Wawel Castle

About

The Wawel Royal Castle (Polish pronunciation: [ˈvavɛl] ; Zamek Królewski na Wawelu) and the Wawel Hill on which it sits constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in Poland. A fortified residency on the Vistula River in Kraków, it was established on the orders of King Casimir III the Great and enlarged over the centuries into a number of structures around a Polish Renaissance courtyard. It represents nearly all European architectural styles of the Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque periods. With over 3.47 million visitors in 2025, Wawel Castle is the most visited art museum in Poland and the 14th most visited art museum in the world. The castle is part of a fortified architectural complex erected atop a limestone outcrop on the left bank of the Vistula River, at an altitude of 228 metres (748 ft) above sea level. The complex consists of numerous buildings of great historical and national importance, including the Wawel Cathedral where Polish monarchs were crowned and buried. Some of Wawel's oldest stone buildings can be traced back to 970 CE, in addition to the earliest examples of Romanesque and Gothic architecture in Poland. The current castle was built in the...

The history of Wawel is deeply intertwined with the history of the Polish lands and Polish royal dynasties already in the Middle Ages. The political and dynastic tensions that led to the ascendance of Kraków as the royal seat are sophisticated, but for most of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance Wawel was the seat of the national government and the Diet (assembly). As the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth formed and grew, Wawel became the seat of one of Europe 's largest and most important states. This status was only lost when the capital was moved to Warsaw in 1596 (designated officially in 1793).

From the late 18th century, when Poland lost its independence during the period of foreign partitions, Wawel became a symbol of endurance and was the setting for demonstrations and gatherings of Krakowians protesting against the continuing foreign occupation by the Austrian, Prussian, and the Russian Empires. Thus, the significance of the Wawel Hill comes in part from its combination of political and religious significance. The Cathedral holds the relics of St. Stanislaus and stands directly adjacent to the Royal Castle. The Hill has a long history of religious functions; some of the oldest extant architectural remains are those of the Rotunda of the Virgin Mary.

The hill which takes the form of a horst originated in the Miocene epoch (23–25 million years ago) and consists of Jurassic limestone dating back to the Oxfordian age (155–161 million years ago). This limestone is strongly karsted and abounds in caves (e.g. the Dragon's Den— Smocza Jama ). This possibly explains why the hill was originally called "wąwel", meaning ravine in Polish. This ravine once divided the hill. An alternative theory is that the word means 'protrusion from the marshes' which surrounded the hill. However, the most recent theory is that "Wawel" is a regular continuation of the name Babel in the Greek language (the consonant [B] followed by [V]/[W]).

The Wawel Hill has archaeological remains indicating settlement from the 4th century. Archaeological studies suggest that the earliest settlement dates back to the Middle Paleolithic era, c. 100,000 years BC and owed its rapid development to its location being the crossing of a number of key trading routes. Wawel is believed to be one of the strongholds of the Vistulan tribe which formed a nation at the turn of the 8th and 9th century AD. Its legendary rulers Krakus and Princess Wanda, who are said to have lived in the 7th and 8th centuries, are mentioned by the 13th-century chronicler Wincenty Kadłubek. In the 10th century, the Vistulans' lands and Kraków became part of the emerging state of Poland.

In the year 1000, the Kraków diocese was established followed by the construction of a Cathedral – the seat of the bishop. However, as a result of an ongoing conflict with the Holy Roman Empire, construction did not begin until the signing of the Peace of Bautzen, in 1018. Only minor fragments remain of the original cathedral (which is sometimes called 'Chrobrowska' after Bolesław I the Brave ) and despite extensive archaeological research, it has proved impossible to reconstruct its exterior. Until the 1980s, relicts of St Gereon's Church were identified with the first cathedral but this theory, advanced by Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz, has been disproved by more recent research. There are also inconsistencies in the dating of the destruction of the original cathedral. Some sources place this at the time of the invasion of Bretislaus I of Bohemia in the 1040s, while others date the destruction to a fire in the 1080s.

In addition to the cathedral, the hill was also the site of other building work. The earliest evidence is of wooden structures dating from the 9th century, with the earliest stone buildings dating to the 10th and 11th centuries; the remains of the following buildings date from this era: the Rotunda of the Blessed Virgin Mary – probably from the turn of the 10th and 11th century; Church B (the earliest parts originate from the 10th century); Church of St Gereon (probably the palace chapel); the Church of St. George; the Church of St Michael; the Twenty-Four Pillar Room (possibly part of the Ducal Mansion); the Keep and the Residential Tower.

Administration building Bastion of Władysław IV Women Tower Sandomierz Tower Senator Tower Nobility Tower Tęczyńska Tower Thieves Tower Bernardine Gate Kościuszko monument Arms Gate Vasa Gate S. Borek House caponier caponier Wawel Cathedral St George's Chapel St Michael's Chapel Royal Kitchens Hen's Foot Cathedral Museum Wawel Castle Seminary Dragon's den Old hospital/ conference center Danish Tower Jordan Tower Jan Sobieski Tower Sigismund Vasa's Tower Presbytery WAWEL MAP LEGEND Buildings - Gardens - Paths - Rocks

From this early period of the Wawel's history originates the popular and enduring Polish myth of the Wawel Dragon. Today, it is commemorated on the lower slopes of the Wawel Hill where by the river, is a modern fire-breathing metal statue of the dragon. The statue is sited in front of Smocza Jama (Dragon's Den), one of the limestone caves scattered over the hill. The dragon, Smok Wawelski, was a mystical beast which supposedly terrorised the local community, eating their sheep and local virgins, before (according to one version) being heroically slain by Krakus, a legendary Polish prince, who supposedly founded the city of Kraków and built his palace above the slain dragon's lair. The oldest known literary reference to the Wawel dragon comes from the 12th century, in the work by Wincenty Kadłubek.

From this early period of the Wawel's history originates the popular and enduring Polish myth of the Wawel Dragon. Today, it is commemorated on the lower slopes of the Wawel Hill where by the river, is a modern fire-breathing metal statue of the dragon. The statue is sited in front of Smocza Jama (Dragon's Den), one of the limestone caves scattered over the hill. The dragon, Smok Wawelski, was a mystical beast which supposedly terrorised the local community, eating their sheep and local virgins, before (according to one version) being heroically slain by Krakus, a legendary Polish prince, who supposedly founded the city of Kraków and built his palace above the slain dragon's lair. The oldest known literary reference to the Wawel dragon comes from the 12th century, in the work by Wincenty Kadłubek.

Between 1038 and 1039 Duke Casimir I the Restorer returned to Poland and it's believed that Kraków first became a royal residence and the capital of Poland at this time.

At the end of the 11th century, construction work began on a replacement cathedral, today called "Hermanowska" as it's likely that Władysław I Herman was its patron. The new cathedral was consecrated in 1142. Quite a lot is known about the building because an image of it is engraved on a 13th-century chapterhouse seal, and some of its remains and foundations are well preserved; besides the lower 12 metres (39 feet) of the Silver Bell Tower, the trinavel St. Leonard's Crypt, the rotunda by the Bastion of Ladislaus IV of Hungary (once a baptistery and the rotunda by the Sandomierska Tower all date from this era, as does a church near the Dragon's Cave.

In 1118 Bishop Maurus was buried in the crypt. The paten and the chalice, buried with the bishop, were later exhumed from his tomb during its accidental discovery in 1938.

The Silver Bell Tower (originally known as the Wikaryjska or Priest Tower) dates from the early 12th century and is the oldest of the Wawel's many towers. However, the tower has many later additions and only the 12-metre-high rectangular base can be dated as belonging to the 11th-century Hermanowska Cathedral. The belfry was constructed in the final quarter of the 14th century and the spire in 1769. The tower contains three bells; the largest was made in 1423, the next largest around 1271 and the smallest in 1669. In the foundations of the tower is a burial vault containing the remains of notable Poles from all periods of history. Other notables are also buried at the nearby Skałka Church.

Around 1305 to 1306, the Hermanowska Cathedral was partially destroyed by a fire; however, the coronation of King Władysław I the Elbow-high, in 1320, was still able to take place within its precincts. In the same year construction of a third cathedral, consecrated in 1364, began at the King's behest, the key elements of this cathedral are preserved today.

The cathedral is trinavel in construction and surrounded by side-chapels, added in later centuries. The earliest of these chapels were built off the chancel ; St Margarita's chapel was consecrated (today it acts as a sacristy ) in 1322 and few years the chapel, later to be known as the Báthory Chapel, was completed. The cathedral's west entrance is flanked by two chapels; one dedicated to Queen Sophia (last wife of Władysław II Jagiełło ) and the second to the Holy Cross; these were built during the reign of Casimir IV Jagiellon (1440–1492); the former is notable for its polychrome vaulted ceiling. From the close of the 15th century, a further nineteen side-chapels were built or rebuilt.

Władysław I the Elbow-high was the first king to be buried in the cathedral in 1333. His sandstone sarcophagus was set up by his son and successor, Casimir III the Great, the last King of Poland from the Piast dynasty. The cathedral also contains the tombs of Casimir III the Great and Jogaila but the most precious is that of Casimir IV Jagiellon, carved by Veit Stoss in 1492. The late Gothic tombstone of John I Albert was carved at the beginning of the 16th century and is attributed to Jorg Huber. The cathedral also contains memorials to Stephen Báthory and bishop Fillip Padniewski – both designed by Santi Gucci and also the tombstone of bishop Andrzej Zebrzydowski designed by Jan Michalowicz from Urzedow. During the 20th century, the cathedral became the site of Karol Wojtyla 's priesthood ordination in 1946 and bishop ordination in 1958 as Kraków's auxiliary bishop.

Little is known of the first royal residences at the Wawel until Casimir III the Great, who reigned from 1333 until 1370, had a Gothic castle erected next to the cathedral; this consisted of multiple structures situated around a central courtyard. In the 14th century, it was rebuilt by King Władysław II Jagiełło (also known as Jogaila) and Queen Jadwiga of Poland. The Hen's Foot Tower, built upon three projecting buttresses resembling a chicken foot, and the Danish Tower date from their reigns, as do the Jadwiga and Jogaila Chamber, in which the Polish coronation sword (Szczerbiec) is exhibited.

During this period, the Wawel began to take its present appearance and size as further buildings were developed on the hill to serve as quarters for the numerous clergy, royal clerks, troops, servants and craftsmen; this work included defensive walls, ramparts and the 'Jordanka,' 'Lubranka,' 'Sandomierska,' 'Tęczyńska,' 'Szlachecka,' 'Złodziejska' and 'Panieńska' towers.

Between 1038 and 1039 Duke Casimir I the Restorer returned to Poland and it's believed that Kraków first became a royal residence and the capital of Poland at this time.