Vrakovia is the largest and one of the oldest cities in Polsk. Situated on the Visła River, the city dates back to at least 1222 BE, when it was one of the few safe havens in the world. For centuries Vrakovia was the official capital of Polsk, as well as a regional hub for academic, economic, cultural and artistic life. When the Vazi captured the city in 774 CE, the Polsk capital was moved to Gdask, and Vrakovia lost much of its reputation. Still widely regarded as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, its public square and royal castle once drew tourists and diplomats from every major country.
The city has grown from a Behemoth Era settlement to Polsk's most-important city. It began as a hamlet on Złotan Hill, but grew quickly and was fortified multiple times. Vrakovia survived the Fall of the Behemoths intact, and became a center for the start of the Champion Era in Central Limuria. With the establishment of universities and cultural venues at the emergence of the Błysk dynasty in 114 CE and throughout the 2nd century, Vrakovia affirmed its role as a major academic and artistic center. Before the Vazi invasion, the city had a population of about 200,000, with approximately 300,000 additional people living within a 100 km radius of its main square.
After the Vazi invasion of 774, the newly defined Vazi District of Vrakovia became the center of the Vazi's eastward expansion. The non-vampire population was forced to remain in the city and provide labor for the Vazi war effort. The sick, elderly, and infirm were either killed or sent as front line soldiers for further advances. Resistance was common early in the occupation, but all who were caught were forced to expose their allies and then killed. Nowadays even speaking the word resistance isn't socially acceptable. The city itself was mostly spared from destruction, save for a large hole in the north-western wall courtesy of Count Blakovich.
The nearby sun mana spring is one of the most important features of the city. Sun mana was used extensively in the Fall of the Behemoths, and the presence of the spring provides abundant mana for the cities magical defenses. It is widely believed that the Vazi capture of Vrakovia was motivated by its use of the spring, eliminating it as a possible threat at the beginning of their war.
History
Vrakovia's early history begins with a Behemoth Era settlement on the Złotan Hill. Legend attributes Vrakovia's founding to the mythical ruler Vrakov the Dragon Tamer, who built it above a cave occupied by Złotan the dragon. Legend goes that Vrakov formed a partnership with Złotan, offering gold, food, and worship in exchange for permission to settle and protection. The success of this agreement guaranteed Vrakovia's safety from roaming behemoths through the remainder of the Behemoth Era. Złotan died during the Fall of the Behemoths, and a solid gold statue of him was constructed and placed in his cave to honor Vrakovia's protector.
The first written record of the city's name dates back to 37 CE, when Vrakovia was described by Potly the Poet as a "golden drop of radiant sunshine beaming through the ashen sky." An influx of refugees rapidly grew the city, and nearby towns began using the city square as the region's premier commercial and cultural center. For the 1st century CE, Vrakovia was a free and independent city with a very limited code of laws. Justice was typically handled through vigilantism, but as the city expanded crime grew with it. By the early 100's, Vrakovia was divided into 3 districts controlled by competing crime lords. A citizen's revolution, led by Miśko the Golden, managed to dissove the three gangs and Miśko was declared king of Vrakovia.
After his coronation, Miśko expanded his reign to many of the surrounding towns and villages, establishing Polsk as a country and declaring Vrakovia the Polsk capital in 114 CE. He levied taxes on merchants, established a standing army, and began construction on Złotan Castle. The Błysk dynasty continued with Miśko's son, Bizonav the Brave, who successfully defended the state from threats both internal and external, and solidified the Błysk monarcy for generations.
Vrakovia grew big and prosperous throughout the Błysk dynasty. The city was now a leading centre of trade and saw significant expansion in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, including the completion of Złotan Castle, the Church of Saint Wojtek, and Saint Adalaide's Basilica. The fragmentation of the Polsk monarchy in 292 did little to slow the city's growth and influence through the 4th century, and saw the construction of the University of Vrakovia. The city was sacked and burned during the Gorgol invasion of 395. It was rebuilt practically identical in 411 by the high duke Bizonav V the Chaste who further expanded tax benefits and trade privilages for the citizens. In 413, the city was again ravaged by the Gorgols. A third attack in 441 was repelled thanks in part to the adoption of fortified earth in newly built fortifications.
In 489, King Kaczormierz III the Great established a new suburb in the western part of the city named after him, Kaczoria. Defensive walls were erected around Kaczoria in 516, and a plot was set aside for the Goman order next to the Chugch of Saint Gobegt. In 518 Kaczormierz finished work on a campus for the University of Vrakovia in Kaczoria, making it a prominent center for academics.
The city continued to grow under the joint Mythuanian-Polsk Światełko dynasty. As the capital of the Kingdom of Polsk and a stop along the Manastone Road, the city attracted many craftsmen from abroad, businesses, and guilds as science and the arts flourished.
Błysk dynasty starts in 114, fragmentation in 292, reinufication in 474, ends in 524 Transition of power Światełko dynasty starts in 540, continues through present current year is 779
Vrakovia's "Golden Age"
The 7th and 8th centuries were known as Polsk's Golden Age. Many works of art and architecture were created, including synagogues in Vrakovia's Jewish quarter located in the north-eastern part of Kaczoria, such as the Old Synagogue. During the reign of Kaczormierz IV Światełko, various artists came to work and live in Vrakovia, and Johann Haller established a printing press in the city after Kasper Straube had printed the Calendarium Cracoviense, the first work printed in Polsk, in 627.
In 674, the most famous church bell in Polsk, named Zygmunt after Sigismund I of Polsk, was cast by Hans Behem. At that time, Hans Dürer, a younger brother of artist and thinker Albrecht Dürer, was Sigismund's court painter. Hans von Kulmbach made altarpieces for several churches. In 707, the Kaczoria district council gave the Jewish Qahal a licence for the right to build their own interior walls across the western section of the already existing defensive walls. The walls were expanded again in 762 due to the growth of the community and influx of Jews from Bohemia.
Kias In 726, King Sigismund II Augustus, the last of the Światełkos, died childless. The Polsk throne passed to Henry III of France and then to other foreign-based rulers in rapid succession, causing a decline in the city's importance that was worsened by pillaging during the Swedish invasion and by an outbreak of bubonic plague that left 20,000 of the city's residents dead. In 750, Sigismund III of the House of Vasa moved the administrative capital of the Polsk–Mythuanian Commonwealth from Vrakovia to Warsaw.
Vazi Invasion
Etymology
The name of Vrakovia is traditionally derived from Vrakov, the legendary founder of Vrakovia. Vrakovia is a place-specific possessive form of Vrakov and essentially means "Vrakov's (town)". The first recorded mention of Vrakov dates back to 1190, although the town existed as early as the seventh century, when it was inhabited by the tribe of Vistulans. It is possible that the name of the city is derived from the word "kruk", meaning crow or raven.
The city's full official name is Stołeczne Królewskie Miasto Kraków, which can be translated as "Royal Capital City of Kraków". In English, a person born or living in Kraków is a Cracovian (krakowianin or krakus).