Free City of Kraków The Free , Independent , and Strictly Neutral City of Kraków ( Cracow ) with its Territory ( ) , more commonly known as either the Free City of Kraków or Republic of Kraków ( , ) , was a city - state created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 , and controlled by its three neighbours ( Russia , Prussia , and Austria ) . It was a center of agitation for an independent Poland . In 1846 , in the aftermath of the unsuccessful Kraków Uprising it was annexed by the Austrian Empire . It was a remnant of the Duchy of Warsaw , which was partitioned between the three states in 1815 . History . The Free City was approved and guaranteed by of the of the 3 May 1815 . The statelet received an at the same time , revised and expanded in 1818 , establishing significant autonomy for the city . The Jagiellonian University could accept students from the partitioned territory of Poland . The Free City thus became a center of Polish political activity on the territories of partitioned Poland . During the November Uprising of 1830 – 31 , Kraków was a base for the smuggling of arms into the Russian - controlled Kingdom of Poland . After the end of the uprising the autonomy of the Free City was restricted . The police was governed by Austria , the election of the president had to be approved by all three powers . Kraków was subsequently occupied by the Austrian army from 1836 to 1841 . After the unsuccessful Kraków Uprising of 1846 , the Free City was annexed by Austria on November 16 , 1846 as the Grand Duchy of Cracow . Geography and population . The Free City of Kraków was created from the south - west part of the Duchy of Warsaw ( part of the former Kraków Department on left bank of the Vistula river ) . The territory of the city comprised 1164 – 1234 km² ( sources vary ) . It bordered the Russian Empire , the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire . It comprised the city of Kraków and its environs , the other settlements in the area administered by the Free City included 224 villages and 3 towns ( Chrzanów , Trzebinia and Nowa Góra ) . In 1815 its population was 95 , 000 ; in 1843 - 146 , 000 . 85 % of them were Catholics , 14 % - Jews , 1 % - others . The most notable szlachta family was the Potocki family of magnates , with their mansion in Krzeszowice . Politics . The statelet received an initial constitution in 1815 which had mainly been devised by Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski . The constitution was revised and expanded in 1818 , establishing significant autonomy for the city . Legislative power was vested in the Assembly of Representatives ( " Izba Reprezentantów " ) , and the executive power was given to a Governing Senate . In 1833 , in the aftermath of the November Uprising and the foiled plan by some Polish activists to start an uprising in Kraków , the partitioning powers issued a new , much more restrictive constitution : the number of senators and deputies was lowered and their competences limited , while the commissars of the partitioning powers had their competences expanded . Freedom of press was also curtailed . In 1835 a secret treaty between the partitioning powers presented a plan in which in case of additional Polish unrest , Austria was given the right to occupy and annex the city . That would take place after the Kraków Uprising of 1846 . The law was based on the Napoleonic civil code and French commercial and criminal law . The official language was Polish . In 1836 local police force was disbanded and replaced by Austrian police ; in 1837 the partitioning powers curtailed the competences of the local courts which refused to bow down to their demands . The Free City of Kraków was the first purely republican government in the history of Poland . It was also the first modern republic in Eastern Europe . Economy . The Free City was a duty - free area , allowed to trade with Russia , Prussia and Austria . It had no duties , very low tax es , and various economic privileges granted by the neighbouring powers . As such , it became one of the European centres of economic liberalism and supporters of laissez - faire , attracting new enterprises and immigrants , which resulted in impressive growth of the city . Weavers from Prussian Silesia had often used the free city as a contraband outlet to avoid tariff barriers along the borders of Austria and Kingdom of Poland . Austria ' s annexation of the free city subsequently led to a significant drop in Prussian textile exports .