At the cross roads between Kiev and Munich and Wilna and Triest, the old Polish royal city of Krakow is the second largest city in Poland. Krakow mostly survived the vast destruction of Second World War and in 1978 was placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list along with eleven other objects. With a height of over 25 m above the Wisla river, Wavel Hill has been the seat of Polish kings since the 11th century and today can be considered the cradle of Polish identity.
At the end of the 15th century Nicolaus Copernicus studied astronomy at Jagiellonien University, which was one of the first univiersities in Europe (founded in 1364), and learned that the universe revolves around the earth from east to west. Centuries later he conceptualized the heliocentric theory in Frauenburg which marked the beginning of a scientific revolution. Approximately five hundred years later a young student commences his studies in philosophy and literature at Krakow University, who in the meantime served the longest term in office as pope in the 20th century.
Today an approximated 100 000 students study at twelve institutions of higher education. The cultural life is well and alive at the main market square or Rynek Glowny and the Jewish quarter Kazimierz busltes with trendy artistic cafes and eateries. There is really no other place in Poland where the entanglement of the past and the present is as omnipresent and where visitors to the city are offered such a rich and diverse range of venues to familiarize themselves with different issues of historic and contemporary relevance in Poland.
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