Wawel Castle: photos and history

2024 Author: Harold Hamphrey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:06

For almost a millennium, the magnificent Wawel Castle has been towering over the Vistula. He witnessed many historical events, survived many wars, fires and destruction, rebuilding. This castle is a symbol of Poland, a place of special significance to Poles.

History of the castle

During archaeological excavations, it was found that already in the 11th century there was a settlement on this site, and stone walls began to be erected in 1300 under Wenceslas II. In the 14th century, Casimir III the Great began building a castle in the Gothic style. From the 11th century to the beginning of the 17th century, Wawel Castle was the residence of the Polish kings and was the center of the country's spiritual and political power.

The heyday of the castle began during the reign of Sigismund I the Old, but a fire that broke out in 1595 destroyed the building. From this moment begins the period of its decline. In 1609, Sigismund III moved the capital of the state from Krakow to Warsaw, although officially the status still remained with Krakow (until 1795).

Wawel Castle in Krakow survived the Northern War, almost completelydestruction by the Swedes. In 1724-1728, an attempt was made to restore here, but it turned out to be unsuccessful, and the barracks of the Austrian garrison were placed on the territory of the castle. It officially became the property of Poland in 1905. Until now, restoration work is being carried out here. In 1978, Krakow was included in the list of cities protected by UNESCO.

Polish monarchs, political and cultural figures have been buried in the Castle Cathedral since the Middle Ages. Lech Walesa in 1994 declared Wawel a historical monument of national importance. In mid-April 2010, President Lech Kaczynski and his wife Maria were buried here.

Wawel Castle (Krakow, Poland): description

On the hill of the same name there is a whole complex of unique architectural monuments. The main ones are the Cathedral of Saints Wenceslas and Stanislaus and the Royal Castle.

The now restored Wawel Castle (you can see the photo below) majestically rises above the bend of the Vistula. It was purchased from the Austrian government in 1905 and restored with voluntary donations from Polish citizens. Climbing up the hill from Kanonicha Street from the side of the Royal Road, you can see the fortress wall more than two hundred meters long. It is literally strewn with small tablets on which the names of 6329 Poles are carved, who donated funds for the redemption and further restoration of the castle.

Monument to Kosciuszko

At the entrance to the Wawel territory, visitors are greeted by a monument to Tadeusz Kosciuszko, the leaderpopular uprising of 1794. This is an exact copy of the monument, the original of which was demolished during the war with Nazi Germany by order of the German Governor General.

In the post-war years, the Germans made a copy of the monument, but art historians believe that the horse under the folk hero was "changed". He used to sit on a slender stallion, but now under him is a fat German horse.

Castle Expositions

Entering the royal court, visitors can choose the direction of the tour at their discretion. In the Armory with the chambers of the Polish rulers, the luxury and decoration of which was preserved by the museum staff, you can admire the magnificent canvases of medieval painters, which impress with their gigantic size.

Fans of historical artifacts will certainly be interested in the Lost Wawel exhibition. The Cathedral and the mysterious and dark dungeons of the Dragon Cave deserve special attention.

The Wawel Castle in the Parliament Hall has unique ceilings, which are decorated with "Wawel heads" - the finest wood carving, which is made in the form of human heads. Art historians believe that these heads depict roy alty, arrogant dignitaries, knights, burghers, beautiful court ladies.

In the treasury you can see the regalia of kings, the ceremonial saber with a scabbard, the sword Shcherbets, the helmet of the governor Radziwill the Black and other priceless historical exhibits. The number of tickets for all exhibitions is limited, therefore, at the height of the tourist season, whichusually in summer and spring, they run out at the box office by noon.

Cathedral of St. Wenceslas and Stanislaus

Poland can rightly be proud of many unique places of worship. Wawel Castle, or rather, its cathedral is one of them. It is located behind the King's Gate. From the first building, founded in the 11th century, only small fragments of the Silver Bells Tower and the underground chapel of St. Leonard, where Polish monarchs are buried.

Like any ancient castle, Krakow is covered with numerous legends and mysteries. One of them says that every year on Christmas eve, the kings buried in the castle gather for a secret council in this gloomy dungeon and discuss how the Poles live.

The core of the Wawel Cathedral is the basilica, made in the Gothic style. It was built in the XIV century. Its facade is decorated with narrow lancet windows, and above the main entrance there is an openwork rose window.

Architecture

The main building of the temple is surrounded by twenty chapels, created in different styles and at different times. Despite this, together they form a harmonious ensemble. In addition to the Silver Bells Tower, which got its name for the bells with amazing purity of sound, two more towers adjoin the cathedral - Zygmuntovskaya and Clock Tower, so named because of the huge tower clock. And the Zygmunt belfry owes its name to the eleven-ton bell "Sigismund". It was cast by Krakow caster Jan Beam in 1520.

With thisa romantic belief is connected with a bell - if a girl touches the huge tongue of "Sigismund", then very soon she will successfully marry and be happy with her husband all her life.

Legend of Wawel Castle

Another attraction of the castle is the Dragon Cave, which is located in the rock. At its entrance is a sculpture that makes frightening sounds and even spewing flames.

I must say that Slavic legends contain many references to huge dragons. And the legend of the dragon that "captured" the Wawel Castle is perhaps the most famous in Poland. It has several variations, but we will describe the most common ones.

Dragon Appears

In ancient times, a terrible and bloodthirsty dragon lived in a cave, which constantly demanded that the locals sacrifice the youngest and most beautiful girls to him. For many years he kept people in fear. Only one of the sons of King Krak, who founded the city, managed to defeat him.

According to another version, it happened during the reign of Prince Krak, a wise and kind ruler. Under his leadership, the city grew, developed and prospered. But one day, to the misfortune of the townspeople, a terrible fire-breathing dragon appeared in the Wawel cave. He began to regularly steal cattle from pastures, and did not refuse the townspeople who appeared near the cave.

Krak was no longer young, and he knew perfectly well that he had no chance of defeating the monster. And he decided to throw a cry: everyone who can defeat the dragon will be rewarded with his daughter and half the kingdom in addition. And the daredevils reached out to the city, but not one of them managed to defeat the beast. And when the inhabitants of the city had already lost all hope of deliverance, a frail boy offered his services - a shoemaker's apprentice, whose name was Skuba.

He didn't plan to fight with a sword in his hands. Skuba decided to defeat the dragon with cunning. He slaughtered a ram, stuffed it with pitch and sulfur, and left it at the lair of the beast. The dragon swallowed the bait and became ill. To calm the fire raging inside, he began to drink water from the Vistula until it burst.

And the cunning Skuba sewed a lot of beautiful boots from the skin of a dragon and presented them to the townspeople. In memory of Krak, the townspeople built a large hill. And today the dragon is reminiscent of a statue that periodically breathes fire, which is installed at the entrance to the Cathedral of the castle.