Wymiar etniczny struktury społecznej Krakowa - przeszłość i czasy współczesne

Ethnic dimension of Kraków - history and modernity

Summary: The purpose of the paper is to describe ethnic changes in the city of Kraków over the centuries. The city possessed a multi-ethnic society starting in the Middle Ages, which lasted until World War II. Since the war, the city has made the transition to a less multi-ethnic but more international society in the era of globalization. Kraków functioned as a key cultural, scientific, political, and commercial center starting in the 14th century. The city's prosperity helped it flourish and attract people from all around Europe. The population of Kraków within city walls was about 10,000 in the 14th century, half of which were Poles. About 35% of the population was German, which made the German minority important both in demographic and economic terms. In the late 18th century, Kraków was forcibly annexed by the Austrian Empire, which initiated an influx of Austrians and other inhabitants of the Empire including Ukrainians, Czechs, Slovaks and Jews. The Jewish population soon came to play a key social and economic role in the city. Between 20% and 25% of the city's population was Jewish in the decades prior to World War II. The war virtually eliminated ethnic minorities from Kraków. This was especially true of the Jewish population, which essentially ceased to exist. Contemporary Kraków is inhabited by 10,000 to 15,000 foreigners including those registered as permanent residents as well as seasonal workers and foreign students. The ethnic mosaic of the city is enriched by numerous foreign tourists visiting Kraków every year. While foreigners constitute a very small percentage of the city's present-day population, the spirit of the minorities of the past lives on. Kraków also possesses a physical legacy of past minorities in the form of historical buildings, which help the city maintain a unique atmosphere that can be described as the genius loci of the city.

Peregrinus Cracoviensis, 2011, z. 22, s. 217-232.

Instytut Geografii i Gospodarki Przestrzennej UJ

ISSN 1425-1922

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