History of the Wawel Hill

how the kings' seat was built on the swamps

In Cracow, on the left bank of the Vistula River, there is a hill with the height of 228 m above the sea level. It is made of Jurassic limestones (161-155 millions years) uplifted in the form of tectonic horst in Miocene (23 to 5 million years ago). The word "wąwel" used in the Middle Ages was supposed to mean, as interpreted by some people, a gorge dividing the hill into two parts, or, according to others, "a height among the swamps". Within the rocks there are numerous karst forms, and caves. A medieval legend has evolved about one of them, telling that it was reportedly inhabited by a dragon beaten by prince Krak.

First buildings

The beginnings of colonization in this area have been determined during archaeological works for 100 000 years B.C. The settlement established on the crossing of major trade routes constituted the main town of the Vislans tribe. In his 13th century chronicles Wincenty Kadlubek mentions Krak and Wanda - the legendary rulers of the tribe, living at the turn of the 7th and 8th century.

The first historical rulers of Poland from the Piasts family - Mieszko I (960-992), Boleslaw Chrobry (1025), Mieszko II (1025-1031) - chose Wawel for one of their seats. At that time it was a town built of wood, stone and soil. In 1000 the diocese of Cracow was established and this caused the need to build a cathedral. As the first one, the diocese of Cracow was taken by bishop Poppon, and construction of the cathedral started in the 1020s. Despite intensive archaeological works the appearance of that first Wawel cathedral, known as "the Chrobry Cathedral", could not have been reconstructed so far. The cathedral was devoted to St. Waclaw. There is also no conformity as to the time when it was destroyed. It is believed that it took place in the 1040s during the invasion of prince Brzetyslaw, or in the 1080s during a fire.

The remains of other buildings that existed on the Wawel Hill have also been identified during archaeological works. The oldest found remains of wooden buildings date back to the 9th century, while the stone ones to the turn of the 10th and 11th century. There are the remains of such buildings as: The Rotunda of Holy Virgin Mary (10th and 11th century), the B Church (10th century.), the Church of St. Gereon, the Church of St. George, the Church of St. Michael, a hall with 24 poles and a square building of unknown use (10th and 11th century).

The middle of the 11th - 13th century

Wawel became a significant political and administrative centre of the state during the reign of Kazimierz Odnowiciel (1034-1058). His son, Boleslaw Smialy (1058-1079), started to build the next Romanesque cathedral. The construction was continued by Wladyslaw Herman, and completed by Boleslaw Krzywousty (1102-1138). The consecration of the second Wawel cathedral, known as the Herman Cathedral, took place in 1142. Probably in 1089 the remains of bishop Stanislaw from Szczepanow were brought to it from Skalka. Since that time the cult of this saint has been connected with the cathedral. The image of the cathedral from that period has been preserved on the stamp of the seal of Cracow chapter from the 12th century. The cathedral burnt at the beginning of the 14th century, and the remains of it are the foundations of the future buildings - the bottom part of the Vicar Tower (the Silver Bells) and the three naves crypt of St. Leonard.

In 1291 Cracow went under the Czech reign and Waclaw II from the family of Przemyslid crowned himself as the king in the Wawel Cathedral.

Other buildings from that period are the rotunda at the bastion of Wladyslaw IV (12th century), the church at the Dragon's Cave, the rotunda at Sandomierz Tower (11th century).

14th - 15th century

After the coronation of Wladyslaw Lokietek as the king of Poland (1320) the wooden and soil fortifications were replaced by the bricked ones and the construction of the castle started. Its development took place by the request of Kazimierz Wielki. That was the period of the magnificence of Wawel. During the reign of Jadwiga Andegawenska and Wladyslaw Jagiello, one more rebuilding took place. Apart from the local and West European artists, Russian painters were also employed by the royal court. The so-called Chicken Foot and Danish Tower were built. The Hall of Jadwiga and Jagiello has remained (currently the place of exhibition of Szczerbiec). During the reign of Kazimierz Jagiellonczyk (1447-1492) the profile of the hill was enlarged, among others, by high brick towers: The Thieves', Sandomierz and Senators' Towers.

The coronation of Wladyslaw Lokietek as the king of Poland took place in 1320, in the ruins of the burnt cathedral. This was the first historically recorded coronation of a Polish ruler on the Wawel Hill. In the same year the construction of a new cathedral also started, and the building was consecrated in 1364. From the beginning of the construction and for the next centuries, the subsequent chapels were built on it. In the overall outline this is a three-nave building with a transept (a transverse nave) and an ambit (the ambulatory behind the altar). The first chapels were built at the presbytery - the chapel of St. Margaret and the chapel of Batory. The chapel at the western entrance was founded by the wife of Wladyslaw Jagiello - Zofia Holszanska, while the Swietokrzyska chapel by Kazimierz Jagiellonczyk. At the end of the 15th century the number of chapels was 19.

The first king buried in the Wawel Cathedral was Wladyslaw Lokietek. The sarcophagus made of sandstone was founded by Kazimierz Wielki in the middle of the 14th century. In the aisle of Wawel Cathedral, Kazimierz Wielki and Wladyslaw Jagiello are also buried. The sarcophagus of Kazimierz Jagiellonczyk was made in 1492 by Wit Stwosz.

Other buildings designed for dukes, royal officers, craftsmen and numerous towers (Jordanka, Lubranka, Sandomierska, Teczynska, the Gentry, the Thieves', the Maiden) also come from this period.

16th - 17th century

In the days of the reign of the last Jagiellons, Aleksander Jagiellonczyk (1501 - 1506) and Zygmunt I Stary (1506 - 1548), the Royal Castle was rebuilt. The new palace, built at the place of the Gothic residence, was completed in ca. 1540. Under the patronage of the king the course of the works was supervised by: Francis of Florence and Bartolommeo Berrecci, and after their death - Benedict of Sandomierz. Apart from Italian artists also German architects, wood-carvers, painters and casters worked for Zygmunt. The vast courtyard with a column arcade, as well as the Envoys' Hall with its coffered ceiling deserve special attention.

The last of the Jagiellons, Zygmunt II August, enriched the castle interiors with the collection of arrases. On the other hand, Zygmunt III Waza renovated, in the style of the early Baroque, the north-eastern wing, burned during the fire in 1595. The works were managed by architect Giovanni Trevano; the Senator's stairs and the fireplace in the Hall under the Birds come from the period of that reconstruction.

Relocation of the regal court to Warsaw in 1609 resulted in slow, but permanent worsening of the condition of the castle. From that date the rulers would stay in Cracow only occasionally. In the 17th century the modern bailey was built.

The condition of the buildings deteriorated during the deployment of Swedes in the castle (1655 - 1657, 1702). One tried to remedy the negligence making an effort of repairs in the days of Jan III Sobieski, the Wettins and Stanislaw August.

At the beginning of the 16th century Francis of Florence created in Wawel Cathedral a sculptured niche in which the tombstone of Jan Olbracht was placed. In the days of Zygmunt Stary, the ancestral chapel of the Jagiellons was built, known as "the Zygmunt Chapel". In 1520 the Zygmunt bell was casted. The tombstones of Cardinal Fryderyk Jagiellonczyk and many bishops also come from that period.

Despite the relocation of the capital of Poland to Warsaw, the Wawel Cathedral remained the place of coronation and burial of the kings. However, it was slightly reconstructed. The ambit was heightened, the tomb of St. Stanislaw was made with marble altar and silver coffin, the main altar was created. The Baroque tombstones of the bishops (Marcin Szyszkowski, Piotr Gembicki, Jan Malachowski, Kazimierz Lubienski) and of the kings (Michal Korybut Wisniowiecki, Jan III Sobieski) and chapels (the chapel of Wazas) were erected.

The loss of independence

After the loss of independence by Poland in 1795, the troops of the invading states: Russia, Prussia and Austria subsequently stayed on Wawel. The transformation of Wawel into the barracks resulted in many changes and damages. Some of the buildings were pulled down (the church of St. George and the church of St. Michael), the galleries were surrounded with a wall, and the interiors of the castle changed. After the collapse of the Cracow insurrection and liquidation of the Republic of Cracow, three buildings of the military hospital were erected on Wawel. By resolution of the Sejm of Galicja of 1880 the castle was given for a residence to Emperor Franz Joseph I. The Austrian army was deployed on the Wawel Hill until 1911.

The funerals of Jozef Poniatowski and Tadeusz Kosciuszko, in the form of national manifestos, took place in the Wawel cathedral at that time. The renovation of royal tombs was also started. In 1869 the coffin of Kazimierz Wielki was opened. The sarcophagi of other kings were cleaned, also the new ones were founded, and the underground crypts were connected by corridors. The thorough renovation of the cathedral took place at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. In 1902 in the Wawel cathedral the tombstone of Queen Jadwiga, and in 1906 a symbolic tombstone of Wladyslaw Warnenczyk were created. In 1900-1904 Jozef Mehoffer made the murals in the cathedral treasury and stained glass in the windows of the cathedral transept showing Christ of Sorrow and Mary. He is also the author of the murals and stained glass in the chapel of the Szafraniec family and stained glass windows in the Swietokrzyska chapel. In 1902-1904 Wlodzimierz Tetmajer decorated the chapel of queen Zofia with the figures of Polish saints and national heroes.

Started at the beginning of the 20th century, the renovation of the castle lasted a few decades. The conservation works, financed from social donations, were supervised by Zygmunt Hendel, and after him Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz. To commemorate all the contributors, little bricks with their surnames were made and placed in the wall at the northern entry to the castle. At that entry the Arms Gate was built and the statue of Tadeusz Kosciuszko was placed. During the works managed by Szyszko-Bohusz the Rotunda of Holy Virgin Mary and the remains of previous buildings were found.

Independent Poland

After 1918 the castle served as a representative residence of the head of the state and a museum of historical interiors. In 1921 the statue of Tadeusz Kosciuszko was created by Leonard Marconi and Antoni Popiel. The ashes of Juliusz Slowacki (1927) were brought to Wawel, Jozef Pilsudski and Wladyslaw Sikorski were also buried in the crypts.

During World War II, Nazi governor Hans Frank had his headquarter on Wawel.

In 1959-1961 some valuable exhibits returned to the collections of the museum, among others, the arrases and Szczerbiec - the coronation sword.

Currently the hosts of the hill are: the Royal Castle on Wawel - the State Art Collections and the Management of the Metropolitan Basilica on Wawel.

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