Described in thousands of possible ways, immortalized in millions of photos and videos, a must-see for every trip. Constantly enchanting for centuries. A place of our pride and identity, a place with a soul and a story that, if it could speak, would tell wonderful stories.
A huge fortification, which is the Royal Castle located on a limestone hill of a defensive and residential character, located near the bend of the Vistula River.
Wawel Castle was the seat of Polish rulers, their necropolis and the place where the history of Poland was shaped. It has an area of 7040 m² with 71 exhibition halls and a complex of monumental monuments of exceptional historical and artistic value. Among the many monuments, the museum's collections include numerous paintings depicting the kings of Poland, collections of Renaissance Italian furniture and 30 famous Wawel heads placed in a coffered ceiling made in 1540.
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The Treasury exhibits gold, ivory and amber products, as well as Szczerbiec - the coronation sword of Polish kings, the sword of King Sigismund the Old, armour, cones, batons and cannons. Over the centuries, the castle has been extended and renovated many times. Numerous fires, looting and marches of foreign troops caused the building to be rebuilt many times in new architectural styles. On Wawel Hill there is also Wawel Cathedral - a place of coronation of Polish kings and rest of their remains. Kings from Wladyslaw I Lokietek to August II the Strong are buried there, as well as members of royal families and great chiefs: Józef Poniatowski, Józef Piłsudski, Władysław Sikorski, Tadeusz Kościuszko, the bard of the nation: Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Słowacki, as well as the bishops of Cracow starting from St. Stanislaus, and President Lech Kaczyński and his wife Maria.
At the foot of the Wawel Hill there is a cave called the Dragon's Den which is the hiding place of the mythical Wawel Dragon which is the fear of the people of Krak, the founder of Krakow. The author of the legend, which is the oldest record of the Wawel Dragon, was the famous Bishop of Cracow, author of the Polish Chronicle - Wincenty Kadlubek.
In front of the entrance to the cavity, there is a bronze statue of the dragon placed on a boulder, which shows the dragon breathing real fire every 3 minutes.
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