Free City of Cracow: Difference between revisions
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The '''Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of [[Krakow|Kraków]]<ref name="cracow">The Polish variant of Kraków is occasionally retroactively applied in English to the historical Free City.</ref> (Cracow) with its Territory''' ({{lang-pl|Wolne, Niepodległe i Ściśle Neutralne Miasto Kraków z Okręgiem}}), more commonly known as either the '''Free City of Kraków''' or '''Republic of Kraków''' ({{lang-pl|[[Rzeczpospolita]] Krakowska}}, {{lang-de|Republik Krakau}}), was a [[city-state]] created by the [[Congress of Vienna]] in 1815, and controlled by its three neighbours ([[Russian Empire|Russia]], [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], and [[Austrian Empire|Austria]]). It was a center of agitation for an independent Poland. In 1846, in the aftermath of the unsuccessful [[Kraków Uprising]], it was annexed by the Austrian Empire.{{sfn|Degan|1997|p=378}} It was a remnant of the [[Duchy of Warsaw]], which was [[partitions of Poland|partitioned]] between the three states in 1815. It was an overwhelmingly Polish-speaking city-state; of its population 85% were Catholics, 14% Jews |
The '''Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of [[Krakow|Kraków]]<ref name="cracow">The Polish variant of Kraków is occasionally retroactively applied in English to the historical Free City.</ref> (Cracow) with its Territory''' ({{lang-pl|Wolne, Niepodległe i Ściśle Neutralne Miasto Kraków z Okręgiem}}), more commonly known as either the '''Free City of Kraków''' or '''Republic of Kraków''' ({{lang-pl|[[Rzeczpospolita]] Krakowska}}, {{lang-de|Republik Krakau}}), was a [[city-state]] created by the [[Congress of Vienna]] in 1815, and controlled by its three neighbours ([[Russian Empire|Russia]], [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], and [[Austrian Empire|Austria]]). It was a center of agitation for an independent Poland. In 1846, in the aftermath of the unsuccessful [[Kraków Uprising]], it was annexed by the Austrian Empire.{{sfn|Degan|1997|p=378}} It was a remnant of the [[Duchy of Warsaw]], which was [[partitions of Poland|partitioned]] between the three states in 1815. It was an overwhelmingly Polish-speaking city-state; of its population 85% were Catholics, 14% were Jews while other religions comprised 1%. |
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== History == |
== History == |
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Revision as of 08:13, 25 November 2014
Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Kraków[1] (Cracow) with its Territory Wolne, Niepodległe i Ściśle Neutralne Miasto Kraków z Okręgiem | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1815–1846 | |||||||||
 Location of the Free City of Kraków within Europe | |||||||||
 Territory of the Free City of Kraków (orange) and its three neighbours (Kingdom of Prussia, Austrian Empire and Russian Empire) | |||||||||
| Status | Protectorate of Austria, Prussia and Russia | ||||||||
| Capital | Kraków | ||||||||
| Common languages | Polish | ||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | ||||||||
| Government | Constitutional republic | ||||||||
| President of the Senate | |||||||||
| Legislature | Assembly of Representatives (Kraków) | ||||||||
| History | |||||||||
| May 3 1815 | |||||||||
• November Uprising | November 29, 1830 | ||||||||
• Kraków Uprising | November 16 1846 | ||||||||
| Area | |||||||||
| 1815 | 1,164 km2 (449 sq mi) | ||||||||
| 1843 | 1,164 km2 (449 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | |||||||||
• 1815 | 95,000 | ||||||||
• 1843 | 146,000 | ||||||||
| Currency | Polish złoty (to 1835) Kraków złoty (from 1835) | ||||||||
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The Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Kraków[1] (Cracow) with its Territory (Polish: Wolne, Niepodległe i Ściśle Neutralne Miasto Kraków z Okręgiem), more commonly known as either the Free City of Kraków or Republic of Kraków (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Krakowska, German: Republik Krakau), was a city-state created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, and controlled by its three neighbours (Russia, Prussia, and Austria). It was a center of agitation for an independent Poland. In 1846, in the aftermath of the unsuccessful Kraków Uprising, it was annexed by the Austrian Empire.[2] It was a remnant of the Duchy of Warsaw, which was partitioned between the three states in 1815. It was an overwhelmingly Polish-speaking city-state; of its population 85% were Catholics, 14% were Jews while other religions comprised 1%.
History
The Free City was approved and guaranteed by Article VII of the Treaty between Austria, Prussia, and Russia of the 3 May 1815.[3] The statelet received an initial constitution at the same time,[3] revised and expanded in 1818, establishing significant autonomy for the city. The Jagiellonian University could accept students from the partitioned territory of Poland. The Free City thus became a center of Polish political activity on the territories of partitioned Poland.
During the November Uprising of 1830–31, Kraków was a base for the smuggling of arms into the Russian-controlled Kingdom of Poland. After the end of the uprising the autonomy of the Free City was restricted. The police were controlled by Austria and the election of the president had to be approved by all three powers. Kraków was subsequently occupied by the Austrian army from 1836 to 1841. After the unsuccessful Kraków Uprising of 1846, the Free City was annexed by Austria on November 16, 1846 as the Grand Duchy of Cracow.
Geography and population
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The Free City of Kraków was created from the south-west part of the Duchy of Warsaw (part of the former Kraków Department on left bank of the Vistula river). The territory of the city comprised 1164–1234 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 3 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 szlachta family was the Potocki family of magnates, with their mansion in Krzeszowice.
Politics
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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 November Uprising and the foiled plan by some Polish activists to start an uprising in Kraków, the partitioning powers issued a new, much more restrictive constitution: the number of senators and deputies was lowered and their competences limited, while the commissars of the partitioning powers had their competences expanded. Freedom of press was also curtailed. In 1835 a secret treaty between the partitioning powers presented a plan in which in case of additional Polish unrest, Austria was given the right to occupy and annex the city. That would take place after 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 Kraków was the first purely republican government in the history of Poland. It was also the first modern republic in Eastern Europe.[citation needed]
Economy
The Free City was a duty-free area, allowed to trade with Russia, Prussia and Austria. It had no duties, very low taxes, and various economic privileges granted by the neighbouring powers. As such, it became one of the European centres of economic liberalism and supporters of laissez-faire, attracting new enterprises and immigrants, which resulted in impressive growth of the city.
Weavers from Prussian Silesia had often used the free city as a contraband outlet to avoid tariff barriers along the borders of Austria and Kingdom of Poland. Austria's annexation of the free city subsequently led to a significant drop in Prussian textile exports.[4]
See also
- History of Poland (1795–1918)
- Former countries in Europe after 1815
- Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria
- Galician slaughter
Notes
- ^ a b The Polish variant of Kraków is occasionally retroactively applied in English to the historical Free City.
- ^ Degan 1997, p. 378.
- ^ a b Hertslet 1875, p. 127.
- ^ 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
Media related to Free City of Kraków at Wikimedia Commons
- EB staff, "Republic of Cracow", [[Encyclopædia Britannica]] online, retrieved 12 December 2012
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