Zinar Castle

The most important temple in Poland, the imposing interior of which testifies with its symbolism to the continuity of the historical memory of generations. It is the resting place of Polish kings, national heroes, outstanding poets and the patron saint of Poland, St. Stanislaus. For centuries it was the royal coronation church.

The memory of this place goes back to 1000, when the bishopric of Krakow was established and the first cathedral was built. Its few relics have survived to this day. More remains of the second temple from the turn of the 11th and 12th centuries have survived - incl. the crypt of St. Leonard and the lower parts of the Silver Bells tower.

The present, third figure of the cathedral from the 14th century has the form of a Gothic basilica. Over time, it was surrounded by a wreath of delightful chapels in various styles, added gradually over the centuries.

The main entrance to the cathedral from the west leads between two Gothic chapels. Above the stairs, bones of a whale and a woolly rhinoceros were hung on chains (it was believed that such peculiarities magically protect against evil). The main gate from the 14th century is covered with iron sheet with the repeated initials of King Casimir the Great.

Inside, the central place is occupied by the 17th-century confession, i.e. the canopy altar of St. Stanisław, bishop and patron of Poland, who died in the 11th century as a result of a conflict with King Bolesław the Bold. Under the gilded dome there is a silver coffin with the relics of the saint, decorated with scenes from his life, supported by four angels. Among the other altars in the cathedral, it is worth paying attention to the one in the eastern arm of the ambulatory (chancel bypass). It houses the black crucifix famous for miracles, before which, according to tradition, the saint Queen Jadwiga prayed in the 14th century. Next to the figure of the Crucified One, you can see a copy of the stirrup of the great vizier Kara Mustafa, which was sent as a votive gift by King Jan III Sobieski after the victory at Vienna (1683).

The sarcophagi of Polish monarchs with carved figures of the deceased were placed in the main and side naves: Władysław Łokietek (died 1333, the oldest royal tomb in the cathedral), Casimir the Great (died 1370) and Władysław Jagiełło (died 1434). Two tombs that were built in the twentieth century - of Saint Queen Jadwiga (died 1399) and King Władysław of Warneńczyk (died 1444) fit into the same style. However, the tomb of this ruler does not hide his remains - the body of the monarch, who died in the battle with the Turks at Varna, has never been found. Fragments of the wooden insignia with which she was buried are displayed next to Queen Jadwiga's sarcophagus. Before her death, the saint saved all her valuables as a gift to the Krakow Academy (now the Jagiellonian University) - including the golden gothic scepter, which is still the symbol of the university.

Of the nineteen chapels that surround the cathedral, it is worth taking a closer look at at least a few. The most famous of them, the Sigismund Chapel (completed in 1533), covered with a golden dome, is the most outstanding Renaissance work in Poland. Also called "the pearl of the Renaissance north of the Alps", it was created thanks to Italian builders led by Bartolomeo Berrecci. It is distinguished by a beautiful, ornamental, symmetrical interior. Opposite the altar in the chapel there are tombstones of the last kings of the Jagiellonian dynasty: Sigismund I the Old (founder of the chapel, died 1548, Berrecci's workshop) and his son Zygmunt II August (died 1572, designed by Santi Gucci). Adjacent to it is the Vasa Chapel - imitating its architectural shape, but with a baroque interior.

The Świętokrzyska Chapel, erected as the mausoleum of Kazimierz Jagiellończyk (died 1492) and his wife Elżbieta Rakuszanka, is also a unique work of art. Its walls are covered with a Gothic polychrome by Ruthenian painters, the only monument of this kind in Krakow. The most valuable object of the chapel, however, is the king's tombstone - the figure of the monarch carved in stained marble by Wit Stoss is one of the most outstanding examples of stone carvings of the late Middle Ages. Elżbieta, the co-founder of the chapel, known as the mother of kings, was commemorated much more modestly (four sons of this couple became crowned rulers, and thanks to the marriages of seven daughters of the royal couple, all ruling European dynasties are related on the distaff side). Her grave is merely a brass slab embedded in the floor of the chapel.

The rest of the royal tombs are in the crypts. They were built in the 16th century, and later connected with the relics of the Romanesque cathedral located in the basement. The tour of this part of the sacred complex begins in the crypt of St. Leonard, in which the remains of the national heroes of Prince Józef Poniatowski and Tadeusz Kościuszko were buried in the 19th century. The last ceremonial burial took place here in 1993, when the remains of General Władysław Sikorski were brought from Great Britain.

A separate entrance leads to the crypt under the Silver Bell Towerwów, where Marshal Józef Piłsudski is buried, and President Lech Kaczyński with his wife Maria, buried at Wawel in 2010. The image of the Wawel necropolis is completed by the Crypt of the Poets, which is accessed in the left nave of the cathedral. Two sarcophagi contain the remains of the poets Adam Mickiewicz and Juliusz Słowacki, and the urns contain soil from the grave of Słowacki's mother, Salomea, and the grave of the last great romantic poet, Cyprian Kamil Norwid. Admission to these crypts is free.

The crowning moment of your visit to the cathedral may be the entrance to the Sigismund Tower, which offers an excellent view of the surrounding area. On its top floor you can admire the most famous bell in Poland, named after its founder, King Sigismund I the Old. With a diameter of 2.5 meters, a height of 2 meters and a weight of 11 tons, Zygmunt was the largest bell in Poland since its inception (it was dethroned only in 2000 by the bell of the Licheń sanctuary, weighing 19 tons). It was made in 1520 by the bell-founder Hans Behem of Nuremberg. Behem owned a bell foundry near the Florian Gate, where, according to legend, he used scrap cannons captured by Polish-Lithuanian troops to cast the Sigismund bell. The bell weighs almost 13 tons and requires 12 bell-rings to swing it. Its sound can be heard on the occasion of holidays, church ceremonies and important national events. In the past, he would also beat at the birth of royal descendants and bid them farewell on their final journey. It also accompanied the funerals of great Poles buried in Wawel. According to legend, its deep, velvety sound is due to a bundle of silver strings. Walenty Bekwark (Bakfark), the famous lute player of the royal court, threw them into the cauldron full of melting metals from which the bell was to be made. Another beautiful legend is connected with Zygmunt's bell: whoever enters the tower and touches the heart of the bell will always return to Krakow.