Wikijunior:World Heritage Sites/Krakow Old City

Kraków Old Town is the historical central district of Kraków, Poland. The Polish name for Old Town is Stare Miasto. Kraków Old Town has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1978, the same year that archbishop, Karol Wojtyła, became Pope John Paul II.



Today Kraków is a very busy tourist centre and one of 13 places in Poland which are World Heritage Sites. During World War II, the Jewish population of Kraków were moved into an area of the city known as a ghetto and later they were moved to Auschwitz where 3 million people were killed. Nowadays Kraków is popular for its central market square (Rynek), St. Mary's Basilica, Wawel Castle and the Jewish ghetto and synagogues.