Cracow

Coordinates: 50°3′42″N 19°56′14″E / 50.06167°N 19.93722°E / 50.06167; 19.93722
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Free City of Kraków
)

Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Cracow with its Territory
Wolne, Niepodległe i Ściśle Neutralne Miasto Kraków i jego Okręg (Polish)
1815–1846
Roman Catholic, Judaism
GovernmentConstitutional republic
President of the Senate 
• 1815–1831
Stanisław Wodzicki [pl]
LegislatureAssembly of Representatives (Kraków)
History 
• 
Kraków Uprising
16 November 1846
Currency
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Duchy of Warsaw
Grand Duchy of Kraków
Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
Today part ofPoland

The Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Cracow with its Territory,

Cracow
and its surrounding areas.

It was

Kraków Uprising, the Free City of Cracow was annexed by the Austrian Empire.[1] It was a remnant of the Duchy of Warsaw, which was partitioned
among the three states after the Congress in 1815.

The Free City of Cracow was an overwhelmingly Polish-speaking city-state; of its population 85% were Catholics, 14% were Jews, while other religions comprised less than 1%. The city of Cracow itself had a Jewish population reaching nearly 40%, while the rest were almost exclusively Polish-speaking Catholics.[2]

History

The Free City was approved and guaranteed by

partitioned Poland
.

During the

Kraków uprising of 1846, the Free City was annexed by Austria on 16 November 1846 as the Grand Duchy of Kraków
.

Part of a series on
Polish statehood
Poland
Personal union
Proposed
Occupational powers
Miscellaneous
Poland portal
  • Granting of the constitution of the Free City of Kraków, 1815–1818. (Painting from the mid-19th century).
    Granting of the constitution of the Free City of Kraków, 1815–1818. (Painting from the mid-19th century).
  • Galician slaughter (Polish "Rzeź galicyjska") by Jan Lewicki (1795–1871).
    Galician slaughter (Polish "Rzeź galicyjska") by Jan Lewicki
    (1795–1871).

Geography, population, and economy

The Free City of Cracow was created from the southwest part of the Duchy of Warsaw (part of the former Kraków Department on the left bank of the Vistula river). At is smallest, the city encompassed an area of 1164 to 1234 km2 (sources vary). It bordered the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire. It comprised the city of Kraków and its environs; the other settlements in the area administered by the Free City included 224 villages and three towns (Chrzanów, Trzebinia and Nowa Góra).

In 1815, its population was 95,000; as of 1843, it had a population of 146,000. 85% of them were Catholics, 14% Jews, while other religions comprised 1%. The most notable

magnates, who had a mansion in Krzeszowice
.

The Free City was a

Prussian Silesia had often used the Free City as a contraband outlet to avoid tariff barriers along the borders of Austria and the Kingdom of Poland, but with Austria's annexation of the Free City came a significant drop in Prussian textile exports.[4]

  • Free City of Kraków, 1815-1846.
    Free City of Kraków, 1815-1846.
  • 5 groszy coin displaying the coat of arms of the Free City, and 1 złoty coin of 1835.
    5 groszy coin displaying the coat of arms of the Free City, and 1 złoty coin of 1835.

Politics

Stanisław Wodzicki [pl], first President of the Senate 1815–1831.

The statelet received an initial constitution in 1815 which had mainly been devised by Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski. The constitution was revised and expanded in 1818, establishing significant autonomy for the city. Legislative power was vested in the Assembly of Representatives (Izba Reprezentantów), and the executive power was given to a Governing Senate.

In 1833, in the aftermath of the

Kraków Uprising
of 1846.

The law was based on the

Napoleonic civil code and French commercial and criminal law. The official language was Polish. In 1836 the local police force was disbanded and replaced by Austrian police; in 1837 the partitioning powers curtailed the competences of the local courts which refused to bow down to their demands.[citation needed
]

The Free City of Cracow was the first purely republican government in the history of Poland.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Polish: Wolne, Niepodległe i Ściśle Neutralne Miasto Kraków z Okręgiem
  2. ^ The Polish variant of name Kraków is occasionally retroactively applied in English to the historical Free City.
  3. ^ Polish: Wolne Miasto Kraków; German: Freie Stadt Krakau
  4. ^ Polish: Rzeczpospolita Krakowska; German: Republik Krakau

References

  1. ^ Degan 1997, p. 378.
  2. ^ Censuses of the Austro-Hungarian Statistical Central Commission, cited in Anson Rabinbach, The Migration of Galician Jews to Vienna. Austrian History Yearbook, Volume XI, Berghahn Books/Rice University Press, Houston 1975, p. 46/47 (table III)
  3. ^ a b Hertslet 1875, p. 127.
  4. ^ Feuchtwanger 1970, p. 157.

References

  • Degan, Vladimir Đuro (1997), Developments in International Law: Sources of Internat'l, Developments in International Law Series, vol. 27 (illustrated ed.), Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, p. 378,
    ISBN 9789041104212
  • Feuchtwanger, E. J. (1970), Prussia: Myth and Reality, Chicago: Henry Regnery Company, p. 262,
    ISBN 0-85496-108-9
  • Hertslet, Edward (1875), "No.15", The map of Europe by treaty; showing the various political and territorial changes which have taken place since the general peace of 1814, London: Butterworths. (No. 12), p. 127

Further reading

Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Wikisource has original text related to this article:

50°3′42″N 19°56′14″E / 50.06167°N 19.93722°E / 50.06167; 19.93722

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Free_City_of_Cracow&oldid=1219112548"