The ICC inaugurated its activity on May, 29 1991, during the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (SCSC) held in Krakow, when representatives of the countries of the East and the West discussed the matters of culture and heritage for the first time since the fall of the Iron Curtain. The ICC was the first new-generation institution of culture formed in Poland on the initiative of the first non-communist government, headed by Tadeusz Mazowiecki, and Krakow was selected as its base. The choice was not accidental as Krakow had been both a laboratory of thought about heritage and an important European metropolis for two centuries. Ever since its foundation, the ICC has been located in the historic Ravens House (“Pod Kruki”) at the Main Market Square, a building dating back to the Middle Ages. This focal location in both Krakow and Central Europe facilitates the ongoing implementation of our mission to support the cultural integration of Europe and preserve its cultural heritage.

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