Offer - Wawel Castle and Cathedral
Guided tours include:
-
the Royal Chambers where the kings of the Jagiellon and Vasa dynasties lived
and reigned until the early 17th century (contains a unique collection of 16th
century Flemish tapestries as well as portraits of Polish kings, and also Italian
furniture)
- the Crown Treasury with an assemblage of objects dating
from the 11th - 18th centuries. The most valued items once belonged
to the Polish monarchs or were
used during important state ceremonies (for example, Szczerbiec - the coronation
sword - a Polish version of Excalibur)
- the Armoury, containing one of the largest collections of
arms and armor in Poland. It includes the products of Polish and European
swordsmiths, armourers,
and gunsmiths.
The most popular with visitors are the scale (karacena) suits of armour
- the exhibition "Oriental Art in the Wawel Collections", presenting
art objects from the Near and Far East (carpets, banners, weapons, ceramics)
- the exhibition "The Lost Wawel", comprising archeological fragments
such as the lapidarium (a group of 16th century architectural details), and
the collection of Renaissance and Baroque stove-tiles
- Wawel Cathedral, venue of coronations and last resting
place of the Polish kings, as well as the Ara Patriae - the Altar
of the Fatherland - in the
centre of the
church, regarded as a sacred site and, like the cathedral itself, closely
connected with the history of Poland.
Magiczny Kraków Any
Time