Zinar Castle

The spectacular Renaissance palace residence, which we admire to this day on the Wawel hill, was created as a result of the reconstruction of the Gothic royal castle in the first half of the 16th century at the request of Sigismund I the Old. Polish kings lived here with their closest family, and court and political life took place in the representative chambers.

The castle impresses with the open space of an arcaded courtyard, from which paths lead to individual exhibitions: the Representative Royal Chambers, Royal Private Apartments, the Treasury and The Armory, Eastern Art. For those interested in the history of the castle and the hill in the early Middle Ages, the Lost Wawel exhibition is available.

Visiting the castle interiors allows you to imagine the details of the former life of the monarchs. The rooms on the first floor (Private Royal Apartments) contain an exhibition referring to their former character and furnishings. There are royal apartments, chambers of the court entourage, rooms for guests and rooms in which monarchs indulged in their passions. In the 16th century, the kings of Poland were particularly interested in secret knowledge and alchemy. In one of the towers, Sigismund III Vasa had a studio in which he allegedly carried out experiments with the participation of the outstanding alchemist Michał Sedziwoj. Previously, the semi-legendary master Twardowski was supposed to operate in the castle. Apparently, King Zygmunt II August ordered him to summon the spirit of his beloved, prematurely deceased wife Barbara Radziwiłłówna. Among the works of art exhibited in these interiors, the tapestries from the unique collection of Sigismund II Augustus, made in Brussels in the mid-16th century, are of particular value. It is the largest ensemble of tapestries in the world commissioned by one ruler. In Private Apartments, we can admire, above all, landscape and animal tapestries, i.e. verdures.

While visiting the second floor of the castle (the Royal Representative Chambers), we enter the space of official state-level events that took place here during the Golden Age of Polish culture . It is especially worth paying attention to the meeting rooms of two chambers of parliament, i.e. the Sejm. The first of them debated in the room known today as Senatorska. This largest castle chamber also hosted other important state and court ceremonies, balls, theatrical performances and performances by musicians, as well as royal weddings. On the walls of the Senators' Hall - covered with kurdyban, that is, colored and richly decorated leather - you can admire other majestic tapestries from the collection of Sigismund II Augustus, this time with biblical themes. The lower chamber of the Seym debated in the Chamber of Deputies, also known as Pod Głowami, due to its most characteristic element, i.e. carved Renaissance heads placed in a coffered ceiling. Here, too, the king received messages and issued judgments. One of the decorative heads, depicting a woman with a bandage on her lips, is associated with a legend. When Sigismund Augustus was to pronounce judgment one day in a difficult case, the head spoke from the ceiling: Rex Auguste iudica iuste ("King Auguste, judge fairly"). Her words were satisfied, but since then the woman's mouth is covered with a sash, so that she never interferes with royal decisions.

During the sessions of the Seym, royal courts were held in another representative chamber, called the Eagle Room. On its walls, apart from the kurdyban, we can now see royal portraits and historical scenes from the 17th century. The Pod Ptakami Room is in a similar baroque style, decorated with a marble fireplace designed by Giovanni Trevano and portals with the coats of arms of the Vasa dynasty. It was the favorite chamber of Sigismund III. Adjacent to it is a small chapel richly decorated with stucco, in which the king usually listened to mass. A special treat for those interested in military and knighthood will be the Pod Przegląd Wojsk room - with a frieze showing a military parade in front of the king - and the Tournament Hall, the frieze of which is presented by a knightly tournament. The paintings, the work of Antoni of Wrocław and Hans Dürer (brother of the famous Albrecht), were created in the first half of the 16th century.

Military (but not only) interests can be developed by visiting the exhibition in the Crown Treasury and the Armory. The most valuable exhibit here is Szczerbiec - the coronation sword of Polish kings with 800 years of history, one of the most important historical mementoes of our country. In addition to it, the exhibition includes many types of weapons and armor from different times, as well as numerous war trophies.

The trophies can also be seen at the Eastern Art exhibition, which collects a collection of relics obtained as a result of military and commercial contacts with the countries of the Middle East and a collection of Chinese ceramics. Works of artistic craftsmanship from Turkey, Crimea, the Caucasus and Iran penetrated into Poland over the centuries, and in the 17th century the local gentry and court ceremonies took on somewhat oriental - "Sarmatian" features.