Transcripcion del documento:--- Inicio página 1 ---
Cathedral. Sigismund Bell,
Royal Tombs
Castle and
Arcaded Courtyard
Museum
Dinformation
phone +48 12422.51.55
ext.219
informacja@wawel.org.pl
111reservation
phone +48 12 422.16.97
fax +48 12422.64.64
bot@wawel.org.pl
n Castle ticket
m office
Cathedral ticket
office
mguide service
mtoi,ets
Ccafé
mrestaurant
~ audio guide
61giftShOP
./ a post office
I/ E!Icash machine (ATM)
aHmmt`§rD~ml!lrm~
nVisitors Center
Tickets to the exhibitions and seasonal attractions are for individual
touring, EXCEPTthe Roya! Private Apartments and Wawe! Architec-
ture and Gardetis, which can only be toured in guide-Ied groups
(guide service is included in ticket price). Guide service in several
languages is available for all of our exhibitions, but reservations must
be made in advance through the Reservations Office; additional
charges apply. Advance reservations are required for groups.
Last visitor entry is one hour before exhibition closing time. For`
conservation reasons, there are daily limits on the number of
visitors; during the summer season tickets may run out before the
end of the day. Audio Guides are available.
Free admission (individual visitors only, no groups) to selected exhibí-
tions: Mondays [Apnl l-October 31) or Sundays (November 1-March 31)..
Please note: free admission ticket must be collected from the ticket
office.
You may not bring luggage or large bags etc. into the exhibitions
(handbags are fine). For your convenience we provide two luggage
rooms:
I!I Bernardyríska Gate - check large items such as suitcases,
.~ bags, backpacks etc.
r¡aw Arcaded Courtyard (only for visitors entering the castle)-
~ hand luggage, small backpacks, umbrellas, strollers etc.
WAWEL ROYAL
CASTLE
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The Wawel Hill is to Cracow what the Acropolis was to
ancientAthens orthe Capitoline Hillto Rome. The rocky
outcropping towering ouer the banks of the Vistula
River has been the seat of secular and ecclesiastical
power since the early M iddle Ages, but archeological
excauations have uncovered evidence of human habi-
tation on the site dating as far back as the Paleolithic
era. Mieszko I (r. ca. 960-992), the first historical ruler
of the Polish state, chose the hill as the site of one of
his residences. His baptism in 966 brought Polandinto
the orbit of Western culture. In 1000, the bishopric
of Cracow was established and the first cathedral on
Wawel Hill was built.
Wawel experienced its golden age from the 14th
through the 16th centuries underthe last Piast kings and
the }agiellon dynasty. The }agiellonian kings Aleaan-
der I (r. 1501-1506), Sigismund I the Old (r. 1506-1548),
and Sigismund II Augustus (r. 1548-1572) transformed
the medieval castle into one of the finest Italianate
Renaissance palaces in Central Europe. Sigismund I and
his son presided over a great flowering of the arts and
humanities. Wawel`s significance began to wane when
Sigismund III Vasa (r. 1587-1632) moved his court to
Warsaw in 1609-1611, although it remained a royal
residence and the cathedral continued to be the site
of the coronations and burials of Poland`s kings. The
ensuing years brought a slow but steady decline.
The castle was sacked and looted during the Polish-
Swedish wars that swept through the Polish- Lithuanian
Commonwealth in the mid-17th century. The final blow
came in the 18th century with the partitions of Poland;
in 1796 the castle was converted to barracks for the
Austrian army.
A monumental restoration project was undertaken in
the early years of the 20th century, intensifying after
1918, when Poland regained independence.ln the 19305,
the castle became a museum.
Museum
The Wawel Royal Castle and the Wawel Hill constitute
the most historically and culturally important site in
Poland. For centuries the residence of kings and the
symbol of Polish statehood, the castle is now one of
the country`s premier art museums. Established in 1930,
the museum encompasses ten curatorial departments
responsible for collections of paintings, including an
important collection of Italian Renaissance paintings;
uiorks on paper; sculpture; textiles, among them the
Sigismund II Augustus tapestry collection; goldsmith`s
work; arms and armar; ceramics, with significant
holdings of Meissen porcelain; and period furniture.
The museum`s holdings in Asian and Middle-Eastern
art include the largest collection of Ottoman tents in
Europe. For conservation reasons the tents are not on
permanent display. The collections of the Wawel Royal
Castle are presented in several permanent exhibitions
that evoke the historie appearance of the royal
residence in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries.
Instead of paying a flat admission fee, visitors can pick
and choose the exhibitions they would like to see. From
spring to mid-autumn, visitors can also descend into the
Dragon`s Den, c1imb to the top of the Sandomierska
Tower, and take a guided outdoor tour to learn about
Wawel`s architecture and gardens. The museum mounts
special temporary exhibitions and displays.
The Wawel Royal Castle also hosts a lively program
of events including symphonic and chamber music
concerts and performances of opera and courtly dance.
Wawel Royal Castle
31-001 Kraków, Wawel 5
phone +48 12422.51.55
zamek@wawel.org.pl www.wawel.krakow.pl
BRANCHES
Pieskowa Skala Castlc
The castle is situated in LlI(`
heart of the Ojców National
Park, about 30 km northcast
of Cracow. The fortress aud
a nearby rock tormation
called the Club of Herculcs
dominate the picturesquo
landscape of the Pradnik River Valley.
Pieskowa Skara is exceptional not only for the beauuj
of its natural setting, but also for its outstanding archi
tecture and fascinating history. The stronghold was built
during the reign of Casimir the Great (r. 1333-1370) Lo
safeguard the route between Cracow and Silesia. At th«
end of the 14th century, the castle passed into the
hands of the Szafraniec family in the late 16th centuru
Stanislaw Szafraniec renovated and expanded it 1.0
create an impressive Renaissance residence with au
arcaded courtyard and pillared loggia. The work was
completed in about 1578. In the 17th century, the
castle`s new owner, M ichal Zebrzydowski, added
a bastion to the fortifications, closing off the largo
exterior court. Today the castle is a museum, which
houses a collection of European arto
32-045 Suloszouia, phone/fax +48 12 389.60.04
maczops@poczta.onet.pl www.pieskowaskala.eu
Manor House
at Stryszów
Located at the foot of Mount
~ Chetrn in the Beskid Ma-
kowski mountain range near
.. Wadowice and Kalwaria
Zebrzyowska, the manar
house at Stryszów is one
of the most interesting and unique examples of
manorial architecture to suruiue in this region. Built at
the end of the 16th century and remodeled in the mid-
18th century, the manar is an example of a modest
country residence of the Polish gentry. Since 1969,
the manar has been a museum featuring 19th-century
period interiors.
31-146 Stryszów, phone +48 33 879.74.89
dwor@stryszow.pl www.dwor-stryszow.pl
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m State Rooms
The "State Roorns" were the formal, public rooms of the
palace, in which monarchs receiued and entertained their
subjects and uisiting dignitaries. The largest and most
magnificent are the Enuous` Hall with its remarkable
coffered ceiling with woodcaruings of human heads
and the Senators` Hall, in which the king and senate
met and grand balls were held. Displayed throughout
are exquisite, gold-wouen tapestries from the collection
of King Sigismund 11 Augustus. Produced in Brussels in
1550-1560, it was the largest group of tapestries euer
executed as a single commission. Today, it is one of the
most significant collections of its kind in the world. Other
uiorks on uiew include royal portraits, Italian and Dutch
Old Master paintings, and Italian Renaissance furniture.
Many rooms haue colorful late-Baroque tile stoues
which replace the original Renaissance stoues that were
destroyed when Cracow was under Austrian domination
in the 19th century. (Suruiuing tiles and models can be
uiewed in the Lost Wawel exhibition.) Gilt-Ieather wall
hangings adorn the Baroque-period interiors.
~ Royal Private Apartments
!!!!(guided tour in English or Polish)
Once reserued for the royal family, their courtiers, and
guests, these rooms hold Renaissance furnishings, Ital-
ian paintings from the Lanckoronski Collection, and gold-
wouen Flemish tapestries from the holdings of King
Sigismund II Augustus. Seueral rooms retain their ori-
ginal16th-century painted wooden ceilings and friezes.
The Hen`s Foot Tower (Kurza Stopka) is a uestige of the
old medieual castle, which was rebuilt in the style of the
Italian Renaissance in 1504-1548. The Wawel`s collection
of Meissen porcelain and art uiorks from the so-called
Saxon period (1697-1763; Wettin kings Augustus 11 and
Augustus 111) are on uiew on this floor. Between the
two world wars, the Castle was an official presidential
residence; the prívate suite holds the original stylish
1930s furniture and fixtures, including a sunken bathtub.
Rooms appointed in the Neoclassical style of the late
18th centurq display portraits of prominent indiuiduals
from the reign of Poland`s last king, Stanislaus Augustus
Poniatowski, clase the exhibitíon.
`.l.
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11Crown Treasury and Armoury
On uiew in the Gothic and Renaissance rooms that
once housed the Polish coronation insignia and the
jewels of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, are
priceless objects from the original Crown Treasury,
such as the coronation sword "Szrzerbiec," heirlooms of
Polish monarchs that haue suruiued wars and pillages,
and splendid gold and siluer objects created by Western
European and Polish goldsmiths. Inuentories kept from
1475, show that the Crown Treasury was constantly
swelled by diplomatic gifts and royal bequests. It was
not open to the public, but jewels were taken out on
special occasions, such as coronations. The first public
display of the royal insignia took place in 1792. Three
years later, the Prussians broke into the Treasury and
stole the ualuables it contained; the crown jewels
were destroyed in 1809. The Armoury presents a large
collection of weapons, armour, parade saddles, and
horse trappings dating from the Middle Ages to the
18th century.
11Oriental Art
Although not directly related to the historical furnishings
of the castle, this exhibition reflects the significance
of Middle Eastern and Islamic art to the culture and
collecting traditions of the Polish-Lithuanian Com-
monwealth. The geopolitical situation of the enormous
Polish-Lithuanian state, which bordered numerous
territories that had been conquered by Islam, ouer the
centuries presented untold opportunities for peaceful
contact and trade, as well as military clashes. Armed
conflicts escalated in the 17th century, culminating
in King john 1I1 Sobieski`s decisiue uictory ouer the
forces of the Ottoman Empire at Vienna on September
12, 1683. On uiew are splendid carpets, banners and
wall hangings, Persian and Turkish arrns: many objects
are associated with J ohn 1II Sobieski and the Battle
of Vienna. japanese and Chinese ceramics are also
exhibited.
~ The lost Wawel
This unique exhibition mines an archeeological-archi-
tectural reserue, whose focal point is the remains of the
late 10th/early 11th century Rotunda of Sts. Felix and
Adauctus (aka Rotunda of the Blessed Virgin Mary),
with displays of architectural elements from different
periods, objects uncouered in archzeologtcal excava-
tions, and scale models of buildings. The Wawel`s
collection oftiles from the Renaissance stoues that once
heated the castle chambers is also on uiew.
A multimedia presentation introduces the history of
the Wawel Hill in the Middle Ages.
A selection ofthe finest stonework from the lapidarium,
a collection of stone sculptures and architectural details
recouered ouer the past hundred years in the course
of restoration work and archeeological excauations,
bears witness to the historie transformations that took
place on Wawel Hill. 19th-century plaster casts of the
carued stone decoration from the Wawel Cathedral`s
Sigismund Chapels prouide a unique opportunity to
see these splendid ornamental details close up.
SEASONAL AITRACTIONS Apri l-October
~ Dragon`s Den
The Dragon`s Den is a caue that formed some 12 million
years ago in the western slope of the hill. It is also
home to Cracow`s best-known legendary denizen -
the Wawel Dragon. The route follows 81 meters of the
caue`s total 270 meters of corridors. Exit onto the
Vistula Bouleuards next to a statue of the dragon
(Bronistaui Chromy, 1972) that actually "breathes" fire.
liISandomierska Tower
One of the Wawel Castle`s three artillery towers, it was
built in about 1460, during the reign of Casimir IV
jagiellon. The tower was adapted to accommodate
firearms and artillery, but also housed guards` lodgings.
In peacetime, it functioned as a prison for people of
high social standing. Indeed, confinement in the
higher stories - that is "in the tower"- was regarded
as honorable punishment and was reserued for the
nobility.
A climb to the top of the touier`s 137 steps is rewarded
with sweeping uiews of Cracow and the surrounding
countryside.
;;; Wawel Architecture and Gardens
W guided outdoor walking tour in English or Polish
The tour meets in the Lost Wawel exhibition and fol-
lowing a brief introduction, continues to the Arcaded
Courtyard and the royal gardens, which haue been
reconstructed to recall the gardens of King Sigismund I
from about 1540. (The Wawel gardens are the only
reconstructed Renaissance gardens in Poland.)
From the lower terrace, the tour continues up narrow
stone steps next to the base of the Hen`s Foot Tower
around the perimeter of the castle (with a stop to
take in the splendid uiew of the old town) to the
north eleuation to reenter the Arcaded Courtyard
uia the so-called Tartar
passage and continue
to the Bathory Court-
yard, tucked between
the castle and the cath-
edral. The final stop
is the Sandomierska
Tower (optional).
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