Introductory information
Krakow is located in the south of Poland, On the height 219 m n.p.m., in place of, where the Małopolska Upland and the Carpathians are getting closer to each other, creating the so-called Krakow Gate. The climate depends on the location of Krakow on the former marshes near the Vistula and near its tributaries. The proximity of the Carpathians and the Tatra Mountains has a significant impact on changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature. Mountain winds also pass through, which disperse the fumes and fumes of Nowa Huta, hanging over the city.
Krakow is the capital of the Lesser Poland Voivodeship, counting 10 cities and 38 municipalities, extending partly on the Kraków-Częstochowa Upland, and partly in the Nidziańska Basin. The tectonic depression of the Northern Subcarpathia passes through the center of the voivodeship, in which the Vistula riverbed is located. Południowe rejony województwa krakowskiego to: West-Beskid Foothills, small fragments of Beskid Wyspowy and Beskid Makowski.
Access and orientation
Krakow is located on important communication routes and therefore has excellent connections with almost all cities in Poland. It is located on one of the main transit routes from Przemyśl to Lower Silesia and at the intersection of two important routes, E-22 and E-7. From Krakow to the south, there is a "Zakopianka", which is the most convenient road towards the Tatra Mountains.
According to a very simplified scheme, Krakow consists of a centrally located Old Town (with the Krakow Market Square in the middle), where the main streets come together, running from adjacent neighborhoods. Administrative requirements divided Krakow into four main districts: centrally located downtown, Nowa Huta located in the east, western Krowodrza and southern Podgórze. One can say another thing, that the city is divided by the Vistula River, which flows from west to east; to the north of the Vistula River there is Krowodrza, Śródmieście and Nowa Huta, and in the south there is Podgórze.
Downtown – Old Town and Wawel
The most important purpose of a visit to Krakow is the Old Town, located in the Śródmieście district. Within its boundaries there is the Kraków Market Square with St Mary's Church, university quarter, Streets with churches adjacent to the Market Square, theaters and dozens of historic buildings and the Planty Park. Wawel rises south of the Old Town, on the banks of the Vistula River.
There are also others in the vicinity of the Old Town and Wawel, no less popular places, like Stradom, Jewish Kazimierz, Kleparz or Piasek. They were all concentrated in the area to the south enclosed by the Vistula hatch, and from the west and north, Aleja Trzech Wieszczów, that is the city's communication artery, on individual episodes named after Polish poets: al. Krasiński, al. Mickiewicz) al. Słowacki. The highest and most characteristic landmark of the Old Town is the tower of St. Mary's Church.
Krowodrza
West of the Old Town and north of the Vistula River, within the Krowodrza district are located: Salwator, The zoo and the Kościuszko Mound, which can be reached ul. Kosciuszko.
Nowa Huta
Wanting to see Nowa Huta: center, Sędzimir plant, Wanda's Mound or the Cistercian Abbey in Mogiła, you should orientate yourself towards the wide alley of John Paul II running from the city center to the east.
Podgórze
In Podgórze, first of all, the former city center is visited, around the hill Krakusa, Dębniki, which is located closer to the west, with the Japanese Center, and Tyniec, located farthest to the west, with the Benedictine abbey. Zakopianka begins in Podgórze, running towards the Tatra Mountains.
