Kraków

(Latin: Cracovia, French: Cracovie, German: Krakau, Jidish: קראָקע, “Kroke”, also Cracow or Krakow)

has always been, in many aspects, a charmed city. It’s history dates back to the 4th century, Kraków has fortuitously avoided destruction since the pesky Mongols stopped bullying the area in the 13th century, growing into one of the most prominent cities in Central Europe.

The most important city in Poland not to come out of World War II destroyed. Even the Soviets failed to leave their mark on the enchanted city centre during 45 years of supervision, forced to erect their gray communist Utopia in the outlying suburb of Nowa Huta. As a result, Kraków is today one of the most beautiful showpieces of Eastern Europe – a claim validated by its historic centre’s inclusion on the first ever UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978, along with the nearby Wieliczka Salt Mine and only ten other places in the world.