Wawel Royal Castle

Wawel Castle

About the castle

Wawel is a fortified architectural complex. It was built on a limestone Wawel hill, on the left bank of the Vistula River in Cracow/Krakow/Kraków. The complex consists of many buildings and fortifications. Wawel is the most popular Polish castle. It’s on the UNESCO list.

Arkadiusz Frankowiczhttp://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wawel#mediaviewer/Plik:Wawel_-_widok_z_Kopca_Ko%C5%9Bciuszki.jpg

Kronhttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wawel_z_mostu_Debnickiego_(2007).jpg

The Royal City Krakow

Krakow is one of the most often visited cities in Poland. There are many historical monuments, good hotels, restaurants and recreational opportunities. From 12th to 17th century, Krakow was the capital of Poland and Wawel castle was a Polish kings' residence.

http://mapa.zumi.pl

• The symbols of Krakow are: the Wawel Castle, main Market Square with Barbican, the Sukiennice Cloth Hall and St. Mary's Basilica, Kazimierz – old Jewish district of the city. Krakow's historic center is also on the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraków#mediaviewer/Plik:Collage_of_views_of_Cracow.PNG

History of the castle

• In 10 – 11th century Wawel was a town built of wood, stone and clay.

• Wawel became an important place during the reign of prince Kazimierz Odnowiciel (1034-1058), when Krakow became the capital of Poland.

http://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wawel#mediaviewer/Plik:Wawel_end_16th_cent.jpg

Expansions

• During the reigns of Wladyslaw Lokietek and Kazimierz Wielki the old, wooden and soil fortifications were replaced by the bricked ones.

• In 16th century king Zygmunt I Stary expanded the castle again, remodeling and redecorating it in renaissance style.

Robert Schediwhttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wyspianskiwawel.jpgy

What happened later?

Mariokolhttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wawel_widok_z_drugiej_strony_Wisly.jpg

• After the loss of independence by Poland in 1795, the troops of the invading states: Russia, Prussia and Austria subsequently stayed on Wawel. The transformation of Wawel into the barracks resulted in many changes and damages. Some of the buildings were pulled down (the church of St. George and the church of St. Michael), the galleries were surrounded with a wall, and the interiors of the castle changed.

• In 1959-1961 some valuable exhibits returned to the collections of the museum, among others, the arrases and Szczerbiec - the coronation sword.

Inside the Wawel castle you can see:

Parliament ChamberIt’s a big chamber with many arrases, portraits and Wawel heads – carved heads placed on the ceiling.

http://gorskiewedrowki.blogspot.com/2012/12/zaproszenie-do-krolewskiego-zamku-2.html

Arrases

Arras is a decorative tapestry which is used to decorate walls. The name comes from French town in which it was produced.

Arrases usually show scenes from mythology or the Bible. Tapestries were brought from Italy to Poland by Queen Bona in the 16th century. They were embroidered with gold or silver metallic thread.

Treasury

Kliknij ikonę, aby dodać obrazIn the castle’s treasury you can see Szczerbiec – the sword used during coronation ceremonies of Polish kings, jewelry, different types of weapon and many beautiful works of art.

Near the castle, on the Wawel hill you can see:

Wawel Cathedral

Wawel Cathedral was the coronation place of most of the Polish kings . There are famous Poles’ tombs in the crypts below the cathedral. The Zygmunt Chapel has a golden roof and it’s consider to be one of the best examples of Renaissance architecture outside Italy.

Zygmunt Bell

Kliknij ikonę, aby dodać obraz

This massive bell was funded by King Zygmunt Stary in 1520 and named after him. It weighs over one ton and can be heard within the vicinity of 50 kilometers. Eight people are needed to put it in motion. The bell tower, which was once a part of the fortress surrounding the royal castle, is now the part of the royal cathedral and can be accessed from there.The bell announces the most important moments of Polish history – it rang after the death of pope John Paul II, who used to be the Archbishop of Krakow.

Wawel tombs

The Cathedral was a place where rulers of Poland were crowned, while in its crypts kings, national heroes and great artists were buried. You can find there tombs of Zygmunt Stary, Zygmunt August, Tadeusz Kościuszko, Józef Piłsudski, Adam Mickiewicz, Juliusz Słowacki and many others. After the plane crash in Smolensk, in April 2010, the presidential couple – Lech Kaczyński and his wife, Maria – was buried there.

Dragon’s cave

• Dragon's cave – is a great tourist attraction of Krakow. The cave is situated under the Royal castle. Its entrance is in the castle and the exit is at the foot of the Wawel Hill, near the Vistula River. Next to the exit there’s a statue of a dragon. There's a legend about the cave.

The legend of the Wawel Dragon

• Once upone a time there was an awful dragon, who lived in a cave near the Wawel Royal Castle. He ate people and destroyed their houses. He also ate animals. The people of Cracow tried to stop him but they didn't know how. Finally the King said: „ The brave man who kills this terrible creature will marry my beautiful daughter”. 

• One day , a poor shoemaker had a clever idea. He put a lot of sulfur into the sheepskin sack. Then he put the sack near the dragon's cave. Soon the dragon found the sheepskin and ate it, because he thought that it was a real sheep. Later, he started to feel very thirsty. He drank half of the Vistula River and at last exploded with a loud BANG! This is how the shoemaker saved the city of Kracow. The boy married the princess and they lived happily ever after.

Thanks for watching!!!Pawel, Rafal, Agnieszka, Dominik

http://en.poland.gov.pl/The,Wawel,Royal,Castle,11805.html