Wawel Cathedral
Wawel Cathedral things to do, attractions, restaurants, events info and trip planning
Plan your stay
&promo_pic=/one-page/coolest.jpg)
Posts
Wawel Castle and Cathedral is on top of the list of the places to see in Cracow, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it is part of the Wawel Castle Complex and is a national sanctuary which served as the coronation site of Polish monarchs. On photos: Sigismund's Chapel (with a gold dome) and also Vasa Dynasty chapel (next to it). Other highlights: *Royal chapels and crypts, *The Royal Sigismund Bell - is the largest of the five bells hanging in the Sigismund Tower. The bell weighs almost 13 tonnes (28 thousand pounds) and requires 12 bell-ringers to swing it, *Zamek Królewski na Wawelu - is a castle residency. The castle is part of a fortified architectural complex erected atop a limestone outcrop on the left bank of the Vistula River, *Treasury and armoury - The Crown Treasury situated in the historic Gothic rooms which were used from the 15th century on for storing the Polish coronation insignia and Crown Jewels, feature on display priceless objects from the former Treasury that survived plunder, *Szczerbiec - is the ceremonial sword used in the coronations of most Polish monarchs from 1320 to 1764. It now is displayed in the treasure vault of the royal Wawel Castle, *Smocza Jama (Polish for "dragon's den") is a limestone cave in the Wawel Hill in Kraków. Owing to its location in the heart of the former Polish capital and its connection to the legendary Wawel Dragon, it is the best known cave in Poland. *Very nice coffee shop with a great view of the Vistula river,
Przemek KaszubaPrzemek Kaszuba
00
This is a great place to visit if you know your way around the Wawel hill. First of all, the tickets cannot be purchased at the regular ticket office. You must go to the building directly opposite of the cathedral. There you'll be able to buy the ticket and rent the audio guide. There is a dress code to enter the cathedral so if you're wearing sort shorts or a tank top you'll need to cover up prior to entry. Once inside realize that you're not just in another church. The remains of most of the kings of Poland are deposited here. You'll find quite a few royal tombs and effigies the most notable being those of Casimir the great, Ladislaus Jagiello and Casimir IV Jagiellon all of which are beautiful works of medieval funerary sculpture. The real crown jewel of the cathedral, however, is the renaissance Sigismund's chapel which is considered by some scholars to be the fines piece of renaissance architecture outside of Italy, so make sure not to miss it. You may also want to ascend to the top of the bell tower to see the enormous Sigismund bell, I think there is a small extra charge for that, something like $1
Bobby CBobby C
20
This was a huge fourteenth century building that seemed to be the equivalent to Westminster Abbey - tomb of royalty and VIPs and a seat of power in its own right. Unfortunately we couldn’t take photos inside but some of the side chapels were amazing, particularly the one painted in the fourteenth century that almost seemed like a 19th century Arts and Crafts offering. There was lots of religious stuff and we pretty much skimmed through the Treasury. The Royal Tombs were quite amazing, very well maintained/restored and a variety of styles including stone, metal and possibly painted wood but all ornate. There was also a memorial to Katyn, where the Soviets massacred 25,000 Polish officers and intellectuals in 1940. Again, no photos though. The final visit was to the cathedral bells. These were up a series of incredibly steep and narrow steps and there were quite a few of them on various levels of the staircases. They were all massive and quite ridiculous weights too! Despite being largely closed we’d spent over 5 hours in the castle complex so that was pretty good going.
Marcus HurleyMarcus Hurley
00
The whole experience was horrible. The prices are high. If you want audio guide you have to leave 100 zloty in cash or an ID card (which is illegal according to the EU laws by the way). In the cathedral you are not allowed to take photos or videos. The whole palce is humid and crowded as hell. The Tower of Sigismund is recommended for people who weight no more than 100-120 kg. There are passages that are so narrow and small that it's scary. I'm 174 cm tall and I knocked my head to the beams many occasions and nothing is noted to be aware of small places in height or/and in width… We asked for audio guide in Hungarian. It was a total waste of money. The audio guide had many-many grammatical and pronunciation errors, the “reader” sometimes couldn’t read the text correctly… sometimes mixed up the directions… (told us to go left when you only could go right)… half of the time it made us laugh how horrible it was… it’s clear, the text was written and read by someone who doesn’t speak Hungarian fluently. All in all I cannot recommend to go here…
Marica Mlinarič (TodaySzotyi)Marica Mlinarič (TodaySzotyi)
00
Clear Chat Full Screen Enter your message to start a chat. This could be a question, a statement, or any other text. Napisz mi opinie na 600 znaków o smoku Wawelskim w krakowie Smok Wawelski to legendarna postać z polskiej kultury, związana z historią Krakowa. Według legendy, był straszliwym smokiem, który zamieszkiwał jaskinię pod Wawelem i terroryzował okolicznych mieszkańców. Jego pokonanie przez młodego szewca Skubę jest jednym z najbardziej znanych polskich mitów. Dziś Smok Wawelski jest symbolem miasta Krakowa i popularną atrakcją turystyczną. Rzeźba smoka znajdująca się na Wawelu przyciąga liczne osoby chcące zobaczyć to historyczne miejsce. Legenda o Smoku Wawelskim jest ważną częścią polskiej tradycji i kultury, przypominając o odwadze i determinacji w pokonywaniu przeciwności losu. Napisz mi opinie na 600 znaków o muzeum sztuki japońskiej w krakowie Muzeum Sztuki Japońskiej w Krakowie to fascynujące miejsce, które przenosi odwiedzających w magiczny świat japońskiej kultury i sztuki. Znajdujące się w zabytkowym budynku, muzeum prezentuje bogatą kolekcję dzieł sztuki japońskiej, takich jak rzeźby, malarstwo, ceramika czy przedmioty codziennego użytku. Ekspozycje pozwalają na poznanie różnorodnych aspektów japońskiej sztuki i tradycji, od starożytnych artefaktów po współczesne dzieła sztuki. Muzeum Sztuki Japońskiej w Krakowie to nie tylko miejsce dla miłośników sztuki, ale także dla osób zainteresowanych kulturą i historią Japonii. To doskonała okazja do poszerzenia swojej wiedzy i doświadczenia kulturowego, zapewniająca niezapomniane wrażenia estetyczne i poznawcze. Napisz opinie na 800 znaków o katedrze Wawelskiej w krakowie Katedra Wawelska w Krakowie to niezwykłe miejsce o bogatej historii i znaczeniu dla Polski. Zlokalizowana na Wawelu, jest jednym z najważniejszych zabytków architektonicznych w kraju. Katedra pełniła i nadal pełni ważną rolę w życiu religijnym i politycznym Polski, będąc miejscem koronacji i pochówku królów oraz ważnych postaci historycznych. Jej architektura to połączenie różnych stylów, od romańskiego po gotycki, co nadaje jej unikalny charakter. Wnętrze katedry zachwyca bogactwem detali, wspaniałymi ołtarzami, malowidłami i rzeźbami. Warto zwrócić uwagę na Kaplicę Zygmuntowską, gdzie znajduje się słynny dzwon Zygmunta oraz mauzoleum króla Władysława Łokietka. Katedra Wawelska to nie tylko miejsce kultu religijnego, ale także centrum sztuki i historii, które przyciąga turystów z całego świata. Spacerując po jej majestatycznych wnętrzach, można poczuć ducha przeszłości i piękno sztuki sakralnej. To niezapomniane doświadczenie dla każdego, kto interesuje się historią, architekturą i sztuką. Katedra Wawelska w Krakowie jest symbolem narodowym i dumą polskiego dziedzictwa kulturowego, które warto poznać i docenić.
Agnieszka PAgnieszka P
00
Worth the visit, if you can get around the tour groups. My review here is mainly for the traffic management of the cathedral. We found as individual travelers it was quite difficult to navigate the cathedral due to the amount of schools visiting yesterday. There was an enormous line outside the cathedral, which we later found out was only for the tours, and individual visitors could have bypassed this line (but there are no signs or instructions to signify this). Once in the cathedral, it is difficult to navigate as spaces are small and tour groups are often blocking the signage for each of the monuments, and you cannot move on to the next section until the tour groups are finished. The cathedral itself is breathtaking and definitely worth the visit to see Polish royalty, but would advise that better traffic management be put in place to make this experience better for all visitors.
Claudia PawlakClaudia Pawlak
00
Nearby Attractions Of Wawel Cathedral
Rynek Główny
Wawel Royal Castle-State Art Collection
Wawel Royal Castle
Smok Wawelski
Planty
Smok Wawelski
St. Mary's Basilica
MNK Sukiennice
Lonja de los Paños
Rynek Underground Museum
Rynek Główny
4.8
(56.1K)Click for details
Wawel Royal Castle-State Art Collection
4.7
(47.6K)Click for details
Wawel Royal Castle
4.7
(46.3K)Click for details
Smok Wawelski
4.6
(8.8K)Click for details
Nearby Restaurants Of Wawel Cathedral
Pod Wawelem Kompania Kuflowa
Restauracja Sukiennice
House of Beer
Nolio Restaurant
The Leaky Cauldron
Akita Ramen
Sioux
Restauracja Smakołyki
Kolanko No 6 Restaurant
Starka | Restaurant & Vodkas
Pod Wawelem Kompania Kuflowa
4.4
(10.4K)Click for details
Restauracja Sukiennice
4.5
(4.9K)Click for details
House of Beer
4.6
(3.5K)Click for details
Nolio Restaurant
4.7
(3.5K)Click for details
Learn more insights from Wanderboat AIBasic Info
Address
Wawel, 31-001 Kraków, Poland
Map
Phone
+48 12 429 95 16
Call
Website
katedra-wawelska.pl
Visit
Reviews
Overview
4.8
(11.4K reviews)
Ratings & Description
cultural
family friendly
Description
The Wawel Cathedral, formally titled the Archcathedral Basilica of Saint Stanislaus and Saint Wenceslaus, is a Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it is part of the Wawel Castle Complex and is a national sanctuary which served as the coronation site of Polish monarchs.
attractions: Rynek Główny, Wawel Royal Castle-State Art Collection, Wawel Royal Castle, Smok Wawelski, Planty, Smok Wawelski, St. Mary's Basilica, MNK Sukiennice, Lonja de los Paños, Rynek Underground Museum, restaurants: Pod Wawelem Kompania Kuflowa, Restauracja Sukiennice, House of Beer, Nolio Restaurant, The Leaky Cauldron, Akita Ramen, Sioux, Restauracja Smakołyki, Kolanko No 6 Restaurant, Starka | Restaurant & Vodkas
- Unable to get your location