Free City of Cracow

Common card · No. 221959

The Free City of Cracow (Polish: Wolne Miasto Kraków), also known as the Republic of Cracow (Polish: Rzeczpospolita Krakowska), and officially the Free, Independent, and Strictly Neutral City of Cracow and its District, was a nominally independent city-state that existed from 1815 to 1846. It was established by the Congress of Vienna using territory from the former Duchy of Warsaw, which had been divided among the Russian, Prussian and Austrian empires after the Congress in 1815. The Free City comprised the Polish city of Cracow (Kraków) and its surrounding district. Although formally autonomous, the Free City was jointly overseen by its three more powerful neighbours: Russia, Prussia and Austria. It served as a centre of political and intellectual activity promoting Polish independence. In 1846, after the failed Kraków Uprising, Austria unilaterally annexed the city-state and brought it under direct control. The Free City of Cracow had a population that was predominantly Polish-speaking...

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