Wawel Cathedral

Soon after Kraków became the seat of a bishopric subordinate to the metropolis in Gniezno (AD 1000), the construction of the Cathedral Church began on top of Wawel Hill. Its initiator and founder was most probably, King Boleslaus the Brave (Bolesław Chrobry). Unfortunately, we know little about the first Cathedral, as archaeological research disclosed only the bottom parts of the walls of the crypt and transept, column bases with remnants of the column shafts (with one covered in pleated ornamentation), and the bottom section of the altar table. The church was most probably destroyed during the invasion of the Bohemian Duke Bretislaus (approx. 1038). Except for its eastern section, the Cathedral was dismantled following this and the saved remains were transformed into the Church of St Gereon.

The cathedral that followed was called the Hermanowska to commemorate Prince Ladislaus Herman. The church had already become a three-aisled, four-tower basilica church. Erected in 11th/12th centuries, it was in turn ruined by the accidental fire of 1305. What remains of this cathedral are the three-aisle crypt of St Leonard, supported on eight columns with cross vaulting (from before 1118) and the bottom parts of the Tower of Silver Bells. The remains were temporarily made secure and the church was used for liturgy for over a decade. In 1320 it became the site of the ceremonial crowning of King Ladislaus the Elbow-High (Władysław Łokietek) – the first such event to take place in Wawel!

Later in the year of the coronation, Bishop Nanker decided to embark on the construction of a new cathedral. The work continued for over 40 years: the new church had not been completed and consecrated until 1364 which was already in the reign of the son of King Ladislaus, Casimir the Great (Kazimierz Wielki).

Today’s Cathedral is a three-aisled Gothic basilica with a straight-enclosed chancel, transept and ambulatory (a walkway around the chancel). Its rib vaulting is supported on elongated pillar-buttresses. Following the yardstick of the Cathedral, this system – repeated in all large Gothic churches of the city – became the hallmark of Kraków Gothic. The church was built of brick and limestone. Today’s external appearance of the Gothic Cathedral is far from uniform, as in the course of the following centuries the original corpus received a variety of accompanying constructions, primarily chapels. They provide a perfect reflection of successive eras, illustrating the history of the Cathedral and the changing styles in architecture. The best view of the original third Cathedral is obtained by looking at the western stone façade with its triangular top and a round window decorated with tracery and the 14th-century figure of St Stanislaus, and the brick, panelled top of the southern end of the transept.

There are three towers surrounding the Cathedral. Hanging in the Zygmuntowska Tower, standing to the north, is the famous Sigismund Bell, while the taller one standing next to it – the Clocktower – proudly flaunts its intricate baroque spire. On the southern side of the Cathedral, there is the Tower of Silver Bells, also known as Wikaryjska. The bottom part of this tower, built of small stone cubes complemented later with bricks, is a remnant of the second cathedral (11th/12th centuries).

The most eye-catching element of the southern face is the Sigismund Chapel with its golden dome. A famous work of architects of the Italian Renaissance working under Bartolommeo Berrecci, who also supervised the Renaissance reconstruction of the castle, the chapel is encircled by a frieze bearing a Latin inscription reading Non nobis, Domine, non nobis sed nomini Tuo da gloriam: “not to us, oh, Lord, not to us, but to Your name let praise be given”. Although the neighbouring Vasa Chapel is externally quite a faithful copy, it is far more modest.

The main entrance to the Cathedral from the western side is situated between two Gothic chapels. The one in the north was founded (around 1430) by Queen Zofia, the fourth wife of Ladislaus (Władysław) Jagiełło, familiarly referred to as Sonka. The southern one (from around 1470), we owe to their son, Casimir the Jagiellonian (Kazimierz Jagiellończyk), and his wife, Elizabeth of Austria (Elżbieta Rakuszanka). Hanging on chains over the flight of stairs, there are whale and hairy rhinoceros bones, as such magical curios were believed to protect against evil. The door in the main portal dates back to the 14th century, and is reinforced with iron sheets with a monogram of Casimir the Great.

The central place inside the Cathedral – at the crossing of the nave and the transept – is occupied by the Shrine of St Stanislaus by Giovanni Trevano. The silver coffin is supported by four angels and decorated by scenes from the life of the Saint, situated under a gilded dome.

Situated in the nave and the aisles are the sarcophagi of Polish kings with the figures of the deceased rulers carved on the tombs: Ladislaus the Elbow-High (d. 1333, the oldest royal tomb in the Cathedral), Casimir the Great (d. 1370), and Ladislaus Jagiełło (d. 1399). There is also the tomb of King Ladislaus of Varna (Władysław Warneńczyk, d. 1444), yet it does not hold the king’s mortal remains because his body was never found after the King died fighting the Turks at the battle of Varna.

Besides the kings and their families, the Cathedral is the resting place of Polish national heroes and great men of letters. These last have a special place devoted to themselves: the Crypt of Poet-Prophets. This smallish crypt in the northern aisle of the church houses the sarcophagi of Adam Mickiewicz (d. 1855) and Juliusz Słowacki (d. 1849).

Among the numerous altars in the Cathedral it is worth noting the one with the miraculous Black Crucifix, before which, according to tradition, the Saint Queen Jadwiga would pray. Next to the crucifixion figure, there is a copy of the stirrup of the Grand Vizir, Kara Mustafa, sent here by King John III Sobieski as votive thanks for his victory at Vienna (1683).

Of the ring of 19 chapels surrounding the Cathedral, a few are worth a closer look. The Sigismund Chapel, completed in 1533, hides a unique decoration in the Italian style with rich arabesque and grotesque ornamentation, and a silver triptych altar: a work of the Nuremberg school. Situated opposite the altar are the tombs of the last kings of the House of Jagiełło: Sigismund the Old (Zygmunt Stary) by the disciples of Bartolommeo Berrecci, and his son King Sigismund Augustus (Zygmunt August) designed by Santi Gucci. This chapel is the most well known work of the Renaissance in Poland, and is frequently called “the Pearl of the Renaissance north of the Alps”.

The Chapel of the Holy Cross was built as the mausoleum of Casimir the Jagiellonian, and his wife Elizabeth of Austria in 1467-1477. The most precious element is the epitaph of the King (d. 1492) with the figure of the monarch carved in marble by Wit Stwosz (Veit Stoss), being one of the most famous examples of late mediaeval stone sculpture. The co-founder of the chapel, Elizabeth, remembered as the “mother of kings” (of six sons of the royal couple, four were later crowned), received a much more modest commemoration: her grave is but a brass plaque in the floor of the chapel.

Today, one of Kraków’s few uniform examples of classicism is the originally Gothic Potocki Chapel, later redeveloped into the mausoleum of Bishop Filip Padniewski (1572-1575) by the greatest Polish sculptor of the late Renaissance, Jan Michałowicz from Urzędów, referred to as “the Polish Praxiteles”. In the 1930s, it was remodelled again in the empire style and received a figure of Christ chiselled by Bertel Thorvaldsen.

The entrances to the Royal Tombs, and to the tower with the Sigismund Bell are situated in the Cathedral.

Here You can find more information on visiting the Cathedral, the Royal Tombs and the tower with the Sigismund Bell.

Listen more about the Wawel Cathedral.



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 castle, Schindler's Factory, as well as to the descriptions of Kraków's districts: Kazimierz, Podgórze and Zwierzyniec.