Eastern and Central Europe (Eyewitness Travel Guides)

CRACOW 191

Stalls

The early Baroque oak

stalls in the chancel were

built around 1620.

. Zygmunt Chapel
The chapel with the
tombs of the last two
Jagiellonian kings is
the jewel of Italian
Renaissance art in
Poland. The tomb of
Zygmunt I the Old was
made by Bartolomeo
Berrecci after 1530,
while that of Zygmunt
August was built
between 1574 and
1575 by Santi Gucci.

Royal Tombs
These Baroque sarcophagi were made for members of the
royal Vasa Dynasty. The cathedral is the final resting place
of most of the Polish kings, as well as national heroes such as
Tadeusz Kościuszko (see p189) and several revered poets.

High

Altar

VISITORS’ CHECKLIST

Wawel 3. Map C4. Tel (012)

422 5155. @ 103, 502. v 3,

6, 8, 10, 18, 40. # Apr–Sep:

9am–5pm Mon–Sat,12:30–5pm

Sun; Oct–Mar: 9am–4pm Mon–

Sat, 12:30–4pm Sun. & Royal

Tombs & Zygmunt Bell. 8 7

Wawel Royal

Castle w

Zamek Królewski

na Wawelu

Wawel Hill. Map C4. Tel (012) 422

1697. @ 103, 502. v 3, 6, 8, 10,
      18, 40. # Nov–Mar: 9:30am–4pm
      Tue–Sat; Apr–Oct: 9:30am–noon
      Mon, 9:30am–5pm Tue, Fri, 11am–
      6pm Sat, Sun. & Apr–Oct: free on
      Mon; Nov–Mar: Sun. 8 Royal Private
      Apartments.

One of Central Europe’s most

magnificent Renaissance

residences, the Wawel Royal

Castle was built for King

Zygmunt I the Old, the penul-

timate ruler of the Jagiellonian

Dynasty. The four-winged

palace, built between 1502 and

1536, incorporated the remains

of a 14th-century building that

stood on the site. Italian archi-

tects Francisco Fiorentino and

Bartolomeo Berrecci designed

and construc ted it. One of the

highlights of the castle is the

impressive Renaissance-style

courtyard that was built in the

16th century. The rooms in the

Hen’s Foot Tower are among

the most beautiful in the

castle. The tower was rebuilt

after it was damaged by fire

in the 16th and 17th centuries.

After the royal court was

transferred from Cracow to

Warsaw, the palace fell into

neglect, and during the era

of the partitions it served as

barracks. At the beginning of

the 20th century, the castle

was given to the city of

Cracow, which started a

restoration programme and

turned it into a museum.

Room in the Hen’s Foot Tower,

Wawel Royal Castle