Where does the name Kraków come from? And other Krakóws around the world

Kraków is a city in southern Poland on the Vistula, capital of the Małopolska region — but places with similar names can also be found in the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Ukraine and even the USA. Where does the name Kraków come from, and do these places have anything to do with Poland’s former capital?

Where does the name Kraków come from?

The name has accompanied the city on the Vistula for more than a thousand years. The oldest record comes from Ibrahim ibn Yaqub, a Jewish merchant from Andalusia, who in the account of his journey of 965–966 mentions a town “Karako” (as the Arabic script is read). The Latin form “Cracoua” appears in a Prague document dated to 973, and “Craccoa” in the Dagome iudex document of around 991.

According to linguists, the most likely explanation is that Kraków simply means “Krak’s town” — a possessive name from the personal name Krak, the same as the legendary King Krak, who has his own mound in the city. An alternative theory links the name to a word “krak” meaning “river branch”, but that meaning is attested only in South Slavic languages.

The medieval chronicler Wincenty Kadłubek offered yet another explanation: he wrote that some called the town Kraków after the cawing (“krakanie”) of the ravens that flocked to the carcass of the dragon slain beneath Wawel.

Where else are there places with names like Kraków?

• Krakov — a small municipality in central Bohemia (Rakovník district), near the ruins of the 14th-century Gothic castle of Krakovec, where Jan Hus stayed in 1414.
• Krakovets — a small town in Lviv Oblast in Ukraine, near the Polish border.
• Cracau — a district of Magdeburg in Germany.
• Krackow — a municipality in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, about 20 km from Szczecin, and Krakow am See — a lakeside town in Mecklenburg.
• Krakau — a municipality in Styria, Austria (Murau district).
• Krakow in Wisconsin and Missouri, USA — the latter named by settlers from Kraków.

Most of the European “Krakóws” lie in areas once inhabited by Slavs, showing how common it was to form place names from personal names like Krak. But Poland’s Kraków remains the one and only.

Where to stay in Kraków

The most famous Kraków is best explored in person. Best Western Plus Kraków Old Town at Świętej Gertrudy 6 is about 500 m from the Main Square, and Hotel Regent is in a historic townhouse in Kazimierz.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Kraków?

In southern Poland, on the Vistula. It is the capital of the Małopolska region and Poland’s second-largest city.

What does the name Kraków mean?

According to linguists, most likely “Krak’s town”, from the personal name Krak. Legend links it to King Krak, and the chronicler Kadłubek to the cawing of ravens.

What was Kraków called in the past?

The oldest records are “Karako” in Ibrahim ibn Yaqub (965–966) and the Latin “Cracoua” and “Craccoa”. In Latin the city was called Cracovia, in German Krakau.

Updated in October 2026.