Wawel Castle in Kraków, Poland
History: On the high hill on the bank of the Vistula River, originally a mediaeval castle called Wawel had been built. As in 1138, Kraków became the capital of Poland and the Wawel’s Cathedral became the coronation place of the Polish kings, the castle became their most important residence.
The fire of 1499 destroyed Wawel, but as the reconstruction had been necessary Sigismundus I The Old invited Italian architects, Polish, Italian, German and Dutch artists to build Wawel as we see it today – a splendid Renaissance royal residence, with its impressive volume placed high on the hill, beautiful courtyard. As the works continued (1502-1536), the Royal apartements were refurbished in the early Baroque style, received marble fireplaces and painted celings.
Today:
Wawel is today an interesting museum with several exhibitions open permanently to the public: The Royal Chambers – presents the castle’s interiors, Flemish tapestry collection, royal portraits, Italian Renaissance furniture, old paintings collection a.o. works by Cranach and Rubens. The Royal Private Apartments – presents private rooms where Polish Royalty lived.
Crown Treasury and Armory – exhibits regalia of Poland and royal jewelry, precious armors and weapons with the famous Szczerbiec – coronation sword of Polish Kings.
Oriental Art – shows Turkish Ottoman Empire tents and banners offered to Wawel by Jan III Sobieski after the battle of Vienna (1683), Turkish and Persian weapons and carpets and a collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain.
The Lost Wawel - an exhibition showing the archaeological remains the early 11th c. church of St. St. Felix and Adauctus; exhibition of objects found during the excavations on the Wawel Hill, multimedia presentation of the Wawel Hill’s history. This exhibition is currently closed because of the renovation.
Wawel’s Cathedral
Wawel’s cathedral is a shrine of national importance. Originally built in a gothic style (1320-1364) has been throughout centuries rebuilt, made richer with adjoining chapels, and transformed into the real sanctuary of Polish dramatic history. The cathedral is a most important burial place of Polish kings and national heroes. Two important Polish poets and four saints are also buried there.
Dragon’s Cave (Smocza Jama)
Wawel’s hill has several caves. In the biggest of them, according to the legend, a huge dragon spiting with fire used to live and to terrorize the Krakow’s population. A simple shoemaker’s pupil poisoned the dragon giving him to eat the sheep staffed with sulfur. The dragon, ick and confused crawled out of the cave, drank tons of water from the Vistula River and burst into pieces. According to the legend, the shoemaker married the prince’s daughter and became the prince on the Wawel hill himself. Today the Cave is still free from the dragon and can be safely visited by the tourists.