Cracow, Archdiocese of

CRACOVIA, ARCIDIOCESI of. In Poland (Kraków), founded in 1000, a metropolitan see since 1925. Suffragan dioceses: Częstochowa, Katowice, Kielce, Tarnów. First bishop: Poppon. Since 1484 the bishops have borne the title of prince.

Area: 8,127 sq. km.; inhabitants 1,250,000, of whom 1,241,794 are Catholics; parishes 307; churches 650; religious houses: 63 for men, 227 for women; educational institutions: 4 for men, 21 for women. During the last war, 5 churches were destroyed and 30 permanently closed. Pilgrimage centres: Kalwaria Zebrzydowska and Moglia. Cracovia was the capital of Poland until 1596 and, from the 14th century, the city in which the kings of Poland were crowned. The Academy (University) was founded in 1564. The cathedral of Wawel is for the most part Gothic, dating from the 14th century, but contains elements from the 11th century, as well as 17 chapels in Renaissance and Rococo styles. The Cathedral contains tapestries captured by Sobieski at Vienna (1683), funerary monuments of the bishops of Cracovia and of King Casimir of the Jagellons, the work of Veit Stoss, Polonized as Wit Stwosz (1450–1533); in the crypts are the tombs of the kings of Poland. Notable churches include: that of Our Lady (1226–1397), with the altar, a masterpiece of Wit Stwosz; that of S. Floriano, dating from 1184; that of S. Adalberto, where the Saint preached in 984, rebuilt in 1161; that of S. Michael the Archangel “na Skalce,” dating from the 11th century, where S. Stanislao Szczepanowski perished; and that of SS. Peter and Paul, dating from the 14th century. Saints and blessed persons of the diocese: f. Bronisława (1205–1259), b. Salomea (1202–68), s. Cunegonda (1224–92), s. Jan Kanty (G. Canzio), professor at the Academy (1397–1473), b. Szymon z Lipnicy, who died in 1482. Eminent bishops: s. Stanislao Szczepanowski (1035–79), whose relics