Symbols of Kraków

The city of

• 
  Flag of Kraków, also during its time as

  a city-state
• 
  Banner of Kraków
• 
  Coat of Arms of Kraków
• 
  Seal of Kraków

Official symbols

The current official symbols of Kraków are described by the Ordinance of the Kraków City Council no. CXXIII/1150/02 adopted on October 9, 2002.^[1] However, they are all based on symbols which have been in use since much earlier, some of them dating back to the 16th century.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms displays a red brick wall with three towers in a blue

The banner consists of a white saltire in a blue field with the coat of arms superimposed in the center. The banner proportions are 5:8. It is attached to a pole topped with a miniature of the crown used for coronations of Polish kings.

Use of official symbols

The use of the city's official symbols is regulated by the Ordinance no. 167/2004 signed by the Mayor of Kraków on February 6, 2004.^[2]

Both the banner and the seal exist in only two official specimens. One set of the banner and seal is used by the Mayor (Prezydent Miasta Krakowa) and the other – by the President of the City Council (Przewodniczący Rady Miasta Krakowa). The banner is only used on special occasions. Similarly, the seal is only impressed upon particularly important documents.

The coat of arms should be displayed outside and may be also displayed indoors by organs of the City of Kraków, the city administration and the city's one-person joint-stock companies. The flag is the most "democratic" of the official symbols as it may be used virtually by anyone, especially on special occasions.

Other symbols

Since the use of most of Kraków's official symbols is legally restricted, many semiofficial and unofficial symbols are also used. The Kraków logo, which includes the city's Latin name, Cracovia, is used by the city authorities for Kraków's promotion. Another popular symbol of the city is a stylized crowned letter K based on that found on old city seals and, most famously, on the door to the Wawel Cathedral.

Images of the city's

• the
  Wawel Dragon
  ;
• the Lajkonik;
• certain landmark buildings, especially the
  Sukiennice (Cloth Hall) and the Barbican
  ;
• mascarons from the Sukiennice attic;
• the
  krakowiak
  folk costume;
• obwarzanek krakowski, a traditional ring-shaped bread.

See also

• Polish heraldry

References

External links

• Krakow4u.pl – photographs of the Sukiennice mascarons