Wawel Hill has been an important centre of secular and ecclesiastical power since the early Middle Ages. A wooden stronghold was built here in the tenth century and was later replaced by a stone palace and a characteristic rotunda church. In the thirteenth century, a massive wall fortified the hill, which from the fourteenth century served as a coronation site and royal residence. Today, the imposing complex combines many architectural styles, dominated by the Royal Castle and majestic cathedral.
Polish monarchs resided here until 1609, and kings were crowned and buried in the cathedral until 1734. The castle was home to the Piast, Jagiellonian and Vasa dynasties and served as Poland’s cultural, political and artistic centre. A Romanesque stronghold on the hill was replaced by a Gothic castle in the fourteenth century. In the sixteenth century, the Italian architects Bartolomeo Berrecci and Francesco Fiorentino gave the residence its characteristic Renaissance appearance.
The castle is remarkable not only for its architecture but also for its valuable art collections. Particularly important is the unique collection of tapestries commissioned in Brussels by King Sigismund II Augustus during the first half of the sixteenth century. Today, the Wawel Royal Castle State Art Collection invites visitors to explore the royal apartments, the legendary Crown Treasury, the historic Armoury and the Lost Wawel exhibition.
The present cathedral is the third church built on this venerable site. The first was constructed after the year 1000 under Duke Bolesław the Brave, and the building was repeatedly transformed over the centuries. Between 1320 and 1364, the imposing three-aisled basilica was created. It served as the coronation and burial place of Polish monarchs, senior church figures and national heroes.
The cathedral is surrounded by 18 chapels, principally Gothic and Baroque. A special highlight is the Sigismund Tower, which houses the 11-tonne Sigismund Bell, Poland’s largest historic bell. Other major sights include the magnificent silver coffin of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop of Krakow and martyr, and the Renaissance Sigismund Chapel, a masterpiece north of the Alps with a gilded dome. The royal sarcophagi and labyrinthine crypts contain the tombs not only of kings but also of some of the greatest figures in Polish history.
