Wawel Hill and Castle

The steep and lofty limestone hill, rises 25 m (over 80 ft) above the level of the Vistula River. It was formerly surrounded by riverine bogs and marshes and has always been a settlement site with very favourable defence conditions. As archaeological research carried out here has proved, the oldest traces of human presence on the hill reach 100,000 years into the past. Countless later finds are without a doubt connected to permanent settlements. In the 9th century, the bailey standing on Wawel Hill must have been the seat of the ruler-Prince, and the main hub of the tribal state of the Vistulanians. Once Małopolska was incorporated into the Piast state around AD 990, Wawel became one of the main centres of power. The hill must have been developed with a number of lay, pre-Romanesque structures in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. These were built quite clumsily from stone boulders which replaced wood as a construction material around that period. An interesting and partially preserved structure from that time is the Rotunda of the Blessed Virgin Mary, which may have played the role of the Castle’s chapel.

Initially, the castle stronghold was not of impressive size, and – as excavations prove – was situated on the northern side of the hill, under one of the wings of the current castle. The structure was only extended to the south and east when Kraków became the main seat of Polish monarchs, at the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries.

Early in the 14th century, King Ladislaus the Elbow-High (Władysław Łokietek) greatly extended the castle. Among the structures built at that time were the residential tower, known as “Łokietkowa”, reconstructed and extended by King Casimir the Great (Kazimierz Wielki) who erected the stylish projection encircled with impressive buttresses called the “Hen’s Foot”. During the reign of Jadwiga, an opulent tower was built in its vicinity; it later received the name “Danish”, as Eric, the King of Denmark, stayed there during his official visit to Kraków. The castle survived in this form until 1499, when it was consumed by fire.

A major refurbishment of the castle in the Renaissance style was begun in 1504. The new style reached Kraków via Hungary thanks to Italian masons and architects. Begun under Aleksander Jagiellończyk, the work continued into the reign of Sigismund the Old. Most of the works were conducted by the Italian architect Bartolommeo Berrecci until his untimely death in 1537 when he was killed with a stiletto by an unknown assassin. The former mediaeval castle turned into an impressive palace-like residence with a most imposing arcaded courtyard while at the same time losing nothing of its defensive role.

After the fire of 1595, King Sigismund III Vasa moved his court to Warsaw, and left Kraków for good in 1609. Although work on the construction of the castle was continued after the conflagration, the slow decline from its heyday was already being felt. During the Swedish invasion (1655-1657), the castle was pillaged of virtually everything. The following centuries increased its degradation, which was finally sealed when the former royal seat was converted into Austrian military barracks.

The castle was not successfully reclaimed until 1905. It gradually had its former splendour returned. Work on this task proceeded particularly rapidly after Poland regained independence in 1918. At the time, the precious objects and works of art carried away from Poland by the invaders during the Partitions and the first world war were returned to the castle. Their number included Szczerbiec: the Notched Coronation Sword of Polish kings, and Flemish tapestries which found themselves abroad again in 1939. During the second world war the castle was the seat of Governor General Hans Frank. Luckily, the low level of war damage enabled it to be rapidly renovated.

Today, the castle houses a number of different exhibitions, including the State Rooms, Royal Private Apartments, and Crown Treasury and Armoury.

Listen more about the Wawel Castle.



The file is a part of the Kraków, the Magical City audioguide, available to download at www.guidebuy.pl or to rent in the InfoKraków tourist information offices.
You will find more audio files attached to the descriptions of: Floriańska, Szeroka, Kanonicza Streets, Main Square, the Wawel cathedral, Schindler's Factory, as well as to the descriptions of Kraków's districts: Kazimierz, Podgórze and Zwierzyniec.