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Krakus
Krakus, Krak or Grakch was a legendary Polish prince, ruler of the Vistulans (a Lechitic tribe), and the presumed founder of Kraków. Krakus is also credited with building Wawel Castle and slaying the Wawel Dragon by feeding it a dead sheep full of sulfur. The latter is how Krak the cobbler became Krakus the prince, and later king. The first recorded mention of Krakus, then spelled ''Grakch'', is in the Chronica seu originale regum et principum Poloniae from 1190. Historian attributes Krak's name to a pre-Slavic word "krakula", meaning 'judge's staff' or 'scepter', which also signified judicial authority among the pagan Balts. Historians Cetwiński and Derwich suggest a different etymology, which seems more probable to some, with Krak, meaning simply an oak, a sacred tree, most often associated with the concept of genealogy. Moreover, the name of the city of Kraków is believed to be derived from the word , which translates to 'crow' or 'raven'. Krakus Mound, which exists ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Krakus Mound
Krakus Mound or Kopiec Krakusa in Polish language, Polish, also called the Krak Mound, is a tumulus located in the Podgórze Districts of Kraków, district of Kraków, Poland; thought to be the resting place of Kraków's mythical founder, the legendary King Krakus. It is located on Lasota Hill, approximately south of kraków Old Town, Kraków's city centre, at an altitude of , with a base diameter of and a height of . Together with nearby Wanda Mound, it is one of Kraków's two prehistoric mounds as well as the oldest man-made structure in Kraków. Nearby are also two other non-prehistoric, man-made mounds, Kościuszko Mound, constructed in 1823, and Piłsudski's Mound, completed in 1937. at e-Krakow.com ''(in Polish)'' These four make up Kraków's four memorial mounds. History The age and the original purpose of ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Wawel Dragon
The Wawel Dragon (), also known as the Dragon of Wawel Hill, is a famous dragon in Polish legend. According to the earliest account (13th century), a dragon (, "one who swallows whole") plagued the capital city of Kraków established by legendary King Krak (or Krakus, Gracchus, etc.). The man-eating monster was being appeased with a weekly ration of cattle, until finally being defeated by the king's sons using decoy cows stuffed with sulfur. But the younger prince (" Krak the younger" or "Krak junior") murdered his elder brother to take sole credit, and was banished afterwards. Consequently Princess Wanda had to succeed the kingdom. Later in a 15th-century chronicle, the prince-names were swapped, with the elder as "Krak junior" and the younger as Lech. It also credited the king himself with masterminding the carcasses full of sulfur and other reagents. A yet later chronicler (Marcin Bielski, 1597) credited the stratagem to a cobbler named Skub (Skuba), adding that the "Drago ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Krakus II
Krakus II (; ) was a mythological ruler of Poland. He was the successor of and son of the alleged founder of the City of Kraków, Krakus I, and he was the younger brother of Lech II, according to Wincenty Kadłubek. He ties the family to the national story of the dragon of Wawel. In this, their father Krak sent them to defeat the dragon, which they managed, after an unsuccessful battle, by stuffing the tribute animals with straw which suffocated the dragon. After this, Krak threw himself upon Lech and killed him, though their father pretended that the dragon was responsible. Eventually the story was found out, and Krak II was overthrown and replaced by his daughter Wanda. However, according to Jan Długosz Jan Długosz (; 1 December 1415 – 19 May 1480), also known in Latin as Johannes Longinus, was a Polish priest, chronicler, diplomat, soldier, and secretary to Bishop Zbigniew Oleśnicki of Kraków. He is considered Poland's first histo ..., Krakus was the elder s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Podgórze
Podgórze ( German: ''Josefstadt'') is a district of Kraków, Poland, situated on the right (southern) bank of the Vistula River, at the foot of Lasota Hill. The district was subdivided in 1990 into six new districts, see present-day districts of Kraków for more details. History The oldest man-made structure in Podgórze is the Krakus Mound () on Lasota Hill, believed to be the grave of the legendary prince Krakus. It is the largest prehistoric mound in Poland and one of the best view points in the city. The name Podgórze roughly translates as ''the base of a hill''. Initially a small settlement, in the years following the First Partition of Poland the town's development was promoted by the Austria-Hungary Emperor Joseph II who in 1784 granted it the city status, as the Royal Free City of Podgórze. In the following years it was a self-governing administrative unit. After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795 and the takeover of the entire city by the Empire, Podgórze los ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 (2023), with approximately 8 million additional people living within a radius. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596, and has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life. Cited as one of Europe's most beautiful cities, its Kraków Old Town, Old Town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, one of the world's first sites granted the status. The city began as a Hamlet (place), hamlet on Wawel Hill and was a busy trading centre of Central Europe in 985. In 1038, it became the seat of King of Poland, Polish monarchs from the Piast dynasty, and subsequently served as the centre of administration under Jagiellonian dynasty, Jagiellonian kings and of the Polish–Lithuan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Lech II
Lech II was a legendary ruler of Poland mentioned by 15th century chronicler Jan Długosz. He was the son of the alleged founder of the City of Kraków, Krakus I, and he was the brother of Krakus II. Bibliography * Jan Długosz, Roczniki, czyli kroniki sławnego Królestwa Polskiego, ks 1 - 2, Warszawa 1961, s. 191 - 192. * Aleksander Semkowicz Aleksander Semkowicz (born 7 February 1850 in Lwów, d. 2 April 1923 in Lwów) was a Polish historian, archivist, professor of Lviv University, Jan Kazimierz University in Lwów, correspondent member of Polish Academy of Learning. He was also edit ..., Krytyczny rozbiór Dziejów Polski Jana Długosza (do roku 1384), Kraków 1887. {{Poland-noble-stub Legendary Polish monarchs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
History Of Kraków
Kraków is one of the largest and oldest cities in Poland, with the urban population of 804,237 (June, 2023). Situated on the Vistula river () in the Lesser Poland region, the city dates back to the 7th century. It was the capital of Poland from 1038 to 1596, the capital of the Grand Duchy of Kraków from 1846 to 1918, and the capital of Kraków Voivodeship from the 14th century to 1999. It is now the capital of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. Early history The earliest known settlement on the present site of Kraków was established on Wawel Hill, and dates back to the 4th century. Legend attributes the town's establishment to the mythical ruler Krakus, who built it above a cave occupied by a ravenous dragon, Smok Wawelski. Many knights unsuccessfully attempted to oust the dragon by force, but instead, Krakus fed it a poisoned lamb, which killed the dragon. The city was free to flourish. Dragon bones, most likely that of mammoth, are displayed at the entrance of the Wawel C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Wawel Castle
The Wawel Royal Castle (; ''Zamek Królewski na Wawelu'') and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established on the orders of King Casimir III the Great and enlarged over the centuries into a number of structures around a Polish Renaissance courtyard. It represents nearly all European architectural styles of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. The castle is part of a fortified architectural complex erected atop a limestone outcrop on the left bank of the Vistula River, at an altitude of above sea level. The complex consists of numerous buildings of great historical and national importance, including the Wawel Cathedral where Polish monarchs were crowned and buried. Some of Wawel's oldest stone buildings can be traced back to 970 CE, in addition to the earliest examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture in Poland. The current ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Districts Of Kraków
The city of Kraków is divided into 18 administrative districts, each with a degree of autonomy within the municipal government. The Polish name for such a district is ''dzielnica''. The oldest neighborhoods of Kraków were incorporated into the city before the late 18th century. They include the Old Town (''Kraków - Stare Miasto, Stare Miasto''), once contained within the Florian Gate, city defensive walls and now encircled by the Planty Park, Planty park; the Wawel, which is the site of the Royal Castle and the Wawel Cathedral, Cathedral; Stradom and Kazimierz, the latter originally divided into Christian and Jewish quarters; as well as the ancient town of Kleparz. Major districts added in the 19th and 20th centuries include Podgórze, which until 1915 was a separate town on the southern bank of the Vistula, and Nowa Huta, east of the city centre, built after World War II and incorporated into the city in 1951. Between 1951 and 1973 the city was divided into six districts: Sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Princess Wanda
Princess Wanda (; reputedly lived in 8th century Poland) was the daughter of the Lechitic King Krakus, legendary founder of Kraków. Upon her father's death she became a ruler of the Poles, but committed suicide to avoid an unwanted marriage. Legend The first written record of the legend of Wanda was made by the Polish chronicler Wincenty Kadłubek, which historians believe to be an invented legend.K. Kumaniecki, "Podanie o Wandzie w świetle źródeł starożytnych", 22–23 (1925–26). In this version of the story Wanda ruled Poland after her father, when her lands were invaded by an " Alamann tyrant". Wanda led her troops out to meet him. Seeing her beauty, the German troops refused to fight and their leader committed suicide. Towards the end of the story Kadłubek states that "the river Vandalus Vistula.html" ;"title="'a name he used for the Vistula">'a name he used for the Vistula''is named after" her and hence the people she ruled over were known as "Vandals". In this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Vistulans
The Vistulans, or Vistulanians (), were an early medieval Lechitic tribe inhabiting the western part of modern Lesser Poland. Etymology Their name derives from the hydronym of the river Vistula, meaning "inhabitants of Vistula"; the region is mentioned as ''Uuislane'' by the Bavarian Geographer, ''v Vislè'' and ''v Vislèh'' in the ''Vita Methodii'', and ''Visleland'' by Alfred the Great in the 9th century. Identification Even though some historians, such as Przemysław Urbańczyk, claim that the Vistulans did not exist, there are three documents from the 9th century which can be tied to this tribe. First is the so-called ''Vita Methodii'' or ''Pannonian Legend'' (The Life of St. Methodius), second is the Bavarian Geographer, and third is Alfred the Great's ''Germania''. Scholars consider that the Vistulans could also have been mentioned in the Old English and Nordic epic poems. King Alfred's translation of Orosius contains a description of Europe which states ''be eastan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Cosmas Of Prague
Cosmas of Prague (; ; – 21 October 1125) was a Czech priest, writer and historian. Life Between 1075 and 1081, he studied in Liège. After his return to Bohemia, he married Božetěcha with whom he had a son, named Jindřich Zdík, and remained in minor orders. His son later became Bishop of Olomouc. In 1094, he was ordained a deacon, and in 1099, he was ordained a priest at Esztergom, Hungary. Works His ''magnum opus,'' written in Latin, is called '' Chronica Boemorum''. The ''Chronica'' is divided into three books: *The first book, completed in 1119, starts with the creation of the world and ends in the year 1038. It describes the legendary foundation of the Bohemian state by the oldest Bohemians around the year 600 (Duke Czech, Duke Krok and his three daughters), Duchess Libuše and the foundation of Přemyslid dynasty by her marriage with Přemysl, old bloody wars, Duke Bořivoj and the introduction of Christianity in Bohemia, Saint Wenceslaus and his grandmother ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
