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The Wawel Castle
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Approaching the Castle, one sees the height and fortification of this ancient citadel.
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The Wawel Cathedral, most of the current building dates from the 17th century. Note a 14th century St. Stanislaw above the huge rosette window.
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Looking from the Zygmunt Tower of the Cathedral - the Franciscan Church is on the left, with the Dominican's in the center, and Sts. Peter and Paul on the right. The red building in the foreground is today the diocesan seminary.
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The Zygmunt tower is named after its founder, King Zygmunt Vasa, built in 1595 after a fire destroyed its 14th century predecessor.
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Called the most famous bell in Poland, the massive 'Zygmunt' weighs 11 tons. It is only rung on major holidays.
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The baroque high altar contains a large, mid-17th century crucifix.
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The tomb of St. Stanislaw has been here in the center of the Cathedral since the 13th century, although the current silver coffin dates from 1670, the domed canopy dating from the 1620s.
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The shrine / tomb of St. Stanislaw dominates the Cathedral interior. Yet it is filled with 18 different side chapels, unfortunately most are closed by grills.
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The Cathedral seen from the side, where one sees some of the many side chapels. Note the copper dome gilded with real gold: the Zygmunt Chapel, for the King's tomb. The smaller 'Silver Bell Tower' is about all that remains of the former Romanesque cathedral.
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The renaissance castle next to the Cathedral. Note the white stone foundations from the medieval churches of St. Michael and St. George.
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A view from Wawel, the tower in the center-left is the Divine Mercy Sanctuary in the distance.
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In the center of this view is the Church of St. Stanislaw Kostka where Karol Wojtyla attended.
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A view of the Vistula river. Note on the top of the hill is an artificial mound - the tomb of one of the Kings (I forget which).
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In the archeological museum, a model of Wawel in the 13th century - most of the center buildings and some of the fortifications are missing today.
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Under the Castle, one finds the vestiges of a pre-Romanesque Rotunda of St. Mary from the 10th century, the earliest stone Church in Krakow.
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It consists of a sparsely lit round body with 4 semi-circular apses, one of which contained the altar. After a fire in the 12th century, the rotunda was covered by the castle.
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An ancient statue of St. Stanislaw. Tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis.
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Leaving, one see relics of the medieval fortifications and towers. One can guess why the narrow tower was known as the Hen's Foot (14 century).
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