Wawel Royal Castle – the pride and the most significant landmark of the Polish city of Krakow. Wawel Castle, built on the high bank of the Vistula river, conveniently placed behind its walls the Cathedral, Royal Castle and the whole system of various fortifications of the castle.
Once the Wawel Castle was the centre of spiritual and political power – there were lived several generations of Polish kings. Then Krakow has become a "hostage" of the Union between Lithuania and Poland and began to lose its power and authority, being on the outskirts of the new state. When the castle caught fire, the king didn't want him to recover and just moved to Warsaw. Now the castle regularly held numerous exhibitions, and the flow of tourists to the Wawel Castle from year to year is steadily increasing.
Stone-paved road lead to the main gate of the castle. On the left wall from the gate you can see the names of people and companies who donated restoration of the Wawel Castle. At the entrance stands a monument to Tadeusz Kosciuszko, and if you go a little further, you will see the Cathedral, over the doors of which hang the bones of a mammoth. According to legend, they bring prosperity to the place. Near the Cathedral is the Cathedral Museum. In the former Royal court often exhibitions are organized, and in the castle you can stroll through the wards of kings, and visit armoury and even treasury.
There is the Dragon Cave in Wawel Castle. What secrets it holds you will have to learn on your own.
And if you're lucky enough to visit the Wawel Castle into a holiday, then you will hear the ringing of the biggest bell in Poland.
The Wawel Castle is a castle residency located in central Krakow, Poland. Built at the behest of King Casimir III the Great, it consists of a number of structures situated around the Italian-styled main courtyard. The castle, being one of the largest in Poland, represents nearly all European architectural styles of medieval, renaissance and baroque periods. The Wawel Royal Castle and the Wawel Hill constitute the most historically and culturally significant site in the country. In 1978 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of the Historic Centre of Krakow.
For centuries the residence of the kings of Poland and the symbol of Polish statehood, the Castle is now one of the country's premier art museums. Established in 1930, the museum encompasses ten curatorial departments responsible for collections of paintings, including an important collection of Italian Renaissance paintings, prints, sculpture, textiles, among them the Sigismund II Augustus tapestry collection, goldsmith's work, arms and armor, ceramics, Meissen porcelain, and period furniture. The museum's holdings in oriental art include the largest collection of Ottoman tents in Europe. With seven specialized conservation studios, the museum is also an important center for the conservation of works of art.
