Plac Kossaka, Kraków Live Cam

Another long weekend is coming. It's perfect time to admire Krakow in beautiful colours of Polish golden autumn. New Year’s Eve Party in the Main Market Square is magical time and unforgettable event. Christmas is the time of joy, love, peace and being together. It is a time of wishing everything the best. We invite you to spend this magical time in Krakow – amazing, breathtaking especially in Christmas time city.

Cracow lies at 219 m, at the crossroads of important transport routs linking Germany with the Ukraine and Scandinavia with Austria, Slovakia and Hungary. Geographically, the area is considerably varied: in the northern East there is fertile blackearth and loess, in the North limestone rocks, in the South sand and aggregate, whereas in the southern East there are rich deposits of salt.

The layout of the present-day city goes back to the l3th century. Thanks to its unique value as a historical site, Cracow (along with Wieliczka Salt Mines) was one of the first cities included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. There are about 8,000 historical monuments in the old city alone. Among them there are 5,300 burger houses,140 churches and monasteries, 36 city palaces and edifices, 60 fortifications and 118 parks and gardens. Cracow is one of the largest cultural and academic centers in Poland - there are 10 universities here, including the Jagiellonian University, one of the oldest universities in Central Europe, founded in 1364. There is a local branch of the Polish Academy of Sciences and Arts and many research and scientific centers. There are 30 museums and art galleries. There are 51 travel agencies,13 transport companies and 25 guided-tours agencies. The city has 7 four-star hotels, 9 three-star hotels, 7 two-star hotels and 2 one-star hotels, which can all accommodate about 5,000 guests. In 1992 more than 2,000,000 tourists visited Cracow.

The district is inhabited by 744,000 people, 459,724 of whom are employable. Age average is 37.5 years.

Cracow is on four main transport routs leading: - north, via Kielce and Radom to Warsaw; - south, via the Raba River valley, the Beskid Wyspowy Range and the Gorce Range to Zakopane in the Tatra Mountains and further to Slovakia (Chyżne, Łysa Polana); - west, to Silesia; - east, via Wieliczka and Bochnia to Tarnów, Przemysl and to the Bieszczady Range area. The international Balice airport, 15 km away from Cracow, offers flight connections with London, Paris, Frankfurt on the Main, Cologne, Bonn, Rome, Milan and Warsaw. There are several international flight companies which have their offices in Cracow (Delta, KLM, Sabena, British Airways). As a large railway hub, Cracow offers direct rail connections with Frankfurt, Leipzig, Berlin, Vienna, Kiev, Odessa and Bucharest.

In terms of industrial output Cracow ranks fourth in Poland. It produces 58% of Polish iron, 45% of steel, 42% of cigarettes, and 27% of medicines. Private companies share 28% of the market. Largest investment boom has occurred in retail trade. In July 1993 sales and service profits in five market sectors were 53.6% higher than in July 1992. Export to EEC countries was 58% of total export of the whole voivodship. At the end of 1993 there were 53,163 registered private companies and 1,165 public companies. There are 32 notary public offices and 327 consulting companies. There are central offices of 7 banks and branch offices of 34 banks. In the middle of 1993 unemployment rate stood at 7.6%, and at the end of 1993 at 6.9%, which makes it one of the lowest in Poland.

There are many institutions founded to promote private enterprise, such as the Industrial Society of Cracow, the Cracow Merchant Congregation, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Chamber of Craftsmen, the National Chamber of Economy, the Association of Entrepreneurs, the Congregation of Private Transport, the Polish Association of Christian Entrepreneurs, the Congregation of Real Estate Owners, the Cracow Chamber of Tourism and the Chamber of Juniors.

Cracow has links with the following international institutions: the Council of Europe, the League of European Cities, the UNESCO International Center of Culture, the Congress of European Jews, the Union of Hanseatic Cities, the International Association of Modern Cities (INTA) and the Conference for Security and Cooperation in Europe. It participates in the meetings of the League of Cities of Europe. On behalf of the Hexagonal Group the city organized a conference on tourism, as well as the International Forum of Investors, the Eurocities Conference and the International Month of Culture. In 1994 it will host two OUVERTURE international conferences. Further, Cracow has entered into a partnership with Bordeaux, Bratislava, Fez, Florence, Frankfurt on the Main, Goeteborg, Kiev, Leuven, Nuremberg, Orleans, Rochester, Solura, Vilnus and Zagreb. Besides, Cracow has been cooperating with Graz, Curitiba, Leipzig, Lvov and Vienna.