Cracovians (

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

: ''Krakowiacy'') are an ethnographic subgroup of the

Polish people Polish people, or Poles, are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation who share a common History of Poland, history, Culture of Poland, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Central Europe. The preamble t ...

, who resides in the historic region of

Lesser Poland Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name ''Małopolska'' (; ), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate cult ...

around the city of

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 ...

. They use their own dialect, which belongs to the Lesser Polish dialect cluster of the

Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...

, and are mostly

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

The Cracovians are divided into two geographic subgroups, the Eastern Cracovians who inhabit the areas east of Kraków from Jędrzejów and

Miechów Miechów is a town in Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, about north of Kraków. It is the capital of Miechów County. Population is 11,852 (2004). Miechów lies on the Miechówka river, along European route E77. The area of the town is , a ...

Tarnów Tarnów () is a city in southeastern Poland with 105,922 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of 269,000 inhabitants. The city is situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. It is a major rail junction, located on the strategic east– ...

, and the Western Cracovians who reside west of Kraków — their traditional dress is considered to be the quintessential Kraków folk costume (''stroj krakowski''). In the south (north of the

Gorals The Gorals (; Goral ethnolect: ''Górole''; ; Cieszyn Silesian dialect, Cieszyn Silesian: ''Gorole''), also anglicized as the Highlanders, are an ethnographic group with historical ties to the Vlachs. The Goral people are primarily found in thei ...

), the extent of the Cracovians reaches the line marked by the towns of

Bielsko-Biała Bielsko-Biała (; ; , ; ) is a city in southern Poland, with a population of approximately 166,765 as of December 2022, making it the List of cities and towns in Poland#Largest cities and towns by population, 22nd largest city in Poland, and an a ...

Wadowice Wadowice () is a town in southern Poland, southwest of Kraków with 17,455 inhabitants (2022), situated on the Skawa river, confluence of Vistula, in the eastern part of Silesian Foothills (Pogórze Śląskie). Wadowice is known for being the bir ...

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska Kalwaria Zebrzydowska () is a town in southern Poland with 4,429 inhabitants (2007 estimate). As of 1999, it is situated in Lesser Poland or Małopolska (in Polish). Previously, the town was administered within the Voivodeship of Bielsko-Biała ...

Myślenice Myślenice is a town in southern Poland situated in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, 30 km south of Kraków. The town is divided into six districts. The most popular of them, Zarabie, is a famous tourist destination. It is located behind the Ra ...

Lipnica Murowana Lipnica Murowana is a village in southern Poland. It lies approximately south-east of Bochnia and south-east of the regional capital Kraków. It is the seat of the district called Gmina Lipnica Murowana, within Bochnia County. The village is ...

and Tarnów. In the east, the boundary between the ''Krakowiacy'' and the ''

Sandomierzacy The Sandomierzacy are a ethnographic group of the Polish nation, who reside in the historic province of Lesser Poland, around the town of Sandomierz. They use their own dialect, which belongs to Lesser Polish dialect of the Polish language. Like ...

'' is not well established, reaching as far as Tarnów and

Połaniec Połaniec is a town in Staszów County, Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, Poland, with 8,406 inhabitants (2012). The town is in Lesser Poland, and its history dates back to the early days of Polish statehood. It lies in the western part of the Sa ...

. In the west, the Cracovians reaches the

Przemsza The Przemsza () is a river in the south of Poland, and a tributary of the Vistula. According to one view, it originates at the confluence of the Black () Przemsza and White (''Biała'') Przemsza, between the towns of Mysłowice and Jaworzno. For ...

river, which has for centuries marked the border between Lesser Poland and

Silesia Silesia (see names #Etymology, below) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at 8, ...

. In the north, they reach the line marked by

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

and

Kielce Kielce (; ) is a city in south-central Poland and the capital of the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship. In 2021, it had 192,468 inhabitants. The city is in the middle of the Świętokrzyskie Mountains (Holy Cross Mountains), on the banks of the Silnic ...

. The folklore of the Cracovians inspired several Polish artists, especially in the

Young Poland Young Poland ( ) was a modernist period in Polish visual arts, literature and music, covering roughly the years between 1890 and 1918. It was a result of strong aesthetic opposition to the earlier ideas of Positivism. Young Poland promoted tre ...

period. Furthermore,

Wojciech Bogusławski Wojciech Romuald Bogusławski (9 April 1757 – 23 July 1829) was a Polish actor, theater director and playwright of the Polish Enlightenment. He was the director of the National Theatre, Warsaw, (''Teatr Narodowy''), during three distinct pe ...

's ''"Krakowiacy i Gorale"'', regarded as the first Polish national

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, premiered in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

on 1 March 1794.

Sources

* Encyklopedia Polski. wyd. Wydawnictwo Ryszard Kluszczynski, Kraków 1996.

Notes

Lesser Poland Voivodeship Ethnic groups in Poland Slavic ethnic groups West Slavs {{Poland-stub