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Wawel Hill is one of the landmarks of Krakow and the most important historical site in Poland. It has become a symbol of the Polish history and culture. Here there is the magnificent royal castle that for centuries used to be the residence of the Polish kings, the political and cultural centre. A visit to the Wawel Hill is the must see on the Krakow's tourist map and the best lesson of the Polish history!

The Royal Cathedral 

 The Royal Cathedral on the Wawel Hill used to be the main coronation and the burial church of the Polish kings and is considered to be one of the largest royal necropolis in Europe. The Cathedral was erected just after 1000 when the episcopacy was established in Krakow (one of the three in Poland then) and became the main church of the Krakow's bishops. Very soon it turned into one of the largest pilgrimages centres in the country for the relics of the saints buried here. The silhouette of the church today is the result of the rebuilding in the following periods (12th till 18th c.) what made it a picturesque combination of the towers, chapels and altars and the real art treasury.
Entering the Cathedral pay attention to the huge bones hangig on the left next to the door! For centuries they were believed to be the bones of the famous dragon. In fact, these are the bones of the mammoth, rhinoceros and the whale from Ice Age, that were found about 400 years ago nearby Wawel.

The Cathedral Interiors  

 In the middle of the Cathedral there is an altar with the cupola (designed by Giovanni Trevano, 17th c.) and the silver coffin (17th c.) with the relics of Saint Stanislaw, the bishop of Krakow, who was killed by the king in 1079. In 1253 Stanislaw was canonized and became the main Patron Saint of the Polish Kingdom. His cult played a very important role in the Polish culture and is vivid till today. Before each battle or an important political event the kings and the court used to pray in a front of this altar, that is why it is often called the Altar of Fatherland. The royal pilgrimage from the Cathedral to the place of martyrdom of St. Stanislaw was an important part of the coronation ceremony. Behind the altar in the presbytery one can see the baroque altar, designed by Giambattista Gisleni in the 17th c. Next to it on the right the throne with the canopy originally used during the royal coronation of August III in 1734. The walls of the nave and the presbytery are decorated with the Flemish tapestries (17th c.)

The Royal Tombs

 Leaving the presbytery turn right – here you can find the oldest royal tomb in the Cathedral, where Wladyslaw Lokietek was buried in 1333. The king is facing East, what is the characteristic feature of the medieval tombs. The sarcophagus is decorated with the mourners. Behind the tomb on the right there is the baroque altar designed by Francesco Placidi (18th c.) with the marvellous medieval sculpture of the Black Crucifix. It is believed to be miraculous one – at feet of Jesus there are countless votive gifts and jewels left by the pilgrims. Below the altar there is a small coffin with the relics of the famous Queen Jadwiga (died 1399) canonized by the Pope John Paul II in 1997.
Then on the right you can see the tomb of King Jan II Sobieski, who defeated the Turks in the great battle of Vienna in 1683 - the black marble sarcophagus is supported by the Turskish slaves. After turning right ona can find the tomb of Kazimierz the Great, about whom the Polish say that when he was born Poland was made of wood, when he died it was left build of stone, as the symbol of the king's achievements in the development of the country (died 1370). There is a lion under his feet as the symbol of royalty and power.

 The most impressive royal tomb is hidden in the Sigismunds' Chapel, where the last kings of the Jagiellonian dynasty were buried. The chaple, crowned with the gilded cupola was designed by the Italian Bartolomeo Berecci and is often called The Pearl of Renaissance in Northern Europe (1517-33). The walls are decorated with the magnificent stone work. On th right in the chapel one can admire the unique royal tombs with the marble statues of the kings in the habitacle.

Proceeding toward the entrance of the Cathedral you pass the beautiful royal tomb of Wladyslaw Jagiello, the first king from the Jagiellonian dynasty (died 1434). The portrait of the king is one of the greatest examples of the 15th c art. The head of the king lays on the lion, the feet are based on the dragon – the symbol of the victory over the devil. Before going to the crypts with the tombs of the kings and famous national heroes see the Chapel of the Holy Cross, beautifully decorated with the Byzantine frescoes, painted by the Russian artists in the 15th c. It is the most west place in Europe you can admire the medieval art of the Orthodox Church.

The Sigismund's Bell

 Being in the Cathedral don't miss climbing the bells' tower to see the largest old bell of Poland – The Sigismund's Bell. It is really impressive! It was founded by the king Sigismund the Old what gave the name of the bell and was installed in the top of the tower in 1521. It weights 11 tons and in the past it used to announce the most important days in the Polish calendar: the national holidays or the royal burials. Today we hear it several times a year, e.g Christmas, Easter, Independence Day (11th November), 3rd May (anniversary of the first Polish Constitution). If you would like your one wish to come through – touch 'the heart' of the bell with your left hand! It really works!

The Royal Castle

 The courtyard of the Wawel Castle surprises with its beauty and the scale. It is one of the best examples of the renaissance architecture in Eastern Europe! The oldest remains of the castle date back to the 11th c. The building was enlarged in the Gothic style, but partly destroyed by the fire in the end of the 15th c. The renovation of the castle in the 16th c. gave it the new, modern renaissance silhouette: 3 floors with the top one decorated with the frescoes (you can still see the remains) and the magnificent cortile. The main gate leading to the castle is decorated with the Latin inscription: Si Deus Nobiscum Quis Contra Nos (If God stays with us who is against? ).

 The development of renaissance culture in the royal court was connected with the arrival of the Italian princess Bona Sforza from Milan, who got married with the Polish King Sigismund the Old in 1518. With her lots of the great Italian artists, poets , philosophers came and settled down in Krakow. One of the main architects working in the castle in the 16th c. was Bartolomeo Berecci – he designed the southern wall of the cortile, the very tricky one, that is only the fake... There was no room enough for the numerous buildings that used to be in the Wawel Hill and the architect decided to built only the wall – screen to save some room and to keep the spactators in the illusion that the castle was really huge... Behind the wall there are no rooms, but it is a perfect optical closing of the perspective of the ideal renaissance cortile.

The Castle Interiors

 Today the Wawel Castle houses the museum presenting the interiors of the royal residence from the 16th and the 17th c. There are two tourist routes available: the State Chambers (ground and top floor) and the Private Apartments (on the second floor). Usually the visitors choose the first one. In the State Chambers you can find the collection of the Italian paintings, royal portraits and the 16th and the 17th c. furnishings.

Pay attention to the wooden ceilings in the chambers (original ones in the ground floor) and the beautiful 16th c. door frames. In the three first chambers in the top floor you can admire the original frescoes painted by Hans Durer, the brother of the famous German painter Albrecht Durer. In the Envoys' Room there is a unique ceiling decorated with the realistic wooden heads (16th c.). They were probably to illustrate the democracy in the Polish Kingdom, symbolizing the presence of the common people in the royal castle. The most beautiful part of the exhibition in the Wawel Castle however is the breathtaking collection of the tapestries, made in Brussels in the 16th c for the last king of the Jagiellonian dynasty Sigismund August (died 1572). It is outstandind example of this type of art!

Except for the State Chambers and the Private Apartments in the Royal castle you can also see the Royal Treasury and the Armoury and the exhibition Lost Wawel, presenting the history of the Wawel Hill in the early Middle Ages.