Krakow is inseparable from Wawel Hill which has been part of Polish history since the beginnings of its statehood. By walking through the Romanesque Rotunda of St. Mary, the Gothic Cathedral and Renaissance Royal Castle we travel through nearly 1,000 years of Polish history and seeing the material traces of the rich heritage left behind by the Polish monarchy.
FEATURES, ORIGINS, VALUES AND LEGAL PROTECTION
It is here, on Wawel Hill, that important events have taken place and were decisions were taken that affecting the shape of the Polish state. Wawel Cathedral, the coronation site of Polish kings, is also a burial site. The crypts at the Cathedral hold the remains of most of the Polish kings.
A tour of the royal tombs starts in the crypt of St Leonard which is the remains of a second Romanesque Wawel Cathedral, the so-called Hermanowski Cathedral, and end up in a crypt under the Tower of the Silver Bells, next to the coffin of Marshal Jozef Pilsudski. In the vestibule of the crypt are the remains of the President of Poland, Lech Kaczynski and his wife who both died tragically on 10 April 2010 in a airplane crash near Smolensk.
Whilst entering the courtyard in front of the Cathedral, it is worth noting the canopy with the Latin inscription “Corpora dormiunt vigilant animae” (while the body is sleeping, the soul is vigilant) above the doorway. I was designed by Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz as a symbol of Poland's regaining independence after the partition. The plinth, on which the canopy rests, is made from melted statue of Otto von Bismarck from Poznan, the columns, made of jade come from the Orthodox Cathedral of St Aleksander Newsky, which stood on Plac Saski in Warsaw and capitals and column bases were cast from captured Austrian guns.
TOUR ORGANISER
Cathedral Parish of St Stanislaw and St Waclaw
31-001 Krakow
Wawel 3
Phone: +48 12 429 33 27
katedrawawelska@diecezja.pl
Parish Office Opening Times:
Tuesday: from 09:00 till 11.00
Thursday: from 09.00 till 13.00
Saturday: from 09:00 till 12.00
(Except during ceremonies)
ACCESSIBILITY OF FACILITIES BY VISITORS
Sightseeing on weekdays:
April to September: between 09:00 and 17.00
Other times of the year: between 09.00 and 16.00
On Sundays and public holidays:
between 12.30 and as weekdays of each month
The Cathedral will be closed to visitors on 1st November, 24th December, 25th December, 1st January, Easter Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Saturday and Easter Sunday
Duration of the tour is about 50 minutes
The route is electrically illuminated.
Suitable for visitors with disabilities
Sightseeing is unaccompanied
Detailed descriptions available along the entire trail
Appropriate dress is recommended for places of worship
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