Kraków summary

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Below is the article summary. For the full article, see Kraków.

Kraków, or Cracow, City (pop., 2005 est.: 757,430), southern Poland. Located on both sides of the upper Vistula River, it was the capital of a principality in 1138. After surviving a Mongol invasion in 1241, it was made the capital of a reunited Poland in 1320. Its importance diminished after the capital was moved to Warsaw in 1611. During the Partitions of Poland it came under Austrian rule. Returned to Poland in 1918, it was held by Germany during World War II. Rebuilt since the war, it is an industrial centre with a giant steelworks on the city’s outskirts. Kraków is also a cultural centre. Its university was founded in 1364.

The Elbe, Oder, and Vistula river basins

Vistula River Summary

Vistula River, largest river of Poland and of the drainage basin of the Baltic Sea. With a length of 651 miles (1,047 kilometres) and a drainage basin of some 75,100 square miles (194,500 square kilometres), it is a waterway of great importance to the nations of eastern Europe; more than 85 percent

Map showing the countries of Europe with national capitals and surrounding bodies of water, including the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and Black Sea.

Europe Summary

Europe, second smallest of the world’s continents, composed of the westward-projecting peninsulas of Eurasia (the great landmass that it shares with Asia) and occupying nearly one-fifteenth of the world’s total land area. It is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean, on the west by the Atlantic

Poland Summary

Poland, country of central Europe. Poland is located at a geographic crossroads that links the forested lands of northwestern Europe and the sea lanes of the Atlantic Ocean to the fertile plains of the Eurasian frontier. Now bounded by seven nations, Poland has waxed and waned over the centuries,