Twin Towns
The partnership between two cities or communities with the goal of cultural and economic exchange represents the concept of town twinning. In many cases they are based on common characteristics such as similarity of names, history, economy or city development.
From 1947 on, after the Second World War, towns created partnerships increasingly to promote and practice international understanding and reconciliation. Krakow started establishing partnerships with other cities in the 1970’s. Altogether the city has more than 30 international twin towns or close partnerships around the world. A selection of twin towns as well as a detailed list of all sister and partner cities is presented below.
Zagreb
Around 800 000 people live in Croatia’s capital and at the same time largest city of the country. It is also the only city of Croatia whose metropolitan population exceeds one million people. Since 1975 Krakow and Zagreb are connected through a town twinning.
Nuremberg
The German city Nuremberg and Krakow are twin towns since 1979. Nuremberg is located in the Bundesland of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia, and with more than 500 000 inhabitants it is the second largest Bavarian city. A special present Krakow once received from Nuremberg was an old tram that is still in use today.
Cambridge
Cambridge is located in the US state of Massachusetts and has a population of around 100 000. The city was named in honour of the University of Cambridge in England. It is famous for its two prominent universities, Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The town twinning between Krakow and Cambridge exists since October 1989.
Milan
Italy’s second largest city is located in the North of the country and counts around 1,3 million inhabitants. It is the country’s centre of economy, fashion, design and mass media and is considered to be the “moral capital” of Italy. The town twinning between Krakow and Milan was established in 2003.
Other sister and partner cities are:
Bordeaux, France (partnership since 1993)
Bratislava, Slovakia
Budapest, Hungary (since 2005)
Curitiba, Brazil (since 1993)
Cusco, Peru
Edinburgh, Scotland, UK (since 1995)
Fes, Morocco (since 2004)
Florence, Italy (since 1992)
Frankfurt, Germany (since 1991)
Göteborg, Sweden (since 1990)
Grozny, Russia (since 1997)
Innsbruck, Austria (since 1998)
Kyoto, Japan
Kiev, Ukraine (since 1993)
La Serena, Chile (since 1995)
Lahore, Pakistan (since 2007)
Leipzig, Germany (since 1995)
Leuven, Belgium (since 1991)
Lviv, Ukraine (since 1995)
Niš, Serbia
Orléans, France (since 1992)
Pécs, Hungary (since 1998)
Rochester, NY, USA (since 1973)
Quito, Ecuador
St Petersburg, Russia (since 2006)
Seville, Spain (since 2002)
Solothum, Switzerland (since 1990)
Vilnius, Lithuania