the airfield has its beginnings as a military airport established in the borough of rakowice in 1912, one of the most modern and largest in poland at the time. it was built for the needs of the austro-hungarian empire along with an army garrison. in 1917 the airfield became one of the stopovers in the first european air mail service linking vienna with kiev and odessa. the airport was in continuous use to 1963, until the relocation of the kraków passenger airport 16 km westwards, to the village of balice. the expansion of nearby nowa huta district of kraków forced its closure.