Lesser Poland Voivodeship in the context of "Galician Jews"

Kraków, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 (2023), with approximately 8 million additional people living within a 100 km (62 mi) radius. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 1596 and has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Polish academic, cultural, and artistic life. Cited as one of Europe's most beautiful cities, its Old Town was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978, one of the world's first sites granted the status.

The city began as a hamlet on Wawel Hill and was a busy trading centre of Central Europe in 985. In 1038, it became the seat of Polish monarchs from the Piast dynasty, and subsequently served as the centre of administration under Jagiellonian kings and of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth until the late 16th century, when Sigismund III transferred his royal court to Warsaw. With the emergence of the Second Polish Republic in 1918, Kraków reaffirmed its role as the nucleus of a national spirit. After the invasion of Poland, at the start of World War II, the newly defined Distrikt Krakau became the seat of Nazi Germany's General Government. The Jewish population was forced into the Kraków Ghetto, a walled zone from where they were sent to Nazi extermination camps such as the nearby Auschwitz, and Nazi concentration camps like Płaszów. However, the city was spared from destruction. In 1978, Karol Wojtyła, archbishop of Kraków, was elevated to the papacy as Pope John Paul, the first non-Italian pope in 455 years.

Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship (Polish: województwo świętokrzyskie [vɔjɛˈvut͡stfɔ ɕfjɛntɔˈkʂɨskʲɛ] ), also known as Holy Cross Voivodeship, is a voivodeship (province) in southeastern Poland, in the historical region of Lesser Poland. The province's capital and largest city is Kielce. The voivodeship takes its name from the Świętokrzyskie (Holy Cross) Mountains.

Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship is bounded by six other voivodeships: Masovian to the north, Lublin to the east, Subcarpathian to the south-central, Lesser Poland to the south, Silesian to the southwest, and Łódź to the northwest.

The Archaeological Museum of Kraków (Polish: Muzeum Archeologiczne w Krakowie) is a historic museum in Kraków, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland. It was established in 1850.

Lesser Poland, often known by its Polish name Małopolska (Polish: [mawɔˈpɔlska] ; Latin: Polonia Minor), is a historical region situated in southern and south-eastern Poland. Its capital and largest city is Kraków. Throughout centuries, Lesser Poland developed a separate culture featuring diverse architecture, folk costumes, dances, cuisine, traditions and a rare Lesser Polish dialect. The region is rich in historical landmarks, monuments, castles, natural scenery and UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

The region should not be confused with the modern Lesser Poland Voivodeship, which covers only the southwestern part of Lesser Poland. Historical Lesser Poland was much larger than the current voivodeship that bears its name. It reached from Bielsko-Biała in the southwest as far as to Siedlce in the northeast. It consisted of the three voivodeships of Kraków, Sandomierz and Lublin.

The Bielsko Voivodeship (Polish: Województwo bielskie) was a voivodeship (province) of the Polish People's Republic from 1975 to 1989, and the Third Republic of Poland from 1989 to 1998. Its capital was Bielsko-Biała. It was established on 1 June 1975, from the parts of the voivodeships of Katowice, and Kraków, and existed until 31 December 1998, when it was partitioned between then-established Lesser Poland, and Silesian Voivodeships.

The High Tatras or High Tatra Mountains (Slovak: Vysoké Tatry; Polish: Tatry Wysokie; Rusyn: Высокы Татры, Vŷsokŷ Tatrŷ; German: Hohe Tatra; Hungarian: Magas-Tátra), are a mountain range along the border of northern Slovakia in the Prešov Region, and southern Poland in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship. They are a range of the Tatra Mountains chain.

Oświęcim is a town in the Lesser Poland Voivodeship in southern Poland, situated 33 kilometres (21 mi) southeast of Katowice, near the confluence of the Vistula (Wisła) and Soła rivers.

Oświęcim dates back to the 12th century, when it was an important castellan seat. From 1315 to 1457 it was the seat of a local line of the Piast dynasty, and from 1564 to 1772 it was a royal city of the Kingdom of Poland, with the Ducal and Royal Castle and several medieval Gothic churches among the city's landmarks. Located on the east-west trade route, it was an important hub for trade, especially in salt from Wieliczka. In the interwar period, Oświęcim was a garrison town for the Polish Army, and during the German occupation of Poland in World War II, the former barracks were expanded to host the infamous German Nazi Auschwitz concentration camp (also known as KL or KZ Auschwitz Birkenau), now the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Zakopane (Podhale Goral: Zokopane) is a town in the south of Poland, in the southern part of the Podhale region at the foot of the Tatra Mountains. From 1975 to 1998, it was part of Nowy Sącz Voivodeship; since 1999, it has been part of Lesser Poland Voivodeship. As of 2017 its population was 27,266. Zakopane is a centre of Goral culture and is often referred to as "the winter capital of Poland". It is a popular tourist destination for many types of mountain activities such as skiing, trekking, mountaineering and various forms of climbing.

Zakopane lies near Poland's border with Slovakia, in a valley between the Tatra Mountains and Gubałówka Hill. It is connected by rail and road to the provincial capital, Kraków. Zakopane lies 800–1,100 metres (2,600–3,600 ft) above sea level and centres on the intersection of its Krupówki and Kościuszko Streets.