Cracovia

"Cracovia (en polaco, Kraków Acerca de este sonido [krakuf] (?·i)) es la capital del voivodato de Pequeña Polonia (Województwo maopolskie) y una de las ciudades más grandes, antiguas e importantes de Polonia. Con una población de 760.000 habitantes (3 millones en su área metropolitana), está situada en las márgenes del río Vístula, lo que la convierte en la segunda ciudad en cuanto a población de Polonia. Cracovia tradicionalmente ha sido uno de los centros económicos, científicos, culturales y artísticos del país. Durante gran parte de la historia polaca fue la capital del país. Por eso, todavía es el corazón de Polonia para muchos polacos. Actualmente, Cracovia es un centro muy importante del turismo local e internacional, con más de ocho millones de turistas al año. El centro histórico de Cracovia fue declarado, junto con el centro histórico de Quito, como Patrimonio de la Humanidad por la Unesco en 1978. Fue Capital Europea de la Cultura en el año 2000. Cracovia fue la sede del Campeonato Mundial de Voleibol en 2014 y será del Campeonato Europeo de Balonmano de 2016. La ciudad ha sido también escogida como la Ciudad Europea del Deporte en el año 2014 y como la sede de la Jornada Mundial de la Juventud del año 2016."

"Kraków (Polish pronunciation: [krakuf] ), also Cracow or Krakow (US English /krka/, UK English /kræka/), is the second largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River (Polish: Wisa) 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 PolishLithuanian Commonwealth from 1569 to 1795; 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. After the invasion of Poland at the start of World War II, Kraków became the capital of Germany's General Government. The Jewish population of the city was forced into a walled zone known as the Kraków Ghetto, from which they were sent to German extermination camps such as the nearby Auschwitz never to return, and the Nazi concentration camps like Paszów. In 1978, Karol Wojtya, archbishop of Kraków, was elevated to the papacy as Pope John Paul II the first Slavic pope ever, and the first non-Italian pope in 455 years. Also that year, UNESCO approved the first ever sites for its new World Heritage List, including the entire Old Town in inscribing Cracow's Historic Centre. Kraków is classified as a Gamma- global city by GaWC. Cited as one of Europe's most beautiful cities, its extensive cultural heritage across the epochs of Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architecture includes the Wawel Cathedral and the Royal Castle on the banks of the Vistula river, the St. Mary's Basilica and the largest medieval market square in Europe, the Rynek Gówny. Kraków is home to Jagiellonian University, one of the oldest universities in the world and traditionally Poland's most reputable institution of higher learning. In 2000, Kraków was named European Capital of Culture. The city hosted the World Youth Day in July 2016."