Due to its historical role and numerous monuments, Kraków has become a symbol of Polish identity. The Kraków City Council takes care of the appearance and condition of its monuments — the most valuable treasures of Kraków — by co-financing renovation and conservation works. Over the last 10 years, the amount of funds provided reached a total of nearly PLN 25 million. The historic city centre features many old bourgeois tenement buildings and palaces, numerous churches and monasteries (St. Mary’s Church, Church of saints Peter and Paul, Church of St. Andrew, Dominican and Franciscan monasteries), public buildings, both official and commercial in nature (Town Hall Tower, Wielopolski Palace housing the Kraków City Council Offices, and Cloth Hall), and old university buildings (Collegium Maius, Collegium Iuridicum). The architecture of Kraków is characterised by extraordinary diversity — each artistic epoch left its traces in this city. In order to take care of the City’s image and seek to ensure the preservation and proper maintenance of its numerous historic monuments, Kraków City Council adopted a resolution proposed by Mayor under which the city budget has been used to fund targeted grants for works on historic monuments every year since 2006. Kraków was one of the first cities in Poland to undertake to co-finance conservation, restoration or construction works on historic monuments. The purpose of the subsidies is to support and complement activities enabling owners or holders of historic monuments to take proper care of their valuable elements, in particular their front façades, which undoubtedly have an influence on Kraków’s image. In the years 2006-2016, subsidies for a total of PLN 24,910,000 were granted from the city budget to over 230 applicants. The fact that works on many old buildings that were co-financed by the Municipality of Kraków were also supported financially by the National Fund for the Renovation of Kraków Monuments is of immense importance. The operator of this Fund in the Civic Committee for Restoration of Kraków Heritage is a civic forum. The Committee introduced mechanisms and principles governing the co-financing of the renovation of Kraków’s monuments from national and local government funds and the private funds of the owners. Based on these well-established mechanisms and financing rules, the owners of historic buildings contribute funds at least equal in value to the subsidies. It is an example of effective cooperation for the sake of the culture and image of Kraków. Thanks to such large-scale restoration works, financed jointly by the National Kraków Monument Renovation Fund, the City, and the building owners, Kraków is regaining its original splendour. Additionally, in order to protect the material and landscape cultural heritage more effectively and in order to enhance the beauty of Kraków, the City Mayor has undertaken activities aimed at establishing a specific form of protection, i.e. a cultural park. In accordance with the Act on the Protection of Monuments and the Guardianship of Monuments, the Kraków City Council, on a proposal from the City Mayor, adopted a resolution on the establishment of the Old Town Cultural Park, covering the entire area of the Old Town. The resolution, which is an act of local law, places particular emphasis on the preservation and presentation of heritage and the landscape of the historic urban layout; the protection of its historic buildings and the size of its architectural forms; the functional and compositional protection of Planty Park and other green areas, in particular gardens and garden squares; the protection of visual corridors and scenic overlooks; the protection of the cultural landscape through counteracting the domination of commercial activities, advertising, and services which interfere with the historic space and disturb its aesthetics; and the principles of desirable display. The effects of these actions, which are not easy to perform on a daily basis, have been noticed by the local governments of several cities, as well as smaller communities. Observing the positive effects that have been achieved through the introduction of the Old Town Cultural Park and in response to the numerous initiatives of city residents, the Mayor of the Royal Capital City of Kraków has taken steps towards establishing culture parks in other parts of the city. In June 2014, on a proposal from the City Mayor, the Kraków City Council adopted a resolution concerning plans to establish culture parks within the area of North Kraków: “Nowa Huta Cultural Park” and “Stare Podgórze and Krzemionki Cultural Park”. It needs to be emphasised that these activities have a very beneficial effect on the appearance of Kraków, which is very important both for its inhabitants and its large numbers of tourists, not only from Europe, but also from all over the world. In recent years, Kraków has been visited by over 10 million tourists a year, and in 2016, due to the fact that the city hosted the World Youth Day, the number of visitors exceeded 12 million. Taking care of the historic City of Kraków is a special mission that we should carry out both for us — the contemporary inhabitants — and generations to come. This mission is fully reflected in the development strategy of the City, in the close links between its economy, its historic heritage, and its creative and scientific potential.
