The district is located in the centre part of Kraków, on the river Vistula to its south-west and south.

Kraków was the royal capital of Poland, until Sigismund III Vasa relocated the court to Warsaw in 1596.

The current division with eighteen districts was introduced on 27 March 1991 and revised by Kraków City Council on 19 April 1995.

Kraków's historic centre was entered on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1978.

Four subdivisions with 1.496 km2 (0.578 sq mi) are part of the World Heritage Site "Historic Centre of Kraków".