Kraków: Wawel Hill and Okól

Perched on a limestone crag above the Vistula River, you’ll find Kraków’s fortified royal centre – Wawel Hill.

Home to an impressive castle, as well as a showstopping cathedral, the site has had a topsy-turvy history, having changed hands repeatedly over the centuries.

Wawel Hill

A brief history of Wawel Hill

Wawel Hill was first settled by the Vistulians in the eighth century and became home to the Polish royals in the 11th century when King Kazimierz I made Kraków the capital of Poland.

Wawel Hill remained at the centre of royal life until 1609, when the royal court moved to the new capital Warsaw and the area fell into decline.

After the Third Partition of Poland in 1795, the Austrians took power and turned Wawel Hill into a military base.

They moved out at the turn of the 20th century when Poland was granted independence.

But during the Second World War, the Nazis took over and Wawel Hill became the base of Governor General Hans Frank.

After the end of the war, the site was returned to the Polish state and Wawel Hill became a national museum.

In 1978, Kraków’s historic centre, which includes Wawel Hill and the city’s Old Town, was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It was one of the first places to be given the distinction, alongside the nearby Wieliczka and Bochnia Salt Mines.

Wawel Royal Castle

Originally founded in the 11th century by King Boleslaw I, the current castle dates back to the early 16th century when it was rebuilt by King Sigismund I after a devastating fire.

The castle, which has been home to numerous Polish kings and queens, was designed by the Italian architects Francisco Fiorentino and Bartolomeo Berrecci, and includes parts of the old Gothic building.

Today, the castle is split into various museums and visitor attractions. I bought a ticket to tour the private royal apartments, which are on the first floor of the castle.

The tour starts off in a series of rooms to the right of the envoys’ staircase and includes the dining room, vestibule, wardrobe and a couple of chambers.

The elegant rooms are quite bare and sparsely furnished, but boast some lovely tapestries and ceilings.

Following the visitors’ route through the apartments, I made my way back to the envoys’ staircase and continued my tour through a series of rooms to the left.

These included a couple of chambers and a vestibule in the medieval Danish Tower (above).

The most notable room in this part of the castle was the art deco bedroom of Ignacy Moscicki, Poland’s longest serving president (above). The room served as his bedroom from 1927 to 1939.

The tour continued in the intriguingly named Hen’s Foot Extension (above), which is also part of the old Gothic castle, and which once housed King Sigismund I’s bedroom.

The castle boasts a huge collection of Meissen porcelain, numbering some 400 pieces, and part of the collection is on display in the Saxon Vestibule (above).

The tour ended in the grand Columned Hall (above), which was the site of Sigismund I’s great hall and dining room.

Wawel Cathedral

Wawel’s beautiful and eclectic cathedral is where many of Poland’s kings and queens were crowned and buried.

Originally founded in the 11th century, the present-day cathedral was built by King Wladyslaw I in the 14th century, becoming the first Polish monarch to be crowned there in 1320.

Photos are banned inside the cathedral, which is home to an underground crypt and a number of lavish chapels that act as mausoleums to different royal dynasties. The most splendid is the Zygmunt Chapel, which is dedicated to the Jagellonians.

Saint Stanislaw, the former Bishop of Kraków who was murdered in Kazimierz’s Church on the Rock, is also buried in the cathedral, his elaborate tomb taking pride of place in front of the high altar.

Inside the cathedral, you can walk to the top of the bell tower, which is home to a series of bells including the whopping Zygmunt Bell (above). Cast in 1521, it’s the biggest bell in Poland.

The bell tower also boasts superb views over Kraków’s nearby Old Town (above).

Crown Treasury

Part of Wawel’s royal castle complex, the Crown Treasury is a wonderful little museum packed with Poland’s crown jewels, holy objects and military memorabilia.

The crown jewels, which date back to 1475, are a shadow of the original collection, having been seriously depleted over the centuries.

Items from the collection were first sold in the 17th century to pay for Poland’s defenses and then looted by the Prussians in 1795.

When Poland was granted its independence after the First World War, the remaining crown jewels were returned to Wawel.

The most notable item in the Crown Treasury collection is Szczerbiec, the ceremonial sword that was used to crown the country’s monarchs (above).

I really enjoyed my visit to the Crown Treasury, the museum offers a fascinating glimpse into the country’s treasures and there are lots of fabulous artifacts on display.

The highlight of the collection is the Collectors’ Cabinet, a small room filled with exquisite artifacts made from precious metals, minerals, ivory, amber and more, including a gorgeous 17th century chessboard that once belonged to King Sigismund III.

Wawel Hill’s archaeological site

In the centre of Wawel Hill, you can see the grass-covered remains of some of the site’s old medieval buildings (above).

The buildings, which included a couple of chapels, were knocked down by the Austrians at the turn of the 19th century when they set up their military base.

Wawel Hill’s fortifications

Visitors are free to walk around parts of Wawel Hill’s fortifications, and during certain times of the year, this also includes the Sandomierska Tower (above).

The tower’s closed to visitors between November and March, so I wasn’t able to visit it during my trip.

But I did get a chance to enjoy the great views over the Vistula River from the ramparts (above).

Slodki Wawel

I love hot chocolate, so when my guidebook recommended the hot chocolate at Slodki Wawel, the café and chocolatier in Wawel Hill’s visitor centre, I naturally stopped by before I left.

While the service could have been friendlier, the hot chocolate was thick (think liquid chocolate), rich and satisfying.

Okól

After my visit to Wawel Hill, I strolled through Kraków’s Okól district, which connects Wawel Hill and the Old Town.

The area is centred around two historic streets, Kanonicza (above), and Grodzka, and I spent a little while wandering up and down the rain-soaked thoroughfares, admiring the charming architecture.

Grodzka is home to a host of shops and cafés, as well as a slew of interesting churches, including the Church of Saint Giles (above) and the Church of Saint Andrew (below).

The most impressive is the Church of Saints Peter and Paul, Kraków’s first Baroque Church, which was built between 1596 and 1619.

The church’s eye-catching entrance is guarded by statues of the 12 apostles (above).

The elegant church is just as delightful inside (above), boasting an ornate altar and a magnificent domed ceiling (below).

In 2012, the church’s crypt was turned into one of Poland’s national pantheons and a number of notable Poles have been laid to rest there.

Info

• You have to buy a separate ticket for each of the different attractions on Wawel Hill, including the castle’s royal apartments, the crown treasury, and the cathedral. You’ll get a different timed entry slot for each of the castle’s attractions, so if you’re looking to see multiple places, bear in mind you may have some time to kill between visits. The cathedral and the castle also have separate ticket offices.
• You can’t take bags or coats into the castle’s royal apartments or the crown treasury, so you’ll need to check them into the cloakroom.