Castle in Kraków

awel Castle was the princely and royal seat and the political center of the Polish state from the 11th to the 16th century. It was erected on the left bank of the Vistula, south of the town. Wawel Hill, located among meadows flooded by the waters of the Vistula and Rudawa rivers, was perfectly suited for a defensive seat. The eastern part of the hill, slightly higher, was built up the earliest, but wooden and earth fortifications covered the entire hill. The oldest building here is the rotunda of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the south-west of it in 1968 relics of a church from more or less the same period as the rotunda were discovered. The first Wawel cathedral was built in the mid-11th century north of the rotunda, it was dedicated to St. Gereon. The rotunda can be seen at the exhibition 'Lost Wawel', the walls located in the basement 

View of the castle on an aerial photo, photo by ZeroJeden, VI 2019

of the current buildings make an amazing impression.

During this period, there was also a square building on the hill, now this place is located in the north-west corner of the inner courtyard.

In 1087, the construction of the second cathedral called Herman's Cathedral began in the northern part of the hill. Probably in this period, a hall with 24 pillars was also erected. On the eastern edge of the hill, there is also a brick stronghold with a tower. On the rest of the hill there were loose wooden settlement buildings. There was also a wooden stronghold destroyed by the Tatars in 1241. It was located in the vicinity of today's Thief Tower. After the invasion of the Tatars, Konrad Mazowiecki erected fortifications connecting the cathedral with the rotunda, separating the eastern part from the previously open spacious courtyard. In the place of these fortifications, at the end of the thirteenth century, a defensive wall was erected, which exists in fragments to this day.

In the years 1250-1258, the expansion of the fortifications started by Konrad was continued 

Wawel in a photo from around 1934

by Bolesław the Chaste. He erected brick fortifications in the north-eastern part of the hill.

In 1306, a fire consumed some of the buildings, during the reconstruction a single-bay building was erected at the southern curtain wall, which became the new seat of the ruler. At the existing defensive tower in the north-eastern area of the hill, a residential tower called Łokietkowa was erected. In 1320, on the walls of the Romanesque cathedral, Władysław I the Elbow-high erected a new Gothic one. The western part of the hill was established as the seat of the clergy after the erection of two new churches here during the reign of Casimir the Great - St. George in 1346 and St. Michael in 1355 - as well as residential buildings for the clergy.

The attackers' access to the walls was significantly hindered by the steep slopes, because such a long circumference of the ramparts was reinforced with only three towers. From the side of the Vistula - Thief's Tower, in the east - Duńska Tower, and from the north there was a 

The Castle in Kraków on the Lithograph of Adam Plater, 'Views of the Other Ancient Monuments of Polish', Kraków 1826

tower later called Zygmunt Tower. After handing over to the chapter, it was incorporated into the cathedral buildings and adapted to serve as a bell tower.

In 1394, Władysław Jagiełło raised the perimeter walls. His initiative is also to erect the Hen's Leg. Originally, the porch continued to the tower with a probably latrine function. The Hen's Leg itself served as a residential building. During this period, the entrance from the castle was strengthened by erecting towers and a foregate.

The two highest towers of Wawel were erected by Kazimierz Jagiellończyk. The Sandomierz Tower was erected in 1462 in the south-west corner of the hill, and the Senator Tower north-east of Sandomierz - in the eastern part of the southern defensive wall. Both have a similar shape. Erected on a square base, they have rounded corners above. Because they were not very well designed in terms of defense for those times, the southern wall was additionally strengthened the Nobleman's Tower and in the 16th century two more towers were added - Maiden and Tęczyńska. From these towers only relics of the foundations remained, so 

Wawel on a postcard from the interwar period

it is not possible to conclude from their appearance.

From 1502, during the reign of Sigismund the Old, the medieval residence began to be rebuilt into a new Renaissance one. The current appearance of the castle comes from this time. Three residential wings surrounded the inner courtyard decorated with three-storey cloisters. Work was also carried out to strengthen the fortifications. However, significant changes in the fortifications of the castle lived to see only during the reign of Władysław IV in 1644-1646. Earth fortifications were built on the south side, and a polygonal bastion was built at the entrance gate. The castle was found in this state by the Swedish army during the siege of Kraków.

In the years 1790-1794, major changes were made to the fortification system, erecting brick bastions with earth embankments below the medieval castle walls from the side of the Vistula. After the loss of independence, Kraków found itself within the Austrian borders. The expansion of the fortifications by the invader unfortunately involved the demolition 

Wawel Cathedral on the lithograph of Jan Nepomucen Głowacki, '24 views of the city of Kraków and its surroundings', Kraków 1832

of many existing walls. The change of the castle into barracks led to further devastation. At that time, many castle interiors were destroyed.

The reconstruction was carried out in the years 1906-1939 under the direction of Andrzej Szyszko-Bohusz, during which it was possible to significantly deepen the knowledge of the old history of the hill and buildings during archaeological research. During World War II, the castle was seriously damaged again. By 1964, however, it had been restored. The castle houses a museum and the seat of the State Art Collections, which also take care of several other monuments and castles.

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