Free City of Cracow
| Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Cracow with its Territory | ||||||||||
| Wolne, Niepodległe i Ściśle Neutralne Miasto Kraków z Okręgiem | ||||||||||
| Protectorate of Austria, Prussia and Russia | ||||||||||
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 Location of the Free City of Cracow within Europe
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 Territory of the Free City of Cracow (orange) and its three neighbours (Kingdom of Prussia, Austrian Empire and Russian Empire)
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| Capital | Kraków | |||||||||
| Languages | Polish | |||||||||
| Religion | Roman Catholic | |||||||||
| Government | Constitutional republic | |||||||||
| Legislature | Assembly of Representatives (Cracow) | |||||||||
| History | ||||||||||
| • | Established | 3 May 1815 | ||||||||
| • | November Uprising | 29 November 1830 | ||||||||
| • | Kraków Uprising | 16 November 1846 | ||||||||
| Area | ||||||||||
| • | 1815 | 1,164 km2 (449 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | ||||||||||
| • | 1815 est. | 95,000 | ||||||||
| Density | 82/km2 (211/sq mi) | |||||||||
| • | 1843 est. | 146,000 | ||||||||
| Density | 125/km2 (325/sq mi) | |||||||||
| Currency |
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The Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Cracow with its Territory (Polish: Wolne, Niepodległe i Ściśle Neutralne Miasto Kraków z Okręgiem), more commonly known as either the Free City of Cracow or Republic of Cracow (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Krakowska, German: Republik Krakau), was a city republic created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815, which included the city of Kraków and its surrounding areas. It was controlled by its three neighbours (Russia, Prussia, and Austria). It was a center of agitation for an independent Poland. In 1846, in the aftermath of the unsuccessful Kraków Uprising, it was annexed by the Austrian Empire. It was a remnant of the Duchy of Warsaw, which was partitioned between the three states in 1815. It was an overwhelmingly Polish-speaking city-state; of its population 85% were Catholics, 14% were Jews while other religions comprised less than 1%. The city of Kraków itself had a Jewish population reaching nearly 40%, while the rest were almost exclusively Polish-speaking Catholics.
The Free City was approved and guaranteed by of the of 3 May 1815. The statelet received an at the same time, revised and expanded in 1818, establishing significant autonomy for the city. The Jagiellonian University could accept students from the partitioned territory of Poland. The Free City thus became a center of Polish political activity on the territories of partitioned Poland.
During the November Uprising of 1830–31, Kraków was a base for the smuggling of arms into the Russian-controlled Kingdom of Poland. After the end of the uprising the autonomy of the Free City was severely restricted. The police were controlled by Austria and the election of the president had to be approved by all three powers. Kraków was subsequently occupied by the Austrian army from 1836 to 1841. After the unsuccessful Cracow Uprising of 1846, the Free City was annexed by Austria on November 16, 1846 as the Grand Duchy of Cracow.
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