The military and the civilians : a case of the cracow's garrison in the Napoleonic era

Cracow played an important military role at the turn of the 19th century. Since 1796 an Austrian garrison was stationed there, in the years 1809-1813 a Polish one, and during 1813-1815 the town was occupied by the Russian army. Military barracks, warehouses and hospitals were established in the city. The military garrison counted several thousand soldiers. The maximum number of them was recorded in 1807-1809 (about 6,000). Relations between the army and the civilian population were diffi cult. The military drew various benefi ts from the city and levied taxes on it. The most diffi cult problem was the accommodation of soldiers in private apartments. It caused many misunderstandings and confl icts. Excessive exploitation of the city by the Polish army in 1809 led to a decrease in the number of inhabitants. The Russian army (1813-1815), however, treated the inhabitants as enemies which resulted in violence against the civilians. The demilitarization of Cracow in 1815 was welcomed by the inhabitants with great joy